fourwheelinit, you're back! How did your safari go?

I am going to try very hard to do carry-on only. These lists are very helpful. I'm not too worried about getting my clothes to fit; it's all the assorted gear and how much it's going to weigh that I question.

WS usually have two sprays in the room, Peaceful Sleep for people and something else for insects. I also found a great little roll-on version of Peaceful Sleep in the chemist shop at Jo'burg airport.

We have used repellent that comes as the pre-packaged towelettes. I believe its made by OFF. No worries with carry-on.

Umm, Maasai Mara sounds interesting...I better start planning too ! :-).

Leely, since I had a lot of camera gear, we checked in 1 bag for our trip to TZ (started from SFO). It was through-checked all the way to JRO. Should be the same for you, in case you have to check any baggage.

As for airport checks, they are just a bit strict at AMS in terms of patting you down and making you go through the scanning machine etc, but they do not scavenge inside your carry-on bags. Make sure you put all liquids in a quart size ziploc and also carry extra plastic bags in your carry-on. Never know when you need them.

Bottomline, keep your carry-on under 26 LB (12kg), and there should be no trouble (atleast that was the limit on KLM/DELTA/NWA). No one bothered to check the baggage size. One lady at AMS did try to gate-check my duffel, but as soon as I removed my binocs and camera from there, she could not whine anymore. :-).

Carry copies of passport on your person,keep spare/quick drying clothes (another set). I wore the same hiking boots throughout the entire trip, but we didn't go trekking anywhere :). I think a lot less is needed in safari trips than one thinks. Carry a spare mosquito net, just in case the hotel/lodge does not provide one.

Good luck, will be reading this thread and other kenya threads for a future trip...

Btw, remember, you are allowed one personal item and 1 carry on. You can use a nice big laptop bag or a small backpack as personal item in addition to your carry-on and stuff some items in it, no one checks !

How much/many carry on you are allowed depends on the airline and the class you fly. Varies widely/wildly, check it out. Also I would never again put any camera nor any electronic things in check-in to Africa. In 2007 put a small camera in checked luggage, luggage arrived a day late and the only thing missing was the camera. Also heard many stories about missing cameras/electronics from luggage.

regards - tom
ps - did SAA airline cover my missing camera - no, they don't cameras and such. Another hint.

Okay, I accept the challenge. I'm going to try my best to do this for March 2011. You're all so inspiring!

As you all know, I am NOT good at packing light - but just have to jump in to say that if anyone is fair-skinned & easily burned - bring your own sunscreen, don't count on the ones that some of the camps/lodges provide as amenities. I did the first two times I went & ended up with a serious (at least probably second degree) burn on my arm each of the years. It took me both years & some very paiful blisters to figure out that the sunscreen they provide was probably a "minus 1".

The third year I used my own & didn't burn an iota.

Leely, the time is almost here isn't it???

Leely - when do you leave? Hope you have a wonderful trip - can't wait to hear about it! Is this your first solo adventure?

Cyn

Three more sleeps!

Cyn, this is my first solo trip to Africa--although I am meeting up with Patty and her husband for several days and heading down to Tsavo. Having dinner with Sandi in Nairobi too.

Packed almost everything yesterday; carry-on looks like it's do-able.

I thought it was really soon! Have a GREAT trip Leely! And say hi to Patty, Mark and Sandi for me!

Oh, meeting up with Patty & Sandi sounds great - hope you have a wonderful adventure!

Cyn

Leely, have a great trip and wonderful mini GTG with Patty & Sandy.
Will look forward to a trip report as I want to know what went in your carry-on!

It is my project for September!

I know you will have a fabulous time; your previous reports have indicated great sightings and adventures - even on travels outside of your beloved Africa!

Have fun..
MoneyB

oops I have already flunked the new "rules"
meant Sandi, not Sandy (sorry Sandi)

See ya in Nairobi, Leely! Did you see the new eles that were moved to Ithumba? If a truck full of eles can make it down that road, we should be able to ;) Have fun on your gorilla and golden monkey treks!

Thanks, guys. Patty and Mark are just about 5-6 (?) days behind me. Travel safe and see you in Nairobi, Patty! I haven't seen the new eles moved to Ithumba but good to know we can make it down there.

Lynda, Kennedy and Val are supposed to meet Sandi and me for dinner too. Kennedy has arranged the Mara portion of this trip.

Have a wonderful trip, Leely!! And you too, Patty and Mark. Wish I could join you guys! Since this is a non-Africa year for me, I will be especially looking forward to your trip reports... :)

Thanks, MDK! Are you guys off to Mongolia next month?

