Electricity

These days electricity in remote areas tends to be a good deal more reliable than it used to be.

The vast majority of travellers should experience little or no inconvenience due to interruptions to supplies. Nevertheless you do need to be prepared for potential power outages.

Similarly you need to understand that some more remote lodges and camps may only offer centralised charging facilities, may not operate power around the clock and may not permit you to use high current devices such as hair-dryers.

Some few bivouac camps do not have any electricity, but usually offer charging facilities in vehicles.

Always bring multiple spare batteries to provide you with at least 48hrs of operation for your cameras and other critical devices, more if you are on longer treks or expeditions to remote locations.

Voltage and frequency

Electricity across Africa is 230Vac and 50Hz. These days most electronic devices are designed to cope with this, but do check your equipment specifications if your voltage or frequency differs back home, notably travellers from USA and Canada.

Power outlets and plugs

Several different power outlet formats are used across Africa.

Although most lodges provide plug converters for the use of guests, we strongly recommend that you carry your own. These should be purchased in advance of travel as they are often not available in country and are often out of stock at airports.

There are some excellent universal plug adaptors on the market now, some with multiple USB ports too, but most do not include the South African three round pin socket (type M) format, so you will probably need to buy that separately (that’s the one that is often unavailable at the airport when you need it).

Countries

In Argentina the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C) and the three flat pins in a triangular pattern (type I), both 230V/50Hz.

In Bolivia the socket outlets are a mix of the two flat pins pattern (type A) and the two round pins pattern (type C), both 230V/50Hz.

In Botswana the socket outlets are almost universally the British three rectangular pin variety (type G), although you may also encounter the South African three round pin socket (type M), both 230V/50Hz.

In Brazil the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C) and the three round pins pattern (type N). Supplies are a mix of 127V/60Hz and 220V/60Hz.

In Chile the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C) and the three round pins in a triangular pattern (type L), both 230V/50Hz.

In Congo the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C), the three round pin pattern (type D) and the earthed two round pin pattern (type E), all 230V/50Hz.

In Ecuador the socket outlets are a mix of the two flat pin pattern (type A) and the three flat pins in a triangular pattern (type B), both 120V/60Hz.

In Egypt the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C) and the earthed two round pin variety (type F), both 230V/50Hz.

In Ethiopia the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C) and the earthed two round pin variety (type F), both 230V/50Hz.

In Galapagos the socket outlets are a mix of the two flat pin pattern (type A) and the three flat pins in a triangular pattern (type B), both 120V/60Hz.

In India the socket outlets are a mix of the three round pin pattern (type D), the two round pin pattern (type C) and the three round pin pattern (type M), all 230V/50Hz.

In Kenya the socket outlets are almost universally the British three rectangular pin variety (type G), 230V/50Hz.

In Madagascar the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C) and the earthed two round pin variety (type E), both 230V/50Hz.

In Malawi the socket outlets are almost universally the British three rectangular pin variety (type G), although you may also encounter South African three round pin sockets (type M), both 230V/50Hz.

In Maldives the socket outlets are a mix of the six patterns (types C D G J K L), all 230V/50Hz.

In Mauritius the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C) and the British three rectangular pin variety (type G), both 230V/50Hz.

In Mozambique the socket outlets are almost universally the European two round pin variety (type C), although you may also encounter South African three round pin sockets (type M), both 230V/50Hz.

In Namibia the socket outlets are largely the South African three round pin variety (type M), although you may also encounter European two round pin sockets (type C) and British three rectangular pin sockets (type G), all 230V/50Hz.

In Nepal the socket outlets are a mix of the three round pin pattern (type D), the two round pin pattern (type C) and the three round pin pattern (type M), all 230V/50Hz.

In Peru the socket outlets are a mix of the two flat pin pattern (type A), the three flat pin pattern (type B) and the two round pin pattern (type C), all 230V/50Hz.

In Rwanda the socket outlets are almost universally the European two round pin variety (type C), although you may also encounter South African three round pin sockets (type M), both 230V/50Hz.

