I will be traveling to South Africa (includes safari) and Victoria Falls in December for 17 days with a tour group. What is a good reference book that I can purchase in USA and will be easy to pack? What should I be aware of? What clothing should I pack?

I suggest getting a lot of guidebooks from the library, and then choosing the one that seems most useful to YOU. Guidebooks vary a lot in what they consider most important, and what you'd find useful when you're with a tour group isn't the same as what you'd find useful when doing it on your own.

December is mid-summer in southern Africa, so take summer clothes, with layers for early morning and evening.For safari take something really warm like a fleece jacket to wear in the vehicle mornings and evenings. When you're driving in an open vehicle, the wind can be pretty cold.

In terms of clothing styles, I find that South Africans dress casually, but smartly; more "dressed up" than Midwestern Americans. Are you male or female? If you're only on safari, your clothing needs will be different than if you're also doing the wine country, or cities like Cape Town and Jo'burg.

As to what to be aware of ... will you be in a malaria area? For money, your ATM card will work fine. Will you need a cell phone?

Let us know more about your trip and readers of this forum can probably come up with tons of good advice.

Celia

You may wish to include a bird book too, Newman's Birds of Southern Africa or another.

Have a wonderful time.

If you buy a bird book, you'll need binoculars, but be careful you dont become hooked, its very easy.

Binocs are a must even without a bird book!

Aware of? If going with a group tour, they should provide good information, even on packing.

Be aware of becoming hooked as NapaMatt states.

Here's packing info.

Lynda’s packing list—the most extensive (but her trip was East Africa)

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34802443

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Other packing info
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34639696


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34782437


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34606894

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34934728


Even what you wished you had brought
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34929931