How To Pack For A Safari In Africa

Africa is an amazing place to travel. It is also the sort of place where being well prepared will hugely improve your experience.

Of course, everyone has their own philosophy on packing for a trip. So you should think of this article more as casual suggestions from some one who has done several safaris in southern Africa before rather than an iron clad list of all you should and should not bring.

With that, to my packing suggestions for some one going on a safari in Africa:

Passport, ATM card, credit card, airplane ticket, emergency cash (see below).

Even if you aren't camping on your safari, chances are you'll be at least walking around at night in dark places. An LED flashlight is far preferable to the regular variety partly because the light they give is easier on the eyes but most because the batteries last significantly longer. Even with heavy flashlight use you’ll probably only need one (at most two) sets of batteries. A flashlight is so essential it is almost worth bringing two.

Seriously, be prepared for some of the strongest sun you’ve felt in your life. Definitely bring sunscreen. If you are at all inclined towards sunglasses absolutely bring those – I myself am partial to the lightweight Maui Jim kind.

Best is a repellent that contains between 20% and 70% DEET — less than 20% DEET and the repellent is not sufficiently effective, getting more than 70% provides no additional benefit but can irritate skin and even burn through cloth! I’ve tried many “natural” repellents containing no DEET always with disappointing results. Ben’s 30 Insect Repellent is long-lasting, water-based, and a very good choice.

A small bag that can fit everything you need during the course of a day (like your camera, sunscreen, extra shirt, etc.) and another as your main bag. Your day bag is something you can do a lot of walking/hiking around with so I strongly suggest a small backpack. I’ll likely bring a large backpack as my main bag but you can bring a wheelie if you like – you are online going to be carrying this bag to/from the airport and between the truck and your tent.

First, what NOT to bring:

You know the basics: toothpaste, shampoo, aspirin, contact lens solution, etc. Such items are generally available for purchase in southern Africa but you might not want to take time away from your safari to get them.

You'll certainly want to bring a camera. (See our review of the best ultra-compact digital cameras). For that, or any other sensitive electronic device, I suggest a strong, seal-able plastic bag to keep it dry and sand-free.

All of Africa runs on 220 volts, the same as most of Europe and Oceania but different from the 110 volts used in North America. This will make it difficult to run your old American waffle iron in Kenya but most mobile electronics sold these days can handle a range of voltages. Check the “input” listed on your device charger.

That's the easy part of planning your electronics packing. The hard part is preparing for Africa's various power outlet types.

All of South Africa, and most of Southern Africa, used an "M-type plug," which has three big holes arranged in a triangle. Most so-called "Universal" plug adapters will *not* work with type M plugs! So make sure you buy a special M-type adapter. I strongly suggest getting one before you go. The one adapter that will work is the excellent (and compact) one from APC; see the box to the right.

As for the other African countries, they use a mix of outlet types. The APC adapter will work with all of them.

Some popular African countries for safari and their plug types:

• Botswana- mostly M and D, with some G
• Egypt - C
• Ethiopia - mostly D with some L
• Kenya - G
• Malawi - G
• Mali - mostly C with some E
• Morocco - newer plugs are C, older are E
• Mozambique - C and M
• Namibia- mostly M with the occasional D
• Nigeria - G
  
• South Africa - M
• Swaziland - M
• Tanzania - D and G
• Tunisia - C with some E
• Uganda - G
• Zambia - mostly D and G
• Zimbabwe - D, G and M

Some other types to consider:

Travel insurance

You should check to see what sort of travel coverage your current health insurer (if you have one) provides. Even apart from health issues you may want to get insurance that would cover you in the case of lost bags or canceled flights. It happens that AIG has a product called Travel Guard that does exactly that. I’m not necessarily recommending it, but then I’m generally one to turn down an insurance option.

Books

Of course, a good guidebook can be invaluable. For multi-country guidesbooks we suggest Lonely Planet. For some specific countries (especially the smaller more out-of-the-way ones) guides from a small but very good British company called Bradt are the way to go.

As for other books, a few of Africa-related reads:

Our all-time absolutely fantastic amazing couldn’t-put-it-down book about African animals is When Elephants Weep: The Emotional Lives of Animals. Reading this book will make you look at the elephants you encounter on your safari in a whole different light. Highly suggested!

Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown by Paul Theroux is a recounting of an unbelievable -- and true -- adventure. (Don't worry, your own safari won't be this harrowing).

Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, is an outstanding book and a must for understanding modern South Africa. The quintessential South African novel is perhaps The Power Of One, a beautifully written book about a South African boy coming of age in the 1930s and 40s, and his dream of becoming the welterweight champion of the world.

Finally, so sort of book that can teach you more about the animals you encounter is helpful and can add to your safari experience. We suggest The Safari Companion (see box to the right) but there are other good ones as well.

Towel

Your typical basic towel will do though I suggest bringing a special camping towel, which is more like squeegee than a piece of cloth. Besides drying faster than your average towel it more compact and weighs less.

Water bottle

This is a near essential item, especially in such a hot climate. Time was I’d suggest Nalgene bottles. But recent studies have shown them to be toxic (!!) such that they are now on the verge of being banned in Canada, eh. So for this trip I’ll probably switch up on a Camelbak bottle.

Money belt . . .

. . . or some such thing for storing and concealing your passport, money, credit cards, plane ticket, etc. under your clothes. Like this one, for example.

3 or 4 photocopies of your passport

Of course you will not loose your passport. But were that to happen, you know, totally theoretically, having a xerox copy will make replacing your passport infinitely easier. A xeroxed passport can also suffice as identification in certain circumstances. So you can keep one of these copies with you during your days (safer than carrying your actual passport) and spread the remainder throughout your belongings. The other safeguard is to email yourself a scanned version of your passport.

You are on vacation! Your safari is a perfect chance to either leave your cell phone at home or leave it off.

If you must know: Africa, like most of the rest of the world, operates on the GSM cell protocol. In the U.S., some providers (like T-Mobile and Cingular) are on GSM while others (like Sprint and Verizon) are not. Japan is entirely off of the GSM network.

Even if you have a GSM phone it will only work in Africa if it is a “tri-band” or “quad-band.” To accept SIM cards in foreign countries your phone must be unlocked.

If you have specific questions about cell phone usage in Africa feel free to leave them for me in a comment.

Take lots of pictures and have a safe and memorable safari!

And to get yourself in the mood for your safari, see our review of an African guest house where you can eat your breakfast with a giraffe.

Note: This article is part of a HubMob, in which a group of writers here at HubPages converge on a single weekly topic. This week's super broad topic: Do it-yourselfers, How-toers and Step-by-Steppers: Teach us something. Click here to see all the other articles on the same topic or check out the two samples, below.

_{^{Copyright © 2008, Spotcoolstuff.com, All rights reserved.}}