I understand that the camps we are staying at,Mala Mala Main Camp, Chitabe, Duma Tau and Kwesanti, will do laundry except, "smalls.". This may be a silly question but do they do them by hand and hang them outside to dry, or is there a washer and dryer. We are going in June and since we will have some rather chilly mornings and evenings we need to bring heavier clothes that weight more, so this will further limit our luggage. If my husband brings dockers, will they be dry overnight, or my pants from The Gap or Old Navy?

Yes, not to worry....they will be dry. Infact, my fleece etc., came back ok. They dry pretty well during the warmth of the day......

Most camps, these days do smalls....if not you can just do them by yourself and hang them to dry........

Hari

I have the same question, specifically regarding the Wilderness 5 paw camps. I've only stayed at Little V, and Kings Pool previously. KP (6 paw camp and I believe new big quiet generators) seems to have washers and dryers similar to camps in South Africa, however I'm not sure about LV, as we were only there two nights and did not have any laundry done there.
This may slightly affect what I pack, so for those having spent a lot of time in the 5 paw camps, do they wash "smalls" (mens and womens) and really not a problem with stuff getting dry during the winter months? - since we will also be there in June.
Thanks!

Yes, no problems with them getting dry.

Kwando camps from memory wash smalls also. Cant remember from WS. But, normally....if camps dont do smalls, they will have some detergent for you to wash and dry.....

Last year, in August my fleece etc., came back dry....so, you shouldn't hv issues with regular clothes....

Hari

Hello,

I stayed at both five and six-paw WS camps on my last trip and found that the 6-paw camps did smalls but the 5-paw ones didn't (they did provide some mild detergent to do them yourself).

Lagoon (Kwando) did not do smalls.

All of your clothes will be accepted at Mala Mala.

Cheers,
Julian

Hmmm, Kwando Lagoon must have changed their policy...all our smalls were done there in August '05. I'm yet to strike a camp that doesn't do smalls (always thought it was only an issue in East Africa), but times change, so it might be a good idea to check with the operators.

John

Hello John,

I think it has to do with whether laundry is done by hand or by machine. The camps where smalls are not accepted are usually those where it's done by hand, as handling undergarments is not culturally acceptable to many of the staff (specifically women's undergarments, though many camps now exclude all undergarments -- perhaps in the name of gender equality?). At Mombo the smalls were placed in a special bag which presumably was washed separately.

When I was in Tanzania I found that I didn't have any problems getting my smalls laundered, but was told that women's smalls were not accepted.

Cheers,
Julian

Julian,

I've been aware of the cultural reasons for more than 10 years. It's interesting that they seem only to have 'bitten' in Botswana in recent years. As I said, Lagoon did all smalls less than 18 months ago, and there was no impediment at Mombo, Xigera and Savuti back in my early days. And the further back you go, the more likely it is that all laundry was done by hand. Does anybody have any recent experience at Zib and Selinda or elsewhere in Botswana?

John

Hi John,

This is pure speculation but I wonder if the camps have become more sensitive to local culture in recent years. It seems like most changes have been geared towards making the experience more luxurious and more comfortable for visitors, so this change does stand out...

Cheers,
Julian

Kwando Lagoon did smalls....i am certain about that....i was there in August 2006......i for sure didnt do any hand washing....

Hari

John,

I'm pretty sure.....i got all my smalls laundered at Lagoon/lebala/Little Kwara in August 2006. In Kwara main camp in 2005....the only thing i remember today is that we got caught in severe rain and the clothes dried only during my final night there....

Sorry, i dont remember from my stay at WS camps about the laundry situation. But, i think i can remember them doing it for me without any issues....

Hari

Hari,

It's probably just women's undergarments that you can't have done at Lagoon and WS camps.

That's the beauty of a good agent...one with this kind of information at his fingertips (and much else besides) who can also usually tell you why something has changed at a particular camp. I wouldn't bother mine with an idle question now, but I'll have no trouble getting an answer when I need one for planning purposes. There's also the excellent backup option of emailing the operators themselves!

John

John,

Agreed.

I'm pretty sure i got all my laundry done at camp and doubt if there are any changes to their policy.....

However, i cant speak for the 3 camps that the spiegelcjs is going to visit in Bots...

We stayed at Lebala, Nxbega and Little Kulala (now a six paw WS) in late November and early December '06 and the ONLY one that didn't do "smalls" mens or ladies, was Little Kulala. Don't think that they provided detergent either.

520,

Looks like the underwear issue is all over the shop. For certainty, get a good agent

John

There you go.....thanks for the confirmation, 520!!!

Hari

Whether in ast or southern Africa, in 13/years, I've never had my wears laundered. I take all I need for 2-3/weeks and they don't add more than 8-oz. to weight in my duffle.

In fact, I don't have my wears laundered anywhere I travel. Never even thought to have these laundered when away from home. If I ran out or lost some along the way, I can rinse out my own... they're dry by next morning or sooner. Or buy more! Or go without... jeans always look better w/o wears! Ugh! I know, "but when life throws you curves............"

Hello,

It sounds like there's not any consensus on this issue, notably for Kwando. I'm certainly not a woman but according to my notes I couldn't get my smalls done during my stay at Lagoon in July 2006. (Based on what Hari reports, it sounds like this may have just been an overnight on the part of the management during my stay.)

FWIW I've sometimes gotten different responses on this question over the course of my stay in one camp. At one camp in Tanzania I was first told that no smalls at all could be done, and then when I asked for extra water to be brought to my tent so I could do my own (with the travel detergent I always pack) I was told that men's smalls could in fact be done.

In general, I think it's a good idea to bring a small amount of concentrated travel detergent whenever you travel to take care of any spills and stains.

Cheers,
Julian

Hey everyone. Thanks for the response. I am not concerned about the smalls because although I am a princess I can wash out things at night. My biggest concern is the pants and shirts from my husband. Because he is big we have been unable to find the microfiber pants and quick dry shirts, therefore, he will probably be taking his regualr shirts and pants. These probably would not dry in one day. Guys you all have Dockers and know that are a little heavier. We need to know if he needs to take a few extra pairs.

I love the threads that spark discussion

Sounds like you'll feel better if you take an extra pair of whatever for your DH.
Our reg. cotton stuff, btw, did dry quite quickly during the day. The exception were a few T-shirts etc. that we washed in the room/tent at night. We just draped them in the back of our jeep in the am and off we went, with laundry drying nicely in the breeze