Terms & Conditions

Booking Terms & Conditions Website Terms & Conditions

If you use this website, you agree to the following terms and conditions:

COPYRIGHT

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF GOODS AND/OR SERVICES

Secret Africa is a business in the safari and travel industry that books and plans bespoke luxury safaris to Southern and East Africa.

CUSTOMER PRIVACY POLICY

Secret Africa shall take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information of users. For the purpose of this clause, “personal information” shall be defined as detailed in the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA). The PAIA may be downloaded from: http://www.polity.org.za/attachment.php?aa_id=3569.

For more please visit our privacy policy.

DISCLAIMER

Although Secret Africa endeavours to provide accurate, up-to-date and truthful information on this site, neither Secret Africa nor any of its employees, agents and associates make any representations or give any warranties, whether expressly, tacitly or implied, as to the operation of the site, the information, content, materials and products included and available from this site.

Secret Africa, its employees, agents and associates will not be liable for any damage of whatsoever nature arising or resulting from the use of or inability to use this site or the information contained hereon, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive and consequential damage.

AGREEMENT

The information contained on this site is an invitation to do business and not an offer. If you forward an offer to us, Secret Africa shall indicate their acceptance thereof by return mail. Secret Africa acts herein as an agent for our respective business partners and therefore any agreement resulting from the acceptance of an order is deemed to be an agreement between the relevant business partner and yourself.

PAYMENT OPTIONS ACCEPTED

Payment may be made via Visa, MasterCard, Diners or American Express Cards or by bank transfer into the Secret Africa bank account, the details of which will be provided on request.

CARD ACQUIRING AND SECURITY

Card transactions will be acquired for Secret Africa via PayGate (Pty) Ltd who are the approved payment gateway for all South African Acquiring Banks. DPO PayGate uses the strictest form of encryption, namely Secure Socket Layer 3 (SSL3) and no Card details are stored on the website. Users may go to www.paygate.co.za to view their security certificate and security policy.

CUSTOMER DETAILS SEPARATE FROM CARD DETAILS

Customer details will be stored by Secret Africa separately from card details which are entered by the client on PayGate’s secure site. For more detail on PayGate refer to www.paygate.co.za.

MERCHANT OUTLET COUNTRY AND TRANSACTION CURRENCY

The merchant outlet country at the time of presenting payment options to the cardholder is South Africa. Transaction currency is South African Rand (ZAR).

RESPONSIBILITY

Secret Africa takes responsibility for all aspects relating to the transaction including sale of goods and services sold on this website, customer service and support, dispute resolution and delivery of goods.

COUNTRY OF DOMICILE

This website is governed by the laws of South Africa and Secret Africa chooses as its domicilium citandi et executandi for all purposes under this agreement, whether in respect of court process, notice, or other documents or communication of whatsoever nature.

South African Postal Address: Workshop17, 17 Dock Road, V&A Waterfront, 8005

VARIATION

Secret Africa may, in its sole discretion, change this agreement or any part thereof at any time without notice.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Deposit and final payment:
A non-refundable deposit is required on confirmation of services, with the balance to be paid not later than 60 days prior to commencement of services.

The following exceptions apply:
a. Should any of the suppliers’ conditions vary from the above
b. Should seasonal deposits be required
c. Should specific permits be required (such as gorilla trekking)
d. Should bookings be made less than 60 days prior to arrival in which case full payment is required immediately.

In these instances we will stipulate on confirmation if any additional / specific deposits are required by suppliers and if these are non-refundable.

CANCELLATIONS

Cancellations are only effective on receipt of written notification.

Should you have confirmed a reservation in writing and cancelled earlier than 61 days before your arrival, 20% of the full accommodation will still be charged.

If the cancellation is made within 60 days, then the full amount is payable.

In the event of early departure, the full duration of the booked experience will still apply.

RETURN AND REFUNDS POLICY

The provision of goods and services by Secret Africa is subject to availability.

Whilst the company uses its best endeavors to ensure that all anticipated accommodation is available as planned, there shall be no claim of any nature whatsoever against Secret Africa (the Company) for a refund either in the whole or part, if any accommodation or excursion is unavailable and a reasonable alternative is not found. If the guest is unable to use any service provided in the itinerary, then there are no refunds due.

