Terms & Conditions

Table of Contents

1. Preamble
   1. DiscoverAfrica.com provides clients with travel and/or other services as an agent for and on behalf of principals and/or other agents engaged in or associated with the travel industry, including inter alia, airlines, tour operators, hotels, shipping companies, car hire and other providers of air, land, sea or any other travel arrangements, products or services (collectively hereinafter referred to as “the suppliers”). DiscoverAfrica.com will provide, on request, the identity, terms and conditions of the suppliers relevant to the service being provided for your booking.
2. Liability
   1. DiscoverAfrica.com represents airlines, tour operators, service suppliers and other travel organizations as an agent only and accordingly, on receipt by DiscoverAfrica.com of any booking (which booking shall be deemed to constitute your acceptance of these terms and conditions) DiscoverAfrica.com shall transmit any such booking to the supplier concerned and endeavor to secure all reservations and arrangements promptly.
   2. All vouchers, receipts and tickets are issued subject to the terms and conditions specified by the suppliers. Acceptance of the vouchers or tickets and/or utilizing the services comprising any DiscoverAfrica.com tour or package is deemed to constitute your acceptance of the suppliers’ terms and conditions.
   3. Whilst DiscoverAfrica.com will take reasonable steps to secure your reservations promptly and to ensure your comfort and safety, participation in any tours or packages offered by the suppliers (including transportation to and from any venues) is at your own risk. Accordingly, you and any person on whose behalf you have booked, will have no claims (whether for loss, damage, injury, accident, delay or inconvenience to any person and/or their luggage or other property) against DiscoverAfrica.com, its employees agents and assigns (including any holding, parent, subsidiary, affiliated or associated company or any representative thereof), howsoever such loss may occur and whether the same shall arise from or be occasioned by the negligence of the indemnified parties or otherwise.
   4. The suppliers may be indemnified against any liability for any damage or loss (howsoever arising) that you may suffer in that they act as agents themselves or have contracted out of liability and it is therefore recommended that you take out adequate insurance cover.
3. Bookings, change of arrangements, routes and prices
   1. “The booking” or “the reservation” refers to part or all of the travel arrangements for transportation, accommodation, sightseeing and other linked travel services made on behalf of a client with the suppliers, and excludes services of a peripheral nature as described or similar to those described in Clause 6.
   2. DiscoverAfrica.com will endeavor to promptly confirm the status of any booking in writing. Where DiscoverAfrica.com is unable to do so, failure to provide written confirmation shall not negate the validity and/or conditions of the booking, nor will DiscoverAfrica.com’s failure to do so constitute an act of negligence on its part.
   3. In the event of there being an unscheduled extension to the booking caused by flight delay, bad weather, strike or any other cause that is beyond the control of DiscoverAfrica.com, it is understood that expenses relating to such unscheduled extensions (e.g., hotel accommodation) will be for your account.
   4. In the event that any supplier is unable to provide the service booked on your behalf, DiscoverAfrica.com will endeavor to offer you alternative arrangements of similar classification and in the same area, wherever possible. Should you be unwilling or unable to accept the alternative arrangements offered by DiscoverAfrica.com, any refunds to which you may be entitled is subject to the terms and conditions of the relevant supplier. Any refund in respect of any commission paid or payable to DiscoverAfrica.com shall be at the sole discretion of DiscoverAfrica.com.
   5. Whilst every effort is made to adhere to the confirmed itineraries, DiscoverAfrica.com reserves the right to effect changes should this be deemed necessary. In such cases, where an alteration to the tour itinerary is necessitated by, for example, a change in weather conditions, this does not constitute any ground for a refund.
   6. Unless full payment is due in terms of clause 4.2 hereunder at the time of making the booking, all bookings must be accompanied by a deposit equal to 30% of the quoted booking price or a guarantee for such amount made payable to DiscoverAfrica.com. Any such deposit is strictly non-refundable. The deposit constitutes part of the booking conditions and DiscoverAfrica.com reserves the right, without prejudice to any other rights that it may have, to cancel any booking in the event of the deposit or any part thereof not being received by the due date specified therefore. Please note that the deposit percentage may differ, depending on the type of services you book. Flights will attract 100% deposit, and villas will attract 50% deposit.
