I have heard repeatedly on this site that they don't, but their website says that they do. I figure the website says that in case they want to enforce the rule against people carrying a 60 lb camera bag, but that 99% of the time they don't enforce.

Can anyone confirm? Recent experiences?

Hi there

I can confirm they didn't last year in Namibia - but I'm sure they have the right to do so if it's bulky / heavy.

Pack in a squashy bag - those cargo holds are about as big as your kitchen cupboard on small planes! Put breakables on your lap...

To be fair to the pilot, he needs a good estimate of the weight he's carrying to be sure of the fuel requirement

Ysa

I would not advise being grossly over weight for these small flights, as this is a safety risk for you and everybody else aboard. These planes have many different ratings, and unless you totally understand why these limits have been placed, I would recommend staying within the guidelines.

Wilderness contracts out their flights to very competent people, such as Sefofane. I have had my baggage weighed a few times and sometimes not. Expect that your bags will be weighed, or notify them ahead of time with the information. It is all about making a proper plan for the weight limit.

My camera bag weighs only 15 lbs, so I'm not that concerned, but if I knew I could use that 15 lbs for my other bags, that'd be nice.

Right now, including the camera bag, we're at only 65 lbs between the two of us. Plus, we weigh less than 300 lbs between the two of us, so we're doing our part to help out the pilot.

Hmm - hoping to be able to carry an extra 15lbs isn't something I would be comfortable with... What would the plan be if they did weigh them?

Easier just to meet the weight requirement in my opinion - I'd hate to have leave my camera gear behind

To be fair, if I'm a couple of pounds overweight, I don't stress too much - but you need to know what you plan to leave if there's a problem (who needs socks anyway?)

you can always ask for an extra weight allowance (at a price ofc!)

Ysa

When we fly the small planes I always feel better when *everything* gets weighed ... as Andy says it's a matter of safety.

When they weigh the bags but not the people and then they ask each person "how much do you weigh?" I always say 250 even though I weigh 190 lbs

Bill

In Botswana, i have flown Moremi air, Mack air and Sefofane ..... neither of them have actually weighed the bags. I would think, they take a look at your bags and if they look reasonable enough you just move on!

Hi all,

Just as a "Plan B" in case my camera bag is weighed--and for convenience on game drives, I bought a cheap "Rocco" vest (some here will know what I'm talking about. Actually, it's a travel/camera vest that I'm going to have packed in a handy spot ready to deploy if necessary. BTW, my camera bag, with two slr bodies, five lenses, flashes, accessories, 43 rolls of film (digital this year--just got my 40d. Yeah!) etc, etc, was not weighed last year on any of the internal flights, but, as been pointed out, you never know.

Jim

I just returned (in July) from all WS camps, all Sefofane flights. The only place my duffel was weighed was at Maun. My backpack, which served as my camera bag, was never weighed. My backpack, though, is small, so they probably never gave it second thought. However, the combined weight of the two was under the limit, just in case they did weigh both. As others have said, it is not only a question of what you could possibly have to leave behind, but a safety issue.

Sefofane weighs the duffle bags, now?

Hari,
There seemed to be a little "disagreement" between WS and Sefofane going on while I was there. Each pilot would ask how much your bag weighed, and when you told them they'd say "yeah..we have to get this straight" as if they had lesser weight requirements than WS was telling guests. Same thing with size. My weight was fine, but they did question the size. I offered to show them my itinerary (from WS, not my TA) but they said not to worry about it. They were polite and courteous about it not only with me, but with other guests. Not sure what the issue was, if any. Alot of comments were made, questions asked, but nobody had any problems. I never saw any duffles weighed except in Maun. And I never saw any backpacks weighed.

Wilderness owns Sefofane. They weighed our bags in Maun but not our carry on bags. Do remember as others have said that this is safety as well as the fac that the hold is so small it is really difficult to get things in especially if there are 4 people in the plane. Also definitely have soft sided bags as they do need to be squished and squeezed. Do not plan to hold very much on your lap as there is very little room.

We too had our duffles weighed only in Maun but not our camera bags.