the one thing you didn't bring on safari, but wish you had
 

Hi, everyoe:

I'm hoping to learn from all of your responses, so please share!

a gps, but that's only me, i like to know where i am.

A better bird book...mine was not specific enough, and there were so many birds! :)

a video camera.
more things from my home state to hand out to the people behind the scenes at lodges (I do tip them too)

My wife:))...seriously though, I traipsed through 4" of water to avoid an elephant on the path to my room at Sandibe and would have loved to have a 2nd pair of shoes. Fortunately it was so dry that a completely soaked pair of low hiking boots that were drenched dried after stuffing it with towels and toilet paper in 2 1/2hrs. just in time for the late afternoon drive. I also think the time of year makes a difference in the reply. For example the 1st year I didn't bring gloves and really needed them, the 2nd year I brought them and my luggage was lost so I needed to buy them again, the third year I brought them and realized I couldn't manipulate my camera easily so the fourth year I got those thin gloves that have nubbins on them so that I could do my photography...except for the fact that my hands were still cold they worked perfectly!(This was July/Aug in Southern Africa). I didn't have a handkerchief on my Kilimanjaro climb and could have used it about every 5 min on the summit night. Other than the basic clothing there is really nothing except photographic equipment that you really can't do without and still have an incredible time. Oh yeah, I might suggest a neck pillow for the long, long flight especially if you are not flying business or first class. I actually ended up with severe neck issues which persisted for 8 months until my wife forced me to visit a chiropractor and he fixed me in 2 weeks (I'm a little stubborn). I also have thought about bringing a little point and shoot digital camera so that I would n't have to lug my gear to lunch and dinner because I am convinced the day I don't bring it the most incredible sighting will occur...like when an elephant decided to join us for dinner and we were forced to retreat from outside to an inside deck or when my kids had an impromptu dance with the Massai at dinner.
Eric

Hi crystalsong

1. A couple of sets of normal town clothes.
As there was a 12kg limit for luggage we packed light (just under 12Kg) all our clothing was "safari-wear" khaki, green, brown or beige in colour - and we really (really) wished we had packed a set of town-clothes, a nice shirt and trousers or skirt and shoes other than our (khaki) walking boots.We stuck out like Gnu-balls in Capetown. We were sure the price of everything went up in direct proportion to "spot-the-tourist" as we approached shops in the V&A Waterfront!
2. Something we DID pack and was very useful were packs of "Wet-Ones" cloths to wipe dusty tired faces and clean hands before lunch or sundowners out in the bush.
Cheers and happy packing!
Thembi

Things I wish I had brought: a laminated bookmark that had Fahrenheit / centigrade and miles/kilometer conversions on it; and an extra toothbrush – I was so relieved to toss the one I had by the time we got home!

<font color="green">Cyn</font>

I have extreme allergic reactions to regular chapstick/lip balm. Last trip in August, i had a nasty allergic reaction and i didnt have the one and only balm i can use without a reaction......i cant recall the name, but it is available in health food/organic stores.

Hari

non-prescriptive eye drops.

A small digital tape recorder to capture the sounds of the night. I tried to use my MP3 player, but its recording capability was not great.

Someone also on this board (I forgot who) brought a small portable photo printer. That would have been great to have to be able to give photos in some of the villages and to the staff.

Matnikstym, what types of things from your home state do you bring as gifts?

Things I brought, and was thankful I didn't forget:
1. eye drops
2. small packs of tissue that I could use for the restrooms (most were out of tp)
3. liquid hand sanitizer
4. (for the ladies): a sportsbra! Those roads are bumpy!

Hi Guys
Lets have a laugh.
My mother-in-law.
Mark

I wished I'd had a second pair of zip-off trousers and a second fleece jumper. I also wished we had brought older clothes that we could have just left behind to those who needed them along with clothes that didn't fit anymore :O to give to some of the people we met.

Imelda

Eye drops.

More bandaids and/or more tape or whatever it's called; I needed to cover all my many tse tse fly bites to keep myself from scratching them, which just made them itchier. More anti-itch cream (I started using toothpaste after a while).

Otherwise everything was perfect.

I'm with Imelda-

Next time I will ditch the 'just shorts' and bring a second pair of convertibles.

kmania- t-shirts, hats and pins with state teams, fish, beach scenes on them (easy to get in Hawaii!) they really appreciate anything with a logo or picture that noone else in Africa will have.

We missed not being able to take a cup of coffee to go for the morning drives, I would definately bring a plastic to go cup next time....I'll second the sports bar...hell, I'll third it, it's quite bumpy.

I replied to this post before but I realized there is one thing I have not brought in the past that I might this time...a power strip. Many of the lodges have only 1 outlet in the tents or a limited amount at the front desk and with mulitple battery chargers for digital cameras, video, and computer it would be easier to plug into those if the camp has sufficient power for multiple devices. Plus then you would only need one plug adapter.
Eric
Eric

These are all wonderful suggestions; thank you. Please keep them coming!!