   7. The quoted booking price is based on tour prices, fares, hotel prices, land costs and other relevant costs prevailing at the date of DiscoverAfrica.com’s quotation. You agree that in the event of there being any increase in any such costs prior to receipt by DiscoverAfrica.com of the final payment as contemplated in clause 4.1 below, such increase shall be for your account (unless otherwise agreed to by DiscoverAfrica.com or the supplier concerned) and shall be payable, without deduction or set-off, simultaneously with the final payment contemplated in clause 4.1 below.
   8. Any increase in the booking price occasioned by the fluctuation in rates of exchange between the date of quotation and the date of final payment in terms of clause 4.1 below shall similarly be for your account. Any increase occasioned by the fluctuation in the rates of exchange shall be payable, without deduction or set-off, simultaneously with the final payment contemplated in clause 4.1 below.
4. Payment and additional charges
   1. Final payment for any booking must be irrevocably credited to the account of DiscoverAfrica.com at least 60 days prior to the date of departure, unless specific arrangements have been made with and confirmed in writing by DiscoverAfrica.com. Please note that there may be suppliers who require full pre-payment more than 60 days prior to travel, especially over peak seasons.
   2. Any bookings made less than 60 days prior to the departure date must be accompanied by the full quoted and confirmed price, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by DiscoverAfrica.com.
   3. Final invoicing is based upon the quoted and confirmed price, less any deposit paid, plus any additional charges (including but not limited to any disbursements incurred by DiscoverAfrica.com for and on your behalf) that may have accrued in terms of this agreement. Payment of any such invoice and/or statement must be made in full, without deduction or set-off, on the due date therefore, notwithstanding cancellation of all or any part of the services booked by DiscoverAfrica.com.
   4. Interest at 2% above the current prime bank overdraft rate will automatically be applied to all overdue amounts.
   5. Aside from passport, visa and other peripheral service fees (additional fees) as contemplated in clause 6 hereunder, DiscoverAfrica.com reserves the right to claim the late booking charges, communications, consultation, administration and amendment fees where applicable.
   6. Banking details:
      Account Name:    Discover Africa
      Bank Name:    Nedbank South Africa
      Physical Address:    42 St. George’s Mall, Cape Town 8001
      Branch code:    198765
      Account Number:    106 388 0483
      Swift Code:    NEDSZAJJ
5. Insurance
   1. DiscoverAfrica.com recommends that you (and each member of your party) obtain comprehensive travel     insurance covering cancellation, curtailment, medical expenses, emergency travel, and personal accident, personal baggage and money loss. This should be arranged at the time of payment of the deposit in terms of clause 3.6 or full payment in terms of clause 4.2 to cover you for cancellation from that time. You acknowledge that it is your responsibility to take travel insurance and that the cost thereof will be for your account.
   2. It is your responsibility to ensure that adequate insurance cover is obtained. DiscoverAfrica.com will not be liable in any way whatsoever should you fail to do so.
6. Peripheral requirements
   1. DiscoverAfrica.com will endeavor to assist you in obtaining or meeting the requirements for passports, visas, health documents, insurance, use of credit cards, customs and immigration regulations as well as other peripheral requirements or services falling outside the actual travel arrangements made with the suppliers and referred to as “the booking” or “the reservation”, Notwithstanding the aforementioned, due to the constant changing nature of such peripheral requirements and services, DiscoverAfrica.com will not     be liable for ensuring that these requirements and services are provided correctly, promptly or at all, nor the accuracy of any information or any lack of information relating to such requirements and/or services.
7. Cancellation
   1. DiscoverAfrica.com will endeavor to provide the services required by the customer, but in the event of     cancellation of the booking for any reason whatsoever, partially or in full, by or on behalf of you, DiscoverAfrica.com reserves the right to claim the services, administration, communication and cancellation charges which will include, but not be limited to, any charges levied by any supplier against DiscoverAfrica.com in respect of such booking.
   2. Cancellation of a booking must be made in writing. You agree that if the cancellation is received:
      1. 60 days or more weeks prior to the departure date, 70% (seventy percent) of the total confirmed price for costs”) will be refunded to you;
      2. more than 30 days but less than 60 days prior to the departure date, 50% (fifty percent) of the total vacation costs will be refunded to you; and
      3. Less than 30 days prior to the departure date, the total vacation costs will be forfeited by you.
   3. Any cancellation of any air ticket for and on your behalf will be subject to the relevant airlines applicable terms and conditions applicable to the fare type chosen by you. You acknowledge and agree that any     cancelled airline tickets presented for refund will be subject to delays of at least 8 weeks. DiscoverAfrica.com will endeavor to expedite any such refund owing to you but will only be obliged to refund any such amounts to you on receipt thereof from the relevant airline.
