Baggage Limit & camera
 

I know there is a 25 lb limit on baggage on the small WS flights.
My question is - is your day pack with camera and lens in addition to the 25 lb limit?
Or does your day pack and your clothes need to not exceed 25 lbs?
Thanks

When we did it - the camera bag was included within the limit (and mine was 5 kg!) but the small hand bag I carried wasn't - but it was small - not another piece of luggage...

How strict they are depends on whether the flights are full (4-5 pax) or you share them with only one or two other passengers. We mostly had just the two of us - so they weren't so fussed but the weight limit was important on one flight when there were 4 passengers.

Our experience was different, in that they only weighed our bags of clothing but did not weigh our backpack or camera bag. This occurred only once during our trip at Wilson Airport in Nairobi. As Kavey mentioned though, we too only experienced one full flight out of 7, and that was on our last day after everyone on the plane had probably gained 10 pounds from the great food.

We erred on the safe side and tried to keep the total weight of all of our bags under the restricted amount for two people (for you, 50 lbs). I think with the camera bag we were only over by two pounds once I removed a sweatshirt and two books, which it turned out I didn't need after all.

Did they weigh your bags before you boarded your first camp flight? Or did they just "lift" them to see if they were too heavy?
It doesn't seem like they would weigh the bags between camps - correct?

You said weight wasn't an issue until you had a fuller flight. What happened then?

Would you please define a small hand bag? Is it the size of a school backpack? or smaller?
Our camera equip weighs 10 pounds - very similar to yours. We do not carry it in a separate bag - we just put it in our med size backpack - which we can keep in our lap easily.
Any tips?

On the fuller flight they "weighed" them by lifting them and estimating but all four passengers had limited luggage.

If you can comfortably fit your bag on your lap and it doesn't weight too much I'm sure it would be fine.

Essentially it's all estimates anyway since they don't weigh the passengers themselves so ... there's a whole lot of variation right there.

:D

Some flights expect only 2-people and in that case you have some leeway (as the plane can probably hold at minimum 6 passengers. When they send a larger plane for more people, then they are very particular re added luggage weight. It isn't unusual if there is excess weight for a particular passenger/s, they will leave some behind and return with the excess on another flight.

Depending on your itinerary, there is storage space in Maun for your excess weight clothing. If flying from Maun to your camp/s and then onto Kasane, you have to have whatever clothing you need, so you have to be sure you have minimum weight till you arrive in Kasane and onto Vic Falls and back to JNB. You also don't need that much clothing at Delta camps and laundry can be done for you and it's also not unusual for people to rewear items from day-to-day - everyone does.

Since we don't know your entire itinerary route, it's difficult to advise where you can store excess weight.

In Tanzania, our luggage - including carry ons - were weighed for the flight from Dar Es Salaam to Selous. In Kenya, just our big luggage - excluding the carry ons - were weighed en route to the Mara. I have found it not only depends on the number of people on the plane, but the size of the plane itself. The flights from Dar to Selous are like flying with the Red Baron - passengers are given goggles and scarves (a bit dramatic, but not far off!). Very small plane with no overhead holding space - just a cargo net in the back to hold the carry ons. In fact, the plane was so small, my husband asked if he could sit up front with the pilot so he could have more leg room! And he did sit up there!

Susan
Anytime we had just one pilot (for a couple of flights we had two as there was a co pilot being trained along for the ride) we'd also ask for one of us to sit up front - even better views from there!!!!

You remind me of our trip to Kenya-Tanzania about 9 years ago. After leaving the Crater we drove to a small air strip. There the 12 of us were supposed to be flown to Arusha in one plane. We waited for a long time for the plane to arrive and when it did we were told this was the first plane and another would be arriving shortly. The larger plane was evidently unavailable. One of our party of 8 asked to sit with the pilot and they began a conversation that never stopped. I was getting very concerned about our safety. It was the strangest feeling to take off from the top of "mesa" and fly straight out before ascending. The smaller plane with three and the pilot ended up having difficulty because of a sandstorm and each plane changed altitude so they could fly closely to one another. All arrived safely but the people in the other plane were pretty shaken.

I just confirmed it's 15 kg each for this trip plus a little more for camera bag though unspecified.

Since my camera bag for Kenya was 6.8 kg and this is probably a little too high I'm going to ensure my main luggage item is only 12 kg.

With laundry facilities in camps this really shouldn't prove too difficult for us...

We were told the weight limit did not include the camera bag. But of course it was assumed you had a reasonable camera bag. Do not try to push the limits - we saw one girl (wearing white pants) who tried to bring two large oversized soft bags. The pilot made her send one back with a friend. In more than one case our luggage was actually weighed (we did Zambia, Botswana, SA) and in others it was just the pilot lifting it. Our greeter in J'burg came to our hotel and lifted each of our bags to be certain we would be under the limit. Your flying safety depends on following the limits so don't push them...

Absolutely - when we were there last time we saw some folks who really were taking the michael.

I think 12kg for each of us for our main luggage plus about 6kg for our camera bags should be OK.

Despite being strict they do have some leeway in allowances given as they don't know on booking whether all four passengers will be big, heavy people.

Hi Kav, is this a British expression I don't know? "taking the michael?"

Sorry, wasn't thinking, should ensure I use "international" English!

From the net:

<i>&quot;take the mick/mickey/michael -- vb. British -- to mock, deride, poke fun at. These expressions are milder versions of 'take the piss.' Unbeknownst to most users, they employ rhyming slang: Mickey is short for a mythical 'Mickey Bliss,' providing the rhyme for 'piss.' 'Michael' is a humorous variant. The phrases, like their more vulgar counterpart, have been in use since the 1940s.&quot;

&quot;take the piss (out of someone) vb. British -- to mock, deride, poke fun (at). This vulgarism has been in widespread use since the late 1940s. The original idea evoked by the expression was that of deflating someone, recalling the description of a self-important blusterer as 'all piss and wind.'&quot; </i>

Priceless, Kavey!! Absolutely priceless!! Those of you &quot;over the pond&quot; sure know how to talk!

Thanks, Kav, that was fun.

On our trip to Botswana we were allowed 22 pounds plus a reasonable amount of camera equipment. I think ours weighed about 7 or 8 pounds. We flew into the Delta on a twin engine and there were 7 passengers plus a guide and no-one weighed anyone's baggage. I do think we were all carrying a reasonable amount, within the limits. On the way out we flew on a single engine Cessna, baby plane. There were five of us and the pilot and the luggage just fit into the tiny compartment but again nobody weighed anything. And I am telling you that before we left we anguished over every extra shirt or pair or shorts. If I had known I would have taken another pound.

Sprig if you <i>had</i> taken an extra pound they probably would have checked! lol

Kav's right. When I saw how little space there is under the plane, I understood why they need soft duffle bags. They are literally squeezing these bags in there. There is a tiny space in the very back that can fit a couple of camera bags. So it's weight and space. Do sweat the weight, it's important.