Bags broken into

So what do you do when you discover you've been robbed whilst on your travels?

It's a horrid feeling. For me, it's one of the ultimate violations of my privacy and my heckles are up just thinking about it. I landed in Livingstone from London via Jo'burg and immediately we went out to see the spectacle that is Vic Falls. It was only later back at the lodge that I discovered my bag had been broken into - my guess, this happened when transiting through Jo'burg airport. We'd flown South African Airlines and unfortunately their airport staff and baggage handlers have a terrible reputation for theft. I've heard countless stories where they unashamedly whip your things right from under your nose even whilst you're checking in!

This time it was just £100 worth of clothes pinched from my main hold luggage. I'd purposely used an old holdall roughed up from my time in Tanzania, the Sahara and Marrakech and the padlock was nothing special. Maybe I should have done without the padlock! I guess they thought we can break this easily so it's worth a shot...

Before leaving Zambia and heading across to Botswana, I went to the local police station in Livingstone and eventually got an interview with one of the staff and they made out a police report for me to use in my insurance claim when I returned home. Be patient, everything in Africa takes ages. I was there a good couple of hours just for some words on a piece of paper and a signature.

Unfortunately, weeks later, I woke up the morning after the deadline date for making my claim, remembered I still hadn't done it and lost my chance!

The situation could have been a whole lot worse, but I never carry important documents in my hold luggage. In fact, important docs are carried on my person and camera equipment in my back pack. I'm that careful.

Check out my next post where my carefulness lapsed and cost me, but once again I got away relatively lightly, this time in Dublin.