   4. DiscoverAfrica.com reserves the right to discontinue and summarily cancel any booking in respect of which payment has fallen in arrears, and in the event of this right being exercised, the full balance still owing shall immediately become due and payable on demand.
   5. The amount of days’ notice given by the client is calculated as date of receipt by DiscoverAfrica.com of a client’s cancellation request, less the date of embarkation by the client. For the avoidance of any doubt, “embarkation” shall mean the date on which a client is booked to commence travel, an excursion or any activity for which the services are booked, whichever is the greater.
   6. Refunds shall not be given to clients who arrive early, late or who do not show for a booking. In the event of     you, during the course of a booking, terminate it for whatever reason; no refund shall be made unless with the prior written approval of a member of DiscoverAfrica.com.
8. Interpretation, law applicable and jurisdiction
   1. Words implying the singular shall include the plural and vice versa. Words importing one gender shall include any other and reference to natural persons shall include legal entities and vice versa.
   2. This agreement is governed by the laws of the Republic of South African and you hereby submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the South African Courts.
   3. The parties agree that save to the extent stated in this Agreement, no conditions, warranties or representation, whether oral or written and whether express or implied whether by statute or otherwise, shall apply hereto.
   4. No indulgence, leniency, or extension of time which DiscoverAfrica.com may grant or show to you shall in any way prejudice DiscoverAfrica.com or preclude DiscoverAfrica.com from exercising any of its rights against you in the future.
   5. The Parties hereby consent to the jurisdiction of the appropriate Magistrate’s Court in regard to any action and/or proceedings based on/or arising from these Standard Conditions of Business.
   6. This document reflects the only and full agreement between you and DiscoverAfrica.com and any variation and/or extension thereof shall not be valid unless agreed to both by the Parties in writing.
   7. In the event of a clash and/or uncertainty in meaning and/or interpretation between this and any other document issued by DiscoverAfrica.com, this document will always have preference.
9. Flight information
   1. All airlines require the full names of passengers as stated in their passports.
   2. After air tickets have been issued, any changes will be subject to the relevant Airline’s terms and conditions applicable to that fare type.
   3. It is your responsibility to check and correct any errors in respect of your flight reservations which appear on the Customer Confirmation Form and Customer Booking Form. DiscoverAfrica.com accepts no liability for incorrect details provided by you.
   4. Airfares are only guaranteed once final payment has been received and the air tickets have been issued.
   5. If any airline levied additional or increased airport taxes and fuel charges at any stage prior to your flight, you agree that such an increase will be for your account and shall be payable to DiscoverAfrica.com or to the Airline, if instructed to do so.
   6. DiscoverAfrica.com cannot guarantee any airline seating or meal requests. We will however assist you as far as possible in this regard.
   7. All of your baggage and personal belongings are at all times your responsibility. DiscoverAfrica.com will not accept any liability for your misplaced baggage or any loss or damage to your baggage or personal effects.
   8. Should you cancel your air ticket, the cancellation will be subject to the relevant airline’s terms and conditions applicable to that fare type.
   9. Should a refund be granted by the relevant airline, it may be subject to a delay. DiscoverAfrica.com will only be obliged to refund any amounts once it receives the amounts from the relevant airline.
   10. Air tickets which are unused for more than one year (International tickets) and six months (Domestic tickets) from the date of their issue are considered as expired and must be submitted to the relevant airline for their authority to refund. DiscoverAfrica.com will make every effort to assist you in obtaining this refund, but cannot provide you with any guarantees in this regard.
   11. DiscoverAfrica.com will provide you with an e-ticket reference number together with a full itinerary once the air ticket has been paid for in full.
   12. In the event of an involuntary change, neither DiscoverAfrica.com nor the relevant airline will be liable for any costs arising from the involuntary changes.
10. General
    1. No amendment, additional or consensual cancellation of this Agreement will be binding unless it is recorded in writing.
