Avoiding Blood Clots

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12593776

What to pack

Travel Necessities for Soccer Fans Traveling to South Africa for World Cup 2010:

As World Cup 2010 is quickly approaching, here are a few tips for first time visitors to South Africa.

Clothing

Many people are under the assumption that it will be scorching hot anywhere you are on the African continent. The fact is that during the World Cup from June to July, South Africa will actually be in their winter season. During that time, depending on which part of South Africa you are in, temperatures can average a low of 0 degrees Celsius. It is highly recommended that visitors pack their long sleeves and jackets for those cold nights when visiting South Africa during the World Cup. Light clothing such as thin shirts or t-shirts would be appropriate for daytime.

Protection
Two must haves when traveling to the World Cup in South Africa are Sunscreen and Insect Repellent. Although the average temperatures in the winter months can reach below zero degrees at night, during the day, temperatures can reach the 25 degrees mark with constant sunshine. So, it's definitely a wise idea to pack sunscreen on your trip. In terms of insect repellent, there is a risk of getting malaria from insect bites, especially if you're staying in the northwest regions of South Africa such as Mpumalanga or Limpopo. Prior to your visit, check with your Doctor if you need to take Malaria pills before visiting certain areas.

Travel Documents

Like all trips, make sure that you have all your travel documents and photocopies of them. These include passports, ID, and credit cards. This will make it a lot easier for you to get another copy from your embassy in the event that you have lost your passports and other identification.

Other Travel Necessities

During the World Cup period between June and July, there is an average of 18 days of rain which totals about over 100mm of rain during that period. So it would definitely be a good idea to pack that rain coat or an umbrella or two. Especially during World Cup games where the stadiums will be wide open.

If you are on prescription drugs make sure to bring an extra supply. South African pharmacies may not carry your prescription drugs which may lead to serious health issues if you're dependent on those meds.

Make sure you have money in different forms such as credit card, cash, travelers cheques etc.

Our adopted country

Good article on the South Korean team in the NYTimes today.
goal.blogs.nytimes.com

FIFA 2010 World Cup SA Tour

June 4 - Arrive in Cape Town, stay at the Whalewatchers Luxury Beach Apartments in Muizenberg. Our unit is Die Strandloper.

http://www.sa-venues.com/visit/whalewatchersbeach/

June 5-9 -Climb Table Mountain, visit Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, see the Cape of Good Hope, tour the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, taste the wine of Stellenbosch, watch the whales and dive with the sharks.

June 10 - Travel along the Garden Route to Knynsa, stay at the Lulama cabin.

http://www.sa-venues.com/visit/lulama/

June 11 - Continue travelling along the Garden Route to Port Elizebeth. Our accommodations are at the Beacon Lodge in Summerstrand.

http://www.sa-venues.com/visit/beaconlodge/

June 12 - Korea vs Greece at Nelson Mandela Stadium.

June 13 - Early morning drive through Addo Elephant Park.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/pb/21f999/

After lunch we drive to Schotia Safari for a late afternoon and an evening safari drive.

http://www.schotia.com/schotia.htm

Stay the night at Schotia Safari, Option 1.

http://www.schotia.com/one_night.htm

June 14 - Begin our journey toward Johannesburg. Accommodations on the road.

June 15 - Continue journey to the north, past Johannesburg into Limpopo province to the Izintaba Game Farm where we will stay in the Kudu Cottage.

http://www.sa-venues.com/visit/izintabagamefarm/

June 16

June 17 - Drive to Johannesburg for the Korea vs Argentina game at Soccer City Stadium. Kim will be joining us. Accommodations at Cotswold Inn in Midrand.

http://www.sa-venues.com/visit/cotswoldinn

June 18 - Attend the USA Slovenia game at Ellis Park Stadium.

June 19 - Cori and Brent depart for USA. The rest of our crew drive down to the Drakensberg Mountains. We will be staying in the Central Drakensberg area near Winterton at The Wits End.

http://witsend.co.za/

June 20

June 21 - Drive over to Durban, We will be staying at The Riviera Hotel in the central business district of Durban.

http://www.sa-venues.com/visit/rivierahoteldurban/

June 22 - See Korea vs Nigeria at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

June 23 - Lawrence and Nate depart for USA. Kim returns to Lesotho.

June 24 - Aaron, Lisa and Matt head out for the USA.

Passport info

U.S. citizens are required to present a valid passport that has at least two blank visa pages before pages 22, 23 and 24 in their passport and the passport should not expire within six months of the last day you are in the country. U.S. citizens are not required to secure a visa in advance of travel to the country. You may stay in the country without a visa for a stay of up to 90 days.

Everybody look at your passport and make sure it doesn't expire before December 2010!

Sike!

Yeah... whoops. Hold please.

Know Your Enemy

Good rundown of the Super Eagles here. "Feed the yak and he will score!"


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/01/11/wcup.nigeria/index.html