Dressing at Neethling's Place is casual. The dress at the conference is summer business casual. Temperatures usually range between 70 and 80 degrees (fahrenheit). Make sure you bring a jacket as it will get cool in the evenings. (The lyrics to perennial evening sing-a-long favorite Me & Bobby McGee can be found by clicking here.)
There will be time for playing outside, so make sure you bring a bathing suit, hiking clothes, etc.
(Note: Washcloths are often not provided at either the farm or the conference facility, so bring your own if you want to make sure that you have one.)
As South African cuisine is quite rich by US standards (lots of meat and wonderfully spiced sauces), you may want to bring a product like Tums or powdered ginger capsules (available in the herbal section of most pharmacies/grocery stores) to keep your tummy happy. You may also want to consider bringing a product such as Tylenol PM to help you sleep on the long plane ride and to help you adjust to the time change.
We recommend you buy any power adapters you need in South Africa to make sure you have the right kind. Your other technology needs (internet access, etc.) are most easily taken care of during the daily visits we make into town. For more technology info go to: http://countrycode.org/southafrica.
For those of you who will need to check phone messages, you will be happy to know that cell phone service is quite reliable in South Africa (five bars even in the bush). You can also check with your travel agent about renting a cell phone or SIM card to use inexpensively in South Africa.
The easiest way to get South African currency is through using your ATM card once you are in South Africa. (Trying to get travelers checks cashed can be quite time consuming.) There are ATM machines at Klein Kariba and in many places in town, so you can easily get more rand as you need it. The exchange rate is quite favorable, roughly eight rand to one US dollar.
Kevin conquers the mountain
Because of the great deals you will find, you may seriously want to consider bringing an extra suitcase with you to carry home your South African purchases. (Some fill an extra suitcase with clothing in good condition to leave in South Africa. The staff at Neethling's Place can always find good homes for items we no longer need.) Remember to save your receipts so that you can get the tax you were charged refunded on the way home. (This can involve fairly long lines at the airport, so if you do not have a lot of refund eligible receipts, you may want to skip it.)
If you find you have purchased too much to conveniently take home with you, you can always ship items via mail. Rates for "slow boat" shipping are reasonable.
Note: We are asked to contribute US$500 per person to help with the cost of the additional staffing, transportation, food, and bar expenses required to accommodate us.
