Clothes for Zanzibar
 

So I am following all of the good advice to pack neutrals, pack light for the safari, and wear long sleeve shirts and long pants at night for anti-malarial protection.

My question is whether I have to repeat this on Zbar--the long sleeve shirts/long pants at night anti-mossie routine. I know that by that time I will be so sick of my "safari" clothes. I have a couple of extremely light weight silk shirts I would like to throw over my black top/pants "uniform" for a change of pace at night on Zanzibar--but these shirts would be sheer and not at all mossie proof.

sandi, leely, amfs, and all you other zanzibar travelers I am forgetting by name at the moment--may I? please, may I?

bat,
The best items I packed for Zanzibar were some Gap 3/4-length-sleeved Indian-style tunics in lightweight cotton. Not my style, normally, but breathable, "fancy" enough with the embroidery and beading for dinner, and enough coverage so as not to offend.

Silk breathes, too, so I think you'll be fine. It does tend to get sticky, though.

As I mentioned, I was more concerned about not runnning around half-naked on an island that's 90% Muslim than the mosquitoes. But I did douse my exposed areas with DEET when the sun went down.

Still, Zanzibar was the only place I was bitten.

leely:
Thanks for the quick response. For our one day in Stonetown, I will wear long sleeves, long skirt or pants---these silk tops I am considering are for the beach and are long sleeve or 3/4 and tunic length, definitely breathable and definitely mossie bite through but with some deet l'eau de toilette, perhaps OK.

I wore what was comfortable while on the beach in ZNZ. Sure, different than safari clothing, often not completely covered... but hey, it was hot and sticky. I did Deet myself on exposed areas, but no matter, the mossies loved my ankles though nowhere else. Both men and women, guys and gals skipped the cover yourself from top to bottom - plenty of shorts, halter, sleeveless and exposed tops - it's your choice.

In Stone Town, I did go conservative with crop pants, tank top with shirt over... but here again, hot and humid that even our guide indicated that if we wished to remove our top covering it would be fine - we didn't. In fact, we came upon a number of young Muslim women who were wearing skin-tight jeans and halter tops under their black coverups.

Just use your SPF and repellent on exposed areas - who knows what's biting.

thanks sandi

sandi, interesting about the women's clothing under the cover-ups. We went to a dance-party thing at the beach one night and all the women/girls were in the skimpiest of clothing. This was not a tourists' party. I always imagined that the girls had pulled the old trick of leaving your parents' house wearing something sedate and then changing into the racy outfit in the bushes a block away.

It just never occurred to me that there might be tight jeans and a halter under the cover-ups. That makes much more sense.

Leely -

I did a double-turn when I saw the clothing beneath on a few young women; our tour guide howled at my reaction. When I inquired, he said that on the young people (female, mostly) - "not unusual."

So your sighting on the beach isn't a surprise. No different then when some of us told our folks one thing and then did another.

The funniest (rather, interesting) is when you see some of the Saudi women board a plane in very high priced, high styled Western clothing, but before deplaning they head to the lav to redress in proper attire.

Guess - "nothing new under the sun."

Too funny, sandi. I'm not as well-travelled as you are, so these things tend to take me by surprise. Luckily I have a good poker face. :)

bat, I found this link to photos of a couple's trip to TZ and Zanzibar. You can see that where clothing's concerned, anything goes...

I also like these because they show how Stone Town is kind of grotty (in a good way).

http://www.zoutenzoetwaterparels.com/travel/Tanzania/

Leely -

That photo album is a great find. Those tomatoes at the Stone Town Market brought the taste right back to me... the best ever.

Thanks leely:
Perhaps to my shame, my original question had nothing to do with "proper" clothing at night--it had to do with malaria protection--did I have to "armor" myself in long sleeves and long pants as I will on safari. [not in Stonetown, at Matemwe Beach]

Oh, bat, I'm sorry; I have the attention span of a gnat.

Sandi covered your real question, right? I don't even remember seeing any mosquitoes on safari, not even at Mto Wa Mbu, River of Mosquitoes. But plenty on Zanzibar. And yet everyone just wore whatever anyway. Hmm.

You must have about 6 weeks left. Time to get serious! :)

Leely, no problem. Sandi seemed to be addressing both but if she sees this I hope that she will clarify--she mentioned putting deet on exposed areas and getting her ankles bit--so I am thinking that she did not wear long sleeves/long pants, socks, shoes--at least for mossie protection--as she would on safari. Sand is that correct? thanks.

bat,
Now that I think about it, I believe I treated ALL my clothes, including the gauzier, beachier stuff, with permethrin before we left. I'm not sure how this might affect silk, as I didn't bring any, so perhaps you could test it out on something you don't care about: see if it discolors the fabric, etc.

And short answer: no, I didn't cover up as much on the beach as on safari. Cropped pants or longish skirts with flip-flops and gauzy tops. And I DEETed myself, but got a bit lazy with this routine as time wore on.

So, when do you leave??? :)

leely thanks-Feb 1 (my zip off pants arrived today!)

bat -

Sand reporting in.

I didn't use any Deet while on safari, anywhere; though did use Avon's Skin So Soft, which may have worked... never bitten... never saw or heard a mossie. And between dusk/dawn I was often covered, but can remember plenty of times that I wore low-cut tops and short sleeves with only a shawl.

On ZNZ, I wore abbreviated (comfortable for the weather) clothing and didn't use Deet first night, until I realized the mossies were really enjoying my ankles. Went back to put Deet on ankles and elsewhere (hate the smell), but it didn't seem to help much with the ankles, though no bites anywhere else. Strange, though, the bites didn't itch... I just felt the little buggers bite and saw the welts... no itching. And even the welts were gone in a day or two once we were back on mainland Kenya. My friend didn't use Deet at all, wore abbreviated clothing - no bites.

Guess I just have appetizing ankles.

I'm with Leely - not sure how Deet and silk work together.

Hello,

I believe Deet and silk work fine together -- it's synthetics which melt when in contact with Deet. I have a couple of silk shirts which did all right when I had repellent on my hands. However, I did notice that the cuffs on one of them became discoloured -- not sure if that was the Deet or something they used at the laundry service in Botswana or South Africa (I don't remember when it happened).

Cheers,
Julian

Thanks Sand--i Do you think that I had the beach on my mind ;)
Thanks also Julian
Hey Leely how did you treat your clothes ahead of time?

bat,

http://www.permethrin-repellent.com/...hrin-spray.htm

We really went overboard on this whole thing. Quite the production in my back yard. I'm not sure I'd do all that again, and I think most people don't, but it's an option for your lighter-weight items if you're concerned.

I just went into my local R.E.I. and acted as if I were headed up the Congo to go see Kurtz. They sold me all kinds of stuff.

Take care! You must be getting really excited.

hi bat

Sorry only saw your post now.
I didnt use mozzie protection at all at matemwe and I didnt get bitten.
(I did get bitten on safari though.)

I think the sea breezes might deter the mozzies.

HTH!