Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)
-   Africa & the Middle East (https://www.fodors.com/community/africa-and-the-middle-east/)
-   -   Safari clothing (https://www.fodors.com/community/africa-and-the-middle-east/safari-clothing-558864/)

tmweil Sep 16th, 2005 06:55 AM

Safari clothing
 
My wife and I will be on a tour, "Friendly Planet",in Jan. As we will be in open vehicles and not ,I presume,on ground in the parks, should clothing color be a factor?

jasher Sep 16th, 2005 09:45 AM

Hello,

Even if you are not on the ground, neutral colours (khaki, green, grey) are advised on game drives as bright colours prevent you from blending into the bush, which is what you want to do to observe animals behaving naturally. Those colours also tend not to show dust and dirt as much, which can be a big help in an open vehicle -- dust won't be much of a factor in January, but dirt probably will be.

Insects, on the other hand, will be a much bigger factor in January. Mosquitoes are often attracted to darker colours and tsetse flies are attracted to dark blue. Bright colours often attract bees in search of a flower.

Cheers,
Julian

treasuresofafrica Sep 17th, 2005 06:13 AM

tmweil,
You didn't say where your "Friendly Planet" tour was taking you. I assume it will be one of the sub-sahara areas of Africa. You can expect to be in open vehicles most of the time and spend some time on the ground. You may be offerred an opportunity for a short (or long) walking tour with a good guide (who carries a big gun). The important thing is to obey any orders he gives you...such as keep very quiet and stay behind him.
The key to clothing is comfort and neutral colors. Safari tan is popular for good reasons, doesn't show dirt easily and is fairly neutral and allows one to blend in easily in the bush.
If you are going to an area that warns of malaria, be sure to take your anti-malaria meds. And wear long pants and long sleeve shirts. Try some of the good pant/shorts that zip off the bottoms. There are similar shirts. Wear tee shirts in light colors under the shirts, so you can remove layers if necessary. Be very sure to take a sweatshirt or jacket, the nights and early mornings can be very cold on safari; and you will probably go on some early morning rides. A hat is very important too - sun gets very hot at mid-day in most of Africa.
I hope this helps. Be very careful to speak quietly or not at all when your guide advises. The animals are accustomed to the safari vehicles, but not to humans..we need to keep a low profile.
Be sure to relax, take a pair of binoculars for each of you, perhaps a camera and a notebook......and have a lot of FUN!!! Don't forget to bring bottled water on each ride.

jasher Sep 17th, 2005 07:56 AM

Many all-inclusive camps will provide bottled water in coolers so you don't need to bring it. If you are doing a low-budget tour, though, this might not be the case.

Cheers,
Julian

536547869 Oct 12th, 2005 09:26 PM

where do we purchase on the web safari clothing? we cannot find some items in our city that would fit the needs we have on safari....

Kavey Oct 13th, 2005 03:28 AM

536547869, I tend to find it best to purchase mostly normal regular clothes that I can continue to wear at home. I just opt for items that can easily be handwashed, line dried quite quickly and aren't too delicate. I also go for comfort, light weight layers.

For trousers I do tend to buy travel trousers, Rohan are my favourite, but again I wear these most of the time when not travelling so they are everyday trousers for me.

Don't bother with those awful "safari suit" type outfits - you'll look daft and be wasting your money. Choose individual pieces that are comfortable, won't show the dirt, muted colours preferable, quick drying etc.

Good luck!

TanzaniaBound Oct 13th, 2005 04:28 AM

We found several good choices at Cabela's/Orvis/Bass Pro Shops/Dicks Sporting goods. Zip-off pants (mend and women) are the way to go! Don't buy a bunch of new stuff though. T-shirts, etc. that you already have will probably do just fine. The animals don't care if it says nike or bud. Only avoid bright colors, i.e. red,blue. As stated above comfort is #1. You will be sitting a lot, then standing, then sitting. Comfy undies are a must. We tried the exofficio and they were marvelous. Especially as I was washing my own every night. Hubby had his laundered. These dry more quickly than cotton.

USNR Oct 13th, 2005 07:50 AM

Just a tip. Leave flowery colognes and scented after-shave lotion at home. Draws insects. Use rubbing alcohol, if you must.

Roccco Oct 13th, 2005 08:29 AM

The owners of Cabela's are elephant hunters and love shooting elephants so much that they have written a book about this perverted passion:

http://www.huntingreport.com/shoppin...ge_book_bottom

Please practice responsible consumerism.

schlegal1 Oct 13th, 2005 09:23 AM

Indeed, the Cabella's catalogue actually features photos of people with their "trophy" kills (exotic animals that clearly will not be used for meat like deer and waterfowl can be).

africantroublemaker Oct 13th, 2005 05:17 PM

STOP !!
You are discussing a vest not a bloody world war!!
Rocco needs his vest for his camera lenses not for displaying his prowess as an African explorer which he is probably more experienced at than you are Mitch.
Enjoy Africa - don't bitch over it.
Your friendly African Troublemaker

536547869 Oct 13th, 2005 06:16 PM

Thanks for all the good comments. it helps!


linjudy Oct 13th, 2005 08:47 PM

I spent a lot of time worrying about clothes before our safari. Turns out I didn't need to spend one minute thinking about it. All my normal clothes would've worked just fine.

My $0.02: go think about your camera, binocular, etc. When it comes to clothes, just wear what you'd normally wear to a fairly active vacation!

Roccco Oct 14th, 2005 03:44 PM

I agree with linjudy. Wear normal clothes and you will be fine.

Honestly, all I did for this last trip of mine that included 15 safari nights was make a trip to Marshall's (a department store) and buy a few t-shirts, a couple pairs of long shorts and then bought a photo vest.

While they may have thought the same about me, I thought that all the people in their "smart" safari clothes looked utterly ridiculous.

(Hey MITCH, you have been CENSORED again...you gonna stand for that?)


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:53 AM.