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I got my copy of Fodor's guide on safaris a couple months ago in preparation for my overland tour from Kenya down to South Africa which I just completed. One item in Fodor's guide that caused me consternation and repack was advice to avoid wearing camouflage. I had been planning on taking my mossy oak Goretex parka since it's winter in Africa and I thought the subdued colors and pattern would work well on safari as well as providing great insulation but I changed it out to a less-insulated yellow Goretex jacket.
I have to say this advice in the Fodor's guide was incredibly off-base. They implied camouflage of any kind is looked at as implying some connection with paramilitary groups. I saw all sorts of people wearing camouflage patterns (most of them much more military looking than my hunter's mossy oak pattern) as daily wear without any concern or fuss.
In fact, I was advised by guides in Zambia that I would have been much better off with the camouflage because my yellow jacket was too loud for going on safari (all my other warm jackets tend to have a lot of black or blue in them which I was told to avoid due to tsetse flies).
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Wearing camouflage in Africa
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I know our guides wore camouflage often. But I was on a very sedate safari thru Kenya and Tanzi. I left here packed w/ outfits worthy of Out of Africa and ended up in sandals and capris most days. We were tucked safely with in our vehicles and the animals could have cared less.
I would imagine it is greatly different if you are treking or staying in tented camps....but for us....it was just comfort first!
No camouflage is practically first rule of the safari goer. For those who were wearing in camp, and as paying guests I assume no one told them otherwise, but why ask for problems at border crossings or in airports.
Of course your yellow jacket was "too loud" - maybe you should have considered "hunters red/orange" so no one would take a shot at you.
I'd sooner wear black or blue (there must be some forest green to choose) for the few hours when it's cold (early morning/late nite; camouflage though is a No! No!
I agree with Sandi on this (and with your Fodor's guidebook too). Wearing camouflage in a luxury camp is one thing - I suppose as a (high-paying) guest you would be given great leeway - if you want to play dress-up in camouflage, that's up to you. And of course just about anything is better than loud yellow or orange or red or pink or ...
But I would have felt very conspicuous and uneasy in camo on the roads in Zimbabwe, at the border posts at Kasane or Kazungula in Botswana, at Kasika on the Chobe River. In each of those instances there were men with big guns in uniforms taking things very seriously and I don't think they would have appreciated dealing with an American dressed like a paramilitary.
Sometime back, some Zambian friends told me that it was illegal to wear camouflage in Zambia. Maybe times have changed, but, in any case, wearing camouflage anywhere in Africa sounds like a bad idea to me. ZZ
It certainly used to be illegal in Botswana.
While researching our trip for Egypt I read that camouflage was illegal to wear. So when planning our safari I never even considered it, we just wore tan and light colors.
Julie
I was on an overland tour, not exactly luxury camping. The Goretex jacket I wanted to take was in mossy oak -- hardly a military camouflage pattern although I saw lots of Tanzanian locals wearing military-style camouflage pieces in Dar es Salaam.
In any event, the advice in the back of my Fodor's guide on this seemed to be contradicted by what I saw and was told by the safari and trip guides. I raised the point so others who are interested can ask questions rather than just blindly follow the guide book as I did.