Trip to Africa

[ssj]

I submitted this question to another forum but thought that this would be a good place for it.

My wife and I are considering a trip to Africa in the next several years. Tanzania or Botswana. We'd like to schedule for the autumn in Africa. Weight and volume are likely to be at a premium. We will be flying from the US and probably crossing several international borders while on the ground. This will be a tourist trip, probably staying in tent lodges most of the time and hotels/motels the rest of the time. What would you suggest we take?

Steve

 

[spamel]

Are you likely to spend a night or three under the stars?? Dependent on the places you stay at, you may find they have mozzie nets and the like. I'm not sure as I went to Africa and stayed in a large 8 man tent for 6 weeks!!

Book an appointment with your doctor, get the shots you need (I'm not talking about alcoholic drinks here!!) and any anti malarial drugs you require. I think you need to be taking them for several weeks before the trip and after you get back aswell. Don't miss taking them, but if you accidentally do, just continue the course, don't take a weeks worth of pills for your tea!!! As a side, after 6 weeks in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo/Zaire, none of the brit soldiers had malaria, but 17 French soldiers went down big stylee!

Clothing wise, long trousers and shirts with long sleeves. This stops mozzies getting to you after dusk, helps stop the bites. A good set of boots if you plan to do any walking, break them in with a number of walks before you go, which should condition yourself for walking if you aren't used to it. Take a whole bunch of t-shirts for trade purposes, and if it has a logo on it, all the better. Flip flops to let your feet breathe at rest periods, sun hat and sun cream if you are a pale skin who burns, like me!!

I'll let a few more suggestions from others and have a good think myself about what else to take. It all depends really on exactly what you are doing when you get there, as circumstance will dictate what you need.

 

[anthonyyy]

Mosquito net - as good a one as you can get.

 

[Beer Monster]

There's been a couple on threads on this subject in the past. Heres one. I'm sure there are a couple of other threads but can't seem to find them at the moment.

Both Tanzania and Botswana are great places. Botswana is one of my favourite African countries as it has such diversity and is still fairly undeveloped. Deserts of the Kalahari, the green waterways of the Okavango Delta to the pure white open expanse of the Makgadikgadi slat pans. Fantastic .

If your looking for a clothing list here is what we reccomend to our clients, I've taken it straight from our info, this is aimed a people going to fairly luxurious tented camps where mosquito nets, towels etc are provided but can be adapted for more light weight trekking etc:-

________________

Remember, “less is best”. Light casual clothing, plus a sweater or jacket for the evenings, is all that is required during visits to the National Parks, except during winter months. Please bear in mind that laundry can be done for you in most camps, however due to cultural beliefs in many countries this does not include underwear.


Clothing checklist:
Comfortable walking boots or shoes (trainers are fine) – avoid white colour
Flip flops or similar
At least 2 set of clothing for safari:-

- Shorts/skirts or trousers (trousers that zip off into shorts are ideal)​

- long/short sleeved shirt, t-shirt or polo shirt in neutral colours​

- Bright colours (more visible to the animals) and white (hard to keep clean) are not recommended and army camouflage uniforms and hats are forbidden.​

Bush hat (wide brimmed)
Windbreaker / jacket
Sweaters / fleece for cold early morning game drives
Light rain gear for rainy season (olive green waterproof poncho is good)
1 or 2 long sleeve shirts for evenings in the lodge (protect from mosquitoes)
1 or 2 pairs of long trousers for evenings in the lodge
Underwear and socks
Swimsuit
Sports bra for the ladies (bumpy game drives!)


Other items to remember:
Visas, tickets, passports, money etc
Motion sickness pills
Sunglasses - good quality and providing good UV protection. Tinted fashion glasses are not good in strong light.
Wash kit
Sunblock/sun cream
Aftersun moisturising cream
Anti-histamine cream
A small personal medicine kit (please take advice from your doctor)
Penknife (not to be kept in your hand luggage!)
A good camera and plenty of film (if available, it is expensive in Africa)
BINOCULARS – ESSENTIAL (ideally one pair each) the best you can afford
Wet shave razor
Torch with spare batteries and spare bulb as these are often unobtainable
Insect repellent and anit malarials
Prescription glasses, due to dust and dryness problems experienced by contact users
Converter plug set
Re-charging pack for batteries/mobile phones (if going to remote areas withou a generator then solar rechargers are reccomended)

Please note that many National Parks and Game Reserves are at high altitude and despite hot sunny days it is very cold at night and in the mornings. It is advisable to take a fleece if you are travelling in the winter months for the early morning and evening game drives.

----------------------------------------
Hope that helps.

If you are going to do more camping safari etc then you would have to take sleeping bags etc. If you're going to do any walking then I'd also reccomend the short boot top canvas gaitors as these stop seeds etc getting lodged in your socks which can be a right pain.

If your travelling by vehicle I'd strongly recommend that you take a soft bag instead of a suitcase i.e. something like a North Face base camp duffel bag or similar (if you are doing any trekking take a rucksack!) as these are fairly indestructible and have shoulder straps to help carrying across airports etc. If you are travelling on internal charter flights (in Cessna 205 type aircraft) during your holiday you must take a soft bag and restrict the weight to 15 kilograms.

Basically think carefully when packing and check that all your equipment is necessary, lay it out on the ground then only pack half what you have there and you should be ok!

 

[ssj]

Thanks for all the replies. Excellent. This will give me a great start.

Where can I get short boot top canvas gaitors? I could use some of those now. I hate it when seeds get embedded in my socks. It's very uncomfortable.

Steve

 

[Goose]

I would be careful what anti malarial you take, I had problems with lariam tablets, and I have heard other people say the same. Best way of explaining it is I was ashamed of my behaviour after taking them, I am usually only embarrassed, on the evenings after taking them.
To make things worse I ended up not being able to get there after taking the tablets for about three weeks and having all my jabs
May get there one day

Comfortable walking boots or shoes (trainers are fine) – avoid white colour

Any particular reason for avoiding white footwear, apart from getting dirty?

 

[Doc]

Neuropsychiatric side effects witha Lariam are well recognised. It is, however, very good at stopping you getting malaria, and most people are fine with it.

Be rigorous with antimalarial drugs and mosquito precautions. Travellers can and do die from malaria.

 

[Beer Monster]

Any particular reason for avoiding white footwear, apart from getting dirty?

No reason really a part from them getting dirty. I think we had a few people comment on how they didn't expect Africa to be so muddy/dusty* (* delete according to season) and had brought along their bright white trainers . I suppose 2 bright white blobs moving through a natural environment could also frighten off the game !

I tend to steer clear of Mefloquine (Larium) too having had really weird dreams/random panic attacks during the night. I now use Malarone which is bloody expensive to buy in the UK but doesn't seem to have as many side effects on me as Mefloquine. It's quite a bit cheaper to buy it "in country" as long as you start taking it 2 days before you reach a malarial area (and a week after leaving it).

Having said that it's always best to consult your family doctor. Recommending the right type of anti malarial for each person involves a lot more than just looking at a chart and choosing a drug. As Doc said each person will react to the drug differently so the best recommendation will come from the person that knows your medical history/health best!

Prevention is always better than treatment.

As for the canvas gaiters they are relatively easy to come by in Africa ..... that’s where I got mine. Not too sure about the States? In the UK you can get them from quite a few shops. Run a search for "ankle gaiters" on google and you'll come up with quite a few hits.