Yep, we leave June 30th and get to UB late on July 1st! (Not that I'm counting down, or anything...)

We just put our deposits down on our 2011 Africa trip with my mom and dad (South Africa, Botswana and Victoria Falls), so once I get back from Mongolia we'll be right back in Africa mode. But for now I'm (mostly) concentrating on Asia, with occasional peeks on this board to see what you guys are up to.

Have a great time in Mongolia! Did you post your 2011 Africa itinerary yet?

OMG Leely, please give Kennedy & Val a BIG BIG hug from thier mum & dad!!! (That's Jim & I :-)) ) That's wonderful that they arranged the Mara portion for you, you will have a fantastic time!

Patty, sorry I thought you had left already - have a WONDERFUL trip too!

Thanks, Lynda! We leave next Tue.

Thanks, Patty. I will post some sort of Mongolia report and let you guys know, if anyone wants to read it. I'm not expecting much wildlife, but hopefully we'll at least see takhi (wild horses), and plenty of domesticated critters. Anything wild we happen to see will be a bonus.

I haven't posted our 2011 Africa itinerary yet, but I'll do that in a new thread when I get the time. I was a little nervous to do that, actually, since the southern Africa fans on this board are so... opinionated. We're working with Bill Given/The Wild Source (Predator Biologist), and he's been really terrific. I think he's helped us put together a great trip, and he's been a huge help in finding us ways to make Botswana more affordable (relatively speaking). I just wanted to do my own research and get his opinions, rather than getting too much feedback here about those expensive camps everyone seems to love so much on this board.
(I got a lot of great ideas from atravelynn's trip reports, too!)

By the way, Patty and Leely, I'm sure you've posted your itineraries, so I'm off to try and find them... Happy travels! :)

Leely and all those meeting up - Have a great trip. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Just got back from a 12 day domestic trip - all carry-on. We cheated and shipped the golf clubs. (Wolves and bears in Yellowstone - fantastic!)

MDK,
I'm not sure if I ever posted my itinerary but we're going to be in Nairobi 2 nights, Ithumba 3 nights and Finch Hattons 5 nights. A short trip and Mark said no moving around so much this time! We're also getting a new guide. Don't remember if I mentioned this but Julius has been promoted and doesn't go out on safaris any more but we'll have lunch with him and Serah in Nairobi and give him his guitar then. We were a little bummed when we found out but I'm sure it'll be fine. Don't be nervous about posting your itinerary (I know what you mean though) and I'm looking forward to your Mongolia report! Oh and we also have a 2 night stopover in Paris on the way home, almost forgot ;)

Thanks, christabir! Wolves and bears, how cool. I remember our winter Yellowstone trip a few years back fondly. Seeing wolves was a highlight! I've been wanting to go back in another season but haven't made it yet.

Mr. Crosscheck is a luggage nazi and refuses to ever let us check bags. Somehow we have managed three-climate journeys, sometimes with snorkel gear, with just rollaboards and backpacks.

For our upcoming safari, we have more of a challenge because of the weight/duffle/BA size requirement. We bought some state-of-the-art lightweight Travelpro carry-on duffles, which come closest to BA's specifications. They actually look fairly roomy, but were advertised as luggage for a "1-2 day trip." I always pack at the last minute, but this time I think I'll have to do a trial run...especially because I just read that the Porini camps don't do laundry...can that possibly be true?

Patty, that sounds like a great trip (carry-on-only or not!). I think it's nice to spend more time in fewer places, especially since you've been to Kenya multiple times now. I would be sad about losing your great guide, too, but I'm sure it's a great step up for Julius and ESS will find you somebody equally cool. Please tell Serah we said hello!

Too bad you have to stop in Paris, though. ;)

(Leely, have we officially hijacked your thread yet?)

Leely,

Good luck on your trip. Can't wait to hear about it. Do me a favor when you're at Macushla? We are going in August. The staff warned that it might be crowded in the room with three of us (doube bed and a twin bed) so I was hoping you can give me your opinion when you return. They offered a nearby guesthouse but I couldn't find very good pictures and those I did find didn't look very quaint so we went with the room in the main house despite the warning. Just thought it might be easy to visualize while you standing there.

Thanks and have fun!