In Seychelles the socket outlets are a mix of the British three rectangular pin (type G), European two round pin (type C) and South African three round pin (type M), all 230V/50Hz.

In South Africa the socket outlets are a mix of two round pins (type C) and the South African three round pin variety (type M and N), 230V/50Hz. Occasionally you may encounter an outlet with three round pins (type D), all 230V/50Hz.

In Sri Lanka the socket outlets are almost universally the British three rectangular pin variety (type G) and the three round round pin pattern (type D), both 230V/50Hz.

In Sudan the socket outlets are a mix of the two round pin pattern (type C) and the three round pin pattern (type D), both 230V/50Hz.

In Tanzania the socket outlets are almost universally the British three rectangular pin variety (type G), 230V/50Hz.

In Uganda the socket outlets are almost universally the British three rectangular pin variety (type G), 230V/50Hz.

In Zambia the socket outlets are almost universally the British three rectangular pin variety (type G), although you may also encounter South African three round pin sockets (type M), both 230V/50Hz.

In Zimbabwe the socket outlets are almost universally the British three rectangular pin variety (type G), although you may also encounter South African three round pin sockets (type M), both 230V/50Hz.

Mains grid electricity

Most lodges in towns, cities and more developed rural areas are usually on mains or utility electricity supply and expect to offer 24 hour electricity.

However in many areas mains power is not particularly reliable and back-up generators are widely used. This can cause temporary outages and, in some locations, considerable noise nuisance.

In our experience electricity can never quite be taken for granted anywhere, you should always be ready and prepared to accept power outages and the inconvenience that they can bring about.

For example when a lodge switches to back-up power it may only be able to bring essential services such as lighting back online, whilst heavier current devices such as air-conditioners may be left without power.

Also some lodges may choose to only run their back-up systems for peak hours and switch them off at night, leaving you having to go without fans and air-conditioning, which can be very uncomfortable.

Generally speaking this type of inconvenience is more likely the further you go down the price spectrum. At high and very high priced places you can usually expect full power outage cover, whilst at lower priced accommodation you simply have to be grateful for anything. In the middle can be pot luck.

We estimate that over 99% of visitors do not encounter serious power difficulties during their trip. But for those who do it really can be quite disruptive.

Off-grid electricity

The vast majority of lodges and camps in safari and rural locations do not have access to mains electricity and instead run power from generators or solar installations. The larger the lodge the more robust these electrical systems are likely to be.

So a fifty room safari hotel is likely to have a serious diesel generator capable of powering all manner of high current devices including air-conditioners, water heaters and hair-dryers. In this type of facility all power is likely to be 24hrs.

A smaller camp is more likely to have a solar power installation which is only capable of powering low current devices such as lighting and electronics. Inverters convert the power to the usual 230Vac/50Hz, so devices can be plugged in for charging in the usual way. Power outlets are sometimes not available in the rooms, but are instead available at a central charging station. Power is less likely to be 24hrs. High current devices such as air-conditioners and hair-dryers will most likely not be supported.

Ironically non-mains electricity tends to be a good deal more reliable than mains power since it is often the utilities which are the weakest link in the supply chain.

Batteries

Assuming that you have equipped yourself with suitable plug converters, the next most important thing is to ensure that you have sufficient spare batteries for your electronic devices such as cameras.

You need to plan for the worst. We always carry enough battery capacity to last us through at least 48hrs, which allows for a night stop where there is no electricity for whatever reason. If you are on a multiple day trek then you may need to carry even more capacity. It is probably also worth factoring in the possibility that one battery set will become lost or broken.

You also need to consider the possibility that battery charging may only be available during daylight hours, when you may be out on safari. So you need to be able to leave a set of batteries back in camp on charge, whilst you are out with another in the camera and at least one other in reserve.

As for the possibility of your charging device failing, we always carry a spare one of those too, but in many years of hard reconnaissance work we can only recall one occasion where this paid off. Even then we could probably have borrowed time on another guest’s charger since our cameras are all from commonly used manufacturers.

Back up items

Please refer to the packing lists page, which includes items related to power outages such as matches, candles, torches/flashlights, batteries etc.

Link : Packing lists