Melbourne woman killed on Mozambique diving tour

[Shaun Delport]

Hi Wingy,
If you knew me personally you would shudder to think that I could suggest that it was her fault, never ever!
There is no innuendo. Just common sense suggestions for personal safety or group safety. As I stated before, use the suggestions as a guideline, not cast in stone, depending on the country you are planning to visit.
I am currently in Egypt. I dive independently.

 

[Wingy]

Mystery surrounds Mozambique death of Elly Warren

Some more information on Elly's death...Shaun, I accept your explanation and apologise if my comments seemed harsh - Everyone has their own travel safety guidelines and obviously Elly made a mistake somewhere that cost her life. The fact there are huge discrepancies between what the local police are saying and her accomodation are saying leaves a lot of room for suspicion - I would not trust any African police on any level in any African country. Corruption is part of daily life, I factored in a bribes per day amount while in Madagascar. I guess the crux of the issue here is not trusting anyone where ever you travel. I have had one attempted assault in years of travelling (wrong lady to try and assault, my potential attacker needed medical attention and I'm sure he won't forget having his trachea squeezed and balls kneed) happened in Bora Bora of all places.

There is still too much misinformation to say what happened to Elly, it appears she did make mistakes even though she was a very seasoned traveller. RIP Elly - I hope for her parents sake there is an answer one day but I feel there will never be one.

This could've happened to her anywhere, Laos Cambodia Vietnam Australia...where ever it happened it's still a tragedy. I still would not trust African police any more than I would trust a rabid dog. Travel anywhere has its own risks...my worldwide travel insurance policy as of last week does not cover North or South America, but it covers the entire continent of Africa. So according to risk analysis done by insurance companies as a single woman travelling (I'm currently in Dresden) I'm safer in PNG or Nigeria than I am in the USA.

 

[Shaun Delport]

Wingy, apology accepted but not necessary. I also get mad when I read such articles and in reading your response to my initial post, I realised it was reaction and emotion. I apologise if my OP seemed as you interpreted it. I am merely trying to give people a heads-up when touring Africa.
Yes, there seems to be discrepancies there. Our young friend Nick, mentioned above, was also found in a toilet by the public. So sad, so young.
I have worked, lived and travelled 15 countries on this continent and as you say, "expediency fees" as I prefer to call them, should be budgeted into your expenses so as to share the wealth as it were. Madagascar has also been in the news of late.
Tourists to Africa are, unfortunately, targeted by less desirable elements in the countries as we are perceived to be "rich'. Little knowing that most of us work our butts off to travel and travel on a shoe-string.

I feel safer in Southern Red Sea, Egypt, than I have in any other country I have visited.

 

[tridacna]

Problem here is that this is a global issue. And your OP painted this with a narrow African only brush. I don't trust the police in ANY South American country, most Asian countries and if you're not of puritan descent, especially not in many places in the good 'ol USA.

 

[drrich2]

I appreciate the info. on the risks of traveling Africa; interestingly, it's not on my dive radar, but I've toyed with the idea of someday going on one of those African safari trips. This type of info. is good for some people accustomed to using to either cruise ship style trips, A.I. resorts, dive club trips or solo or family trips to safer, closer to home (for me, Caribbean) destinations, who might decide to head off farther afield one day.

Not every dive report I read incorporates risk assessment, obviously, but I see a few that report things giving me that 'I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto' vibe. Not just Africa; someone posting about a trip to PNG comes to mind. To people who travel a lot in less touristy 'white-washed experience' type places, that might all seem common sense. But if you haven't, I imagine it'd be easy to blunder into trouble.

Richard.

 

[Dan]

You can't generalize the whole Africa being unsafe. You just need to understand the culture & what area to avoid. I feel safe when I was in Tanzania. I went there twice. 1st time was doing a week of safari in several national parks there (Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro crater, Serengeti, etc.) & a week of diving in Zanzibar. 2nd time was climbing Kilimanjaro & diving in Pemba. Diving in Zanzibar & Pemba are OK, better than Caribbean, but it ain't Indonesia. The people there are very friendly to me.

 

[WetPup]

Honestly, in the last 10 years that I've been doing work travel to the African continent (including Nigeria, DRC, Mali, Ivory Coast, etc.), the only place I've ever actually had my life threatened? Jo'burg.

Despite taking every reasonable precaution, the proverbial can hit the fan anywhere.

 

[Dan]

Honestly, in the last 10 years that I've been doing work travel to the African continent (including Nigeria, DRC, Mali, Ivory Coast, etc.), the only place I've ever actually had my life threatened? Jo'burg.

Despite taking every reasonable precaution, the proverbial can hit the fan anywhere.

South Africa?

 

[WetPup]

South Africa?

Yes. Had a gun pointed at my head in Johannesburg in 2010 - in the "safe" part of town, before anyone questions it.

 

[Dan]

Yes. Had a gun pointed at my head in Johannesburg in 2010 - in the "safe" part of town, before anyone questions it.

That's terrible. So, how did you get out of that situation?