Hi long2travel, I think we're booked in the nearby two-bedroom guesthouse, which is called Fadhili House. It has received two stars (out of three) is a brand new guidebook to to Kenya and Tanzania, which described it as a "gorgeous little bedroom cottage at the bottom of Macushla's jungly garden...with exceptional artwork...and decor reflecting a love of African culture and wildlife..." We're going in July and will let you know how it is.

Carry-on Update (and I thought I was neurotic) - My husband, the baggage nazi, is actually driving to LAX to see if our new duffles fit into BA's sizer.

Wow, crosscheck! Did you post the link to the duffels so we can see them when your husband The LN gets back from the airport?

I'm "cleaning" my house and cramming things in the liquids bag!

Here's the link to the duffels:

http://www.ebags.com/product/travelp...g-duffel/97219 (they are very cool, and more soft-sided than they appear in the photos - purchased them online for $65 during a super sale)

BA allows 22x18x10 and these are 22x13x10 - 1100 sq. inches less than we're allowed, so we thought we were good to go. But there is a 1" plastic handle on the bottom, which concerned Mr. C.

To further complicate things, we just discovered that AA's max is 22x14x9 (although they ambiguously also mention 45" combined linear dimensions)...and we're flying AA from LAX-BOS-LHR. AA is pretty lenient, and we might get upgraded on one leg, so I'm not too worried about that inch, but it would be ironic if we ended up having to check our luggage after all these advance preparations. I guess the LN will have to check the AA gauge as well.

If you knew us, you would be shocked that we're planning so far ahead. We usually start packing at midnight the night we leave, and last year we bought our cameras the day before we traveled to the Galapagos (we still don't know how to use them).

Will report back after the airport run.

AA recently changed their policy to say that carry-ons must fit their sizers http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2010...age-crackdown/

Update: Mr. C did his airport run last night. BA was closed (on strike?), but sadly, the Travelpro failed to fit in the AA sizer. The agent, who thought Mr. C was actually traveling, rather than a Type A LN compulsively preparing for a safari, said not to worry and to proceed to the gate.

I thought this would inspire him to allow us to check, but no luck...He's now on a quest to find something similar, but an inch smaller.

Crosscheck, try the Rick Steves convertible carry-on bag.
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/ca...entId=8&id=139 They are on sale right now for $69.95. It's a great bag on safari and I've carried this bag onboard without problems, at least size-wise. The only time I had an issue was regarding its weight. Some airlines (Swiss in this case) have a weight limit for carry-on bags of about 8kg (17.6 lbs.) My bag was over 20 lbs and my "personal" camera bag was about 18 lbs... not acceptable, but the gate personnel and I had to check the clothes bag, even though it was fine on the previous United flight. The restrictions for Business class are somewhat less, but may still include the weight limit.

MKD, I'm glad to hear you're using Bill Given at The Wild Source for your safari next year. He's put together my trip this September (along with an extension to Zimbabwe.)

Hi ShayTay! I remember you mentioned working with Bill at our GTG last summer, which is one of several reasons I decided to use his company. I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip later this year!

I'm very interested in the content of this thread overall, too, since we'll have luggage weight restrictions on our flights within Mongolia, and my dad is already obsessing about packing for our Africa trip next year.

Crosscheck,

That's it, the Fadhili House! Every once in a while I think we should have taken it. It's probably booked by now but I would love to hear what you thought. We'll be a few weeks behind you, the second week in August.

Wow, I'm impressed. Driving to the airport! I noticed the luggage you found has wheels. Are you taking any intra Africa flights where weight is a concern? I'm an avid over packer and I love wheels but am afraid of the weight. We were eyeing Eddie Bauer's medium sized duffel which was very light.

We are using Egypt Air (in addition to Continental) which has a similar size limitation to AA but the weight limit is 17.6 lbs. I'm sure I can't do that without sneaking all the electronics into DH's bag. :)

I'm happy to hear that others are interested in this insane topic. We have now decided to abandon the wheels, for all the above reasons, and the boys have promised to carry my carry-on, so it's a minor victory for me. I will check out everyone's suggestions and report back.

long2travel, I know what you mean about not finding pictures of Fadhili. I was uncertain about it as well until I came across the glowing review in the guidebook. We didn't have much of a choice because I wanted to be in Karen and we were booking at the last minute. If it's absolutely fabulous, I'll let you know as soon as we arrive and maybe you can change. But the regular rooms look very cool, so you can't go wrong.

Thank you! Definitely interested in the luggage shopping so keep us posted on what you find. Congrats on the carry on victory. Told DH about your luggage nazi story and saw his eyes light up. Uh-oh. :)