*Banking Fees and Administrative fees (5%) will be deducted from all refunds.

CHANGES TO ITINERARY

Although every effort is made to adhere to schedules it should be borne in mind that the Company reserves the right and in fact is obliged to occasionally change routes and camps on safaris as dictated by changing conditions. Such conditions may be brought about by seasonal rainfall on bush tracks, airfields and in game areas, by game migrations from one region to another, or airline or other booking problems, etc.

INSURANCE

It is a condition of booking, and the sole responsibility of each guest, to ensure that they carry the correct comprehensive travel and medical insurance to cover their travel, as well as any dependants, for the duration of their journey with Secret Africa.

This insurance should include cover in respect of, but not limited to, the following eventualities:

i. cancellation or curtailment of trip,
ii. emergency evacuation expenses,
iii. medical expenses,
iv. repatriation expenses,
v. damage/theft/loss of personal luggage, money and goods.

Secret Africa, including their representatives, employees and agents will take no responsibility for any costs, losses incurred or suffered by the guest, or guest’s dependants or travelling companions, with regards to, but not limited to, any of the above mentioned eventualities. Guests will be charged directly by the relevant service providers for any emergency services they may require, and may find themselves in a position of being unable to access such services should they not be carrying the relevant insurance cover.

If you anticipate an insurance claim upon your return, be sure to document as accurately as possible any accident, injury or loss. Doctor’s notes and police reports will aid any claim.

PLEASE NOTE

The price quoted is subject to change in the event of any unforeseen increases in fuel costs including currency fluctuations (relevant to aircraft or transfer services) and/or Government levies/taxes.

Services are quoted and invoiced in different currencies depending on the currency of the underlying services. Travel to most African countries is mainly quoted in US$ whilst South African services are mainly quoted and invoiced in South African Rand. Regional and domestic commercial air is quoted in various currencies depending on the airlines, tax rulings and routings.
The rate of exchange can only be determined on date of payment of invoice. In order to provide an indication of total price in GBP we convert the base currency quote to GBP using the current rate of exchange. Please note this may be subject to adjustment based on the rate of exchange on the date of payment.

Per above prior to confirming the booking, each guest must take out comprehensive travel, medical, cancellation, curtailment and default insurance for the duration of their trip. Due to the remote areas in which we operate, it is vital that all guests are covered for emergencies and other unforeseen circumstances. We cannot be held responsible for any guest travelling without insurance.

The relevant cancellation policy applies should the guest fail to join or start their journey for any reason, including airline delays or missed connections. Please ensure adequate travel insurance is in place for this eventuality.

The travel itinerary may include camps/lodges that are situated in Malaria areas. Please consult a general practitioner, pharmacist or travel clinic, and establish what precautions will be required. Please also discuss all other travel related medical questions with your general practitioner prior to travel.

Due to the logistics of travelling on a safari to remote areas, we strongly recommend that all guests read the literature provided. Should there be any further queries, please feel free to contact us.

All visitors to Southern and East Africa require a valid passport (valid for at least 6 months after departure) together with onward travel documents and sufficient funds for the duration of the stay. Sufficient blank VISA pages in your passport (not endorsement pages) are also required by certain immigration authorities; please ensure that you have at least 3 blank, double facing pages in your passport prior to travel. If there are insufficient blank pages in your passport then entry into a country could be denied.

All passport holders should verify with their travel agent or relevant consulate concerning visa entry requirements. If they are extending their journey to other countries, please establish entry requirements for those countries as well. Applications, costs and relevant documentation are the responsibility of the traveler. Secret Africa, their staff and their agents, cannot be held liable for any visas or travel documents not held by the guest.

Please provide your full names for us to book flights etc. These names MUST match the passengers’ passport details. The name must be FULL first name (no nickname or abbreviated names) and FULL surname (family name). If this is not 100% correct the airlines could deny boarding the flight. We require these names at the time of booking in order for the bookings to be confirmed and vouchers to be created.

SECRET AFRICA CONTACT DETAILS

Company Physical Address:

Workshop17
17 Dock Road
V&A Waterfront
8005

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +27 21 204 6073