CLOTHES FOR SAFARI
 

My husband and I will be going on Safari mid October. Any suggestions as to what we should/shouldn't wear would be appreciated.

NO jeans.<BR>Khaki pants and long sleeve shirts. Depends where you are going on safari you may pack one sweater for those cool evenings and mornings. Pack as little as possible. We went on safari in Kenya twice and all camps did laundry for us. In some camps there was no charge for laundry.

Hi Judy! We are leaving Sept. 19 for 17 days in Kenya and Tanzania, and I was in a similar situation as far as wondering what to bring. Based on numerous conversations with friends, bring as little as possible because most of the luxury camps/lodges offer laundry services. Each of us plan to bring four pairs of pants with zip off legs. One sweatshirt, one fleece cover-up, one light rainjacket, four t-shirts, two long-sleeve shirts, two pairs of shorts, six or so pairs of underwear, and, of course, socks. For shoes we will primarily wear boots, but are bringing sneakers as well. One pair of pajamas each and very light-weight slippers for walking inside the tent at night. Depending on wear you are going, most camps do not require formal dress at night, but I am bringing a "travel" dress for dinner with friends who live in Arusha one night. If you are flying from one park or camp to another, it is critical you stay within the luggage weight confines, which is usually between 15-20 kg. We are looking forward to a wonderful trip and I hope you have one as well!

Susan -<BR><BR>4 pair of pants sounds like a lot.<BR><BR>The weight limit on the intra-Kenya flights is 15 kg each, but: <BR><BR>1- They weighed my wife's and my 2 checked together - they weighed exactly 30 kg, so we were OK. Probably one weighed more, one less. They weighed only in Nairobi.<BR><BR>2- They did not weigh our carry-ons - so we packed a lot of the heavy stuff in them.

Why no jeans?

Jeans are too heavy, take too long to dry, don't blend in with the dust. Doesn't mean that I didn't see any at the lodges though. And 4 pairs of slacks does sound excessive. I did like some sleeveless camp shirts I found and my convertable jacket with many pockets. Good luck

We were told not to wear anything which was white as the white we see in clothes is not really a colour which occurs in large blocks in the wild, and stands out too much to the animals. We were also told to avoid bright colours in general.<BR><BR>We also found out when there that one should avoid light blue/ grey as these colours attract insects, in particular the tsetse fly.<BR><BR>We avoided jeans as we had a strict weight limit which meant we needed to make use of camp laundry - jeans take too long to dry, even under a hot sun.<BR><BR>We found we didn't need smart clothes for dinner (our tour operator had advised us accurately on this in advance) even at the nicer lodges such as Mombo. <BR><BR>We were happy just showering and changing into clean, dust free clothes for dinner, just the same clothes as we had taken for the day.<BR><BR>We were there in June and should have packed gloves and scarf for the cool cool early mornings and evenings.<BR><BR>If you have long hair, do take a tie an a tight fitting hat, as I found my hair went everywhere when we were racing across the rough landscapes, in the completely open vehicles used in Botswana and Namibia.<BR><BR>Wilderness Safaris (the local operator) provided a comprehensive packlist, I think you can find it on their website.<BR><BR>Shoes - I lived in my walking shoes - these are a cross between regular walking boots and trainers (sneakers) - they are high at the ankle, very supportive, but not hard like some walking boots, and were comfortable from day 1. I didn't want to wear open shoes because of the insects and so on and these proved just right for me. <BR><BR>Kavey

I found navy blue to be a good colour for hiding dirt. A Gortex jacket kept me dry on rainy days and saved my arms from acacia thorns. Packing clothes in ziplock bags kept them clean (travelling by truck). If you're going to any beach area or don't know for sure you won't be hiking across a river, take suitable footwear.

Just to re-inforce the previous: no jeans coz too heavy. use zip lock bags-it is amazing how much dust filtrates into your suitcase from the back end of those vans! Mornings and late evenings I used a North Face fleece liner to keep warm-it has a hood-gloves would've been nice. We went in May for safari in Kenya. (January safari in Tanzania was much warmer!). I always wore long zip off type pants and t-shirts(the quick dry type-from REI). Carry a bandana to cover nose/mouth if ever gets real dusty. No dress up-however at Mt Kenya Safari Club we decided to dress up there and our last night at the Mara we did.It was kind of nice to wear a skirt and nice top after dressing so grungy for so many days! have a good time

Thanks for all the great advice. We were told that guys need a sport jacket for the Mt. Kenya Safari Club. However, when we went on their web site only trousers and a decent shirt (no tee shirts) seem to be necessary. My husband will "splurge" and bring a tie. Just picked up a long sleeved air conditioner blouse/shirt(from REI) to wear over other shirts. The tag says "Ex Officio is dedicated to the people who plan their next trip on the way home from their last." Probably should post another inquiry but her goes...How soft sided does one's luggage have to be? We bought duffle bags with soft but strong canvass type material- not as sft as the thin nylon duffle bags. Now we're wondering if these are soft enough for safari.

Judy, you will be fine with your bags which are required (not suitcases) if you fly between camps in small planes. Our duffle bags are Orvis strong canvass with thick leather. <BR><BR>We were on two safaris and took at least seven 3-seater planes so our duffle bags are fine.

Susan and Judy, I agre, take as little as possible. But Judy you did not say if you were lodging or camping. I camped, and certainly not at luxury campsites, in Tanzania, and there was only laundry service at one of them. <BR>Four pairs of pants plus 2 pairs of shorts is WILDLY excessive. Four t-shirsts also seems a lot unless you are wearing one and carrying 3. Formal dress was certainly not necessary, and even for dinner in Arusha I would not bother with it, especially as it is for only 1 night.<BR><BR>If you are camping, the 2 things I would definietly take (along with clothes, binoculars, etc) are a bandana to keep the hair out of your face and the dirt out of your hair, and a head torch for walking around the camp, eating dinner, going to the loo etc.<BR><BR><BR>