colour of clothing for safari
 

My wife is having trouble finding clothes that are khaki/beige which seems the colour of choice for game drives.She is very petite.Are there other colours that work which wont scare off the animals.we realise we will have to wash our clothes pretty regularly we are going in the supposed dry dusty time of february.she is pretty small 92 lbs so are clothes an issue provided they are not too bright?I know I read somewhere that blue attracts tse tse flies.Any info welcome

Hi ronaldmaurice

I am not sure which country you are going to, but I go to Sth Africa fairly regularly and I am not at all careful in my choice of colour. Rarely do I take white as too hard to keep white. But I am not a believer that bright colours scare off the wildlife!

I have also been in tsetse fly country in Tanzania and quite frankly they attacked everyone, regardless of colour.

Kind regards

Kaye

The safari colors - tan/khaki/gree - besides blending into the environment also stay (appear) cleaner with the dust or mud that is found. However, if you will be in vehicles most of the time, anything, but bright colors will work. And, as far as the tse-tse flies, while they might attack anyone (they don't seem to like me... thank goodness) it's best to avoid dark blue.

As to small sizes, if not the gap, size XS, try the teen departments... plenty of neutral colors there and very fashionable.

The convertible pants - zip from right above the knee to become short - are found in children and teen sizes.

If you need to launder anything (except women's "wears"), camps/lodges do this at very reasonable prices.

In the end, it's up to you.

Colors didn't matter as much as I thought they would on our safari. However, blue is to be avoided. In Tarangire, blue banners with a treatment to sterilize tsetse flies hang from trees, so I guess blue does attract them. (They don't kill them this way--just keep them from reproducing.) Still, I would want to do everything I could to minimize mosquito bites as well, so I chose light khaki and olive colors. I think an occasional brighter top would be fine--esp. at night.

I personally stay away from white because it's too hard to keep clean, black because it shows too much dust, and navy because it supposedly attracts tse tse flies. Beyond that I don't worry about color that much, although I do own a lot of neutrals so that's what I take.

A pair or two of convertible pants is nice not just because they come in many neutral colors, but they reduce your packing load. North Face, Columbia Sportswear, and Ex Officio (Buzz Off) are available in children's sizes as I'm sure are many other brands. Try REI (who also has their own brands also in children's sizes) or one of the sporting goods stores such as Academy Sports, Dick's Sporting Goods or Cabellas. I'm not sure where you're located but you can buy on-line or go to Columbia's or North Face's website and find a retailer.

If your wife doesn't want to buy clothes specifically for safari that she might not wear after the trip, why not opt for regular cotton khaki pants and t-shirts? The Gap as Sandi mentioned is a good idea. Also try Old Navy, J. Crew, Eddie Bauer, LL Bean and Banana Republic.

I actually wear cotton khaki pants alot in everyday life so I just take my regular clothes on safari. I usually buy my khaki pants at Talbots or Brooks Brothers. I don't know about Brooks Brothers sizes (I am neither a size 0 nor 92 lbs-darn!), but I know Talbots sells sizes all the way down to 0 petite.

Good luck, and let us know if we can help more. For specific retailers (if you don't want to order on-line) let us know where you're located.

I thought most animals are color blind????

Most people wear the khakis, tans, browns, beiges, olives etc etc., to just fit in ...... notice everyone is dressed similar? Take a look around you at JNB airport for example.

Dana M - thanks for the Talbot's mention. Only yesterday, my Gap gal, reminded me of this for petite sizes (which I'm not, though some do fit quite well).

As brown/tan are staples in my overall wardrobe, I just pack my everyday clothing for safari. No convertibles for me.

Eddie Bauer also has a petites line and they do tend to have colors like brown, grey, beige, khaki, etc. They have a good website too.

Another source is Walkabout. They have womens sizes starting at size 2.
http://walkabout.com/shop/tag-lxs072.asp

marking for reference

Clothing is only an issue if you are on a walking safari. If only doing vehicles, believe me the noise and fumes they give off are far more obnoxious than any clothing that you might wear.
Don't panic, wear what is comfortable. Period!

I bought some nice roll up convertible pants at Walmart. Cheap and cotton!!

I agree w/ many here.....if you are tucked into a vehicle it just does not matter what you wear. I even began to just wear my flip flops and stayed very comfy!! The aminals would have cared less!

Also maybe it was the time of year, maybe it was the lodges but I never even saw a bug! There were no mosquitos and if the T bugs were out I never saw them!!! Was I in afrika? :):):)

I've never worried about colour too much, except for walking safaris. I would probably steer clear of anything really bright (eg red) though.

I have definitely noticed dark colours attract tsetse flies- the buggers love me, and I found they especially flocked to my black socks and dark brown trousers. They can bite through clothing, so I found the looser fitting the clothing is, the better. On the plus side, I've only found tsetse flies to be a problem in some areas. Never noticed them in Kenya or Northern Tanzania, but have been plagued by them in Zambia and Southern Tanzania. I have no idea if that's to do with the areas, or the times of year I happen to have been visiting.

Whether the animals care or not about color, or are color blind or not, I care. I simply think it looks nice when in nature, safari, the wilds, to wear subdued colors. Looks nice on you and looks nice to others.

regards - tom
ps - Unless it is the opening day of hunting season and you're in deer country. Do not wear brown with you horned motorcycle helmet!! Your Harley-D sounds too much like a (deer) mating call!!! (Don't ask me how I know ((K)) ((U)) ).