Safari Dust
 

Happy New Year!

We'll be on safari in Tanzania in July and I've heard comments about how dusty it will be. Does anyone have any good suggestions for dealing with the dust, both in my face and on photo equipment?

Had thought of putting camera/phone in soft cloth bags to protect them, but do I need plastic instead?

Is a bandana sufficient for my mouth/nose?

Any creative suggestions?

Haven't been in July and don't know if you are male or female.

But in June I took a gauze like scarf which came in handy when it was a bit chilly in the early morning and when the sun went down. Then I just wrapped my camera in it when not wearing.

I've worn a gauzy fabric "bandana" (in the Sahara) buy you could perhaps instead buy a bunch of construction workers' masks at a hardware store. .

No suggestions on camera and phone, other than keeping them in standard padded fabric camera bags.

I always have a few dry bags in my luggage (like this https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/se...tml?colour=108).


These work well to keep dust (or rain) off camera gear. Also useful for other things like dirty laundry.

If you have a camera with changeable lenses, try not to change them out in the field.

A pillowcase works fine if you like to hold the camera on your lap during the game drive (rather than fishing it out of a bag or camera case for every use).

There's really no helping the dust getting everywhere including hair, ears, eyes, etc. Especially if you have an open vehicle and you're moving a lot. Hat and sunglasses help.

We were on safari in July in Tanzania & Kenya 2 years ago. Definitely take a bandana, scarf or buff for your face. I didn't see any one with construction workers masks. I would think they would be pretty hot and uncomfortable.

You really need to cover your camera. I took a small pillowcase and tried to keep my camera in that. However I found it too restrictive when we would be on a game drive and I'd need to pull the camera out quickly to take a shot. I ended up keeping the camera in my lap and using the pillow case or my jacket as a cover over it. Any piece of fabric that you can shake out or wash out would work. I don't think plastic bags would work. The dust would just cling to them.
I didn't change lens while on a game drive and made sure I dusted everything off after each time out. It was much dustier than I thought it would be but it's not dusty the entire time.

Have a wonderful time.