    2. These terms and conditions together with the customer booking form and customer confirmation form contain all their terms and conditions of the agreement between you and DiscoverAfrica.com. Make sure that everything you have agreed to has been recorded in this agreement. If there is any conflict between the provisions of these documents, the provisions of the customer booking form will prevail.
    3. If any provisions of this Agreement is found by a court of law to be invalid or void, such provisions will be severed from the remaining provisions, without affecting the remainder of the agreement.
    4. Neither party shall lose any of its rights under this Agreement if it does not immediately and in every instance insist on them.
    5. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa and shall be enforced by the courts within the Republic of South Africa.
    6. You consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court, notwithstanding the fact that the amount involved may exceed the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court.
    7. If DiscoverAfrica.com has to bring legal proceedings against you to enforce payments of amounts owed to it, you shall be responsible to pay costs DiscoverAfrica.com incurs in collecting the payment.
    8. You shall not be entitled to cede any of your rights or assign any of your obligations under this Agreement.
    9. If DiscoverAfrica.com is prevented from carrying out all or any of its obligations under this Agreement because of an event beyond its control, DiscoverAfrica.com shall be relieved of its obligations under the Agreement during the period that such an event and its consequences continue, but only to the extent so prevented and shall not be liable for any delay or failure in the performance of any such obligations or loss or damages which you may suffer due to such delay or failure.
    10. Updated versions of this Agreement may be sent to you from time to time as and when our policies and procedures change and when external factors such as legislative updates require. Please make sure that you read these amended terms and conditions carefully and raise any queries that you may have timeously.
11. Addresses for notices and legal process
    1. The parties choose the following physical addresses at which documents in legal proceedings in connection with this Agreement may be served (i.e. their domicilia citandi et executandi) and which any written notices in connection with this Agreement may be addressed:
       DiscoverAfrica.com: 1st Floor, 38 Hout Street, Cape Town 8001
       Client: The address provided by you on the Customer Booking form

       Either of the parties may change this address to another address, by way of a notice to the other party to this Agreement, provided that such a notice is received at least 7 days prior to such a change taking effect.

12. Confidentiality and communication
    1. DiscoverAfrica.com undertakes to take all reasonable and necessary steps to protect your personal information.
    2. You authorize DiscoverAfrica.com to electronically record and store the following information for the purpose of communicating information requested by you and in order to provide you with access to restricted pages on the DiscoverAfrica.com website and related websites.
       1. Your full name(s) and surname(s) and those of your travel companions.
       2. Your contact telephone numbers and those of your travel companions.
       3. Your electronic mail address and those of your travel companions.
       4. Your IP address and those of your travel companions.
       5. Your user selected username and password and those of your travel companions.
       6. Your non-personal browsing habits and click patterns.
       7. Your profile information and those of your travel companions.
       8. Your travel information and those of your travel companions.
13. Complaints and dispute resolution
    1. Any complaints should be telephonically reported to DiscoverAfrica.com at the time of the incident and should be followed up in writing to DiscoverAfrica.com, marked for the attention of the Product Manager, no later than 30 days after the incident has occurred.
    2. Complaints should be forwarded to PO Box 31147, Tokai, 7966, Cape Town, South Africa or alternatively to customercare@discoverafrica.com
    3. DiscoverAfrica.com will acknowledge your complaint and endeavor to investigate it with the relevant service provider within a 30 day period, after which we will provide you with feedback.
    4. Although DiscoverAfrica.com will make every effort to assist in the resolution of the complaint, it cannot guarantee the satisfactory resolution of complaints for services and products outside of its control and for which it is not responsible.
14. Consent to risk assumed
    1. You hereby consent to the risks inherent in “wildlife” adventure travel” and travel to an African country, and warrant that you are aware of such risks and undertake the tours, safaris, wildlife and other excursions in connection with the services with full knowledge and appreciation thereof and at your own risk.
15. DiscoverAfrica.com acting as an agent only
    1. In terms of these standard trading conditions, and any contract/s concluded pursuant hereto, DiscoverAfrica.com acts as an agent only for and on behalf of the client/you in procuring the services. DiscoverAfrica.com shall under no circumstances be liable for the acts and omissions, loss, damage, accident or delay caused by the relevant principal concerned.

DiscoverAfrica.com acts as an agent only and is not liable for any loss, damage, accident, delay or inconvenience caused by the principal.