Roccco

http://www.luangwariverlodge.com/what_to_bring.htm

I have seen many lists out there, but I just found this particular one so easy to read. This would definitely be helpful to anyone going on safari, whether first timers or veterans.

d110pickup

When Karen and I were in Botswana in '00 all f the camps supplied you with bug repellent; a powerful one for the tent and a weaker one for personal use. All of the safari trucks had a supply onboard.
Do the Zambian camps do the same?
If not it's something else to pack and bring.
Mike

Roccco

Mike,

While I always saw bug repellent in the vehicles, I did not always see it in the tents/chalets. There were times it was present in the tent/chalet, and there were times it was not present.

Flashlights were also mostly available, but you may want to bring a better flashlight, although I don't really think it is worth to pack one more thing such as a flashlight.

For Zambia, I do recommend you bring your own bug repellent. The tetse flies get to be very annoying. Although they are not poisonous to humans, their bites do hurt. It is like someone pinching you every couple minutes, and they are able to stay with the vehicle pretty well. For tetse flies alone, it is worth wearing longer safari pants. I did find tetse flies much more bothersome on game drives than on bush walks.

RuthieC

All the camps we stayed at had cans of "Doom" in the room - bug killer I think rather than repellant. Most of them also had cans of "Peaceful Sleep" which was the repellant. This has about 25% deet so wasn't as strong as the repellant we had brought with us.

We had very little bother with tsetse flies until we travelled up to Tafika - I don't remember any problems with them in the Mfuwe area.

Our flashlight was useful so I would take one unless you are really struggling with your luggage allowance. There were a couple of power cuts in the evening when we appreciated having it and also on the night drives to check camera settings, hunt in the bottom of the bag for sweets etc!

luangwablondes

You might want to take a leatherman, a petzal and a screwdriver for your glasses(and a couple screws). And hope its just ballast.If you take your own torch-thats a flashlite-take some extra batteries as it can be hard to get quality batteries.