What to Bring

What to Bring on a Camping Safari

To make packing easier, here you will find a list of the essentials:

Travel Documents

Passport with appropriate visas
Health Certificates as recommended by your physician for your specific destination(s)
Airline tickets (always reconfirm reservations 72 hours in advance)
Customs registration (sometimes required for cameras, videos, binoculars and expensive watches)

Clothing

Depending upon the time of year, lightweight clothing of cotton and cotton/blends are most suitable. During the winter months it can be very cold and a warm/windproof jacket will be needed for early morning and evening game viewing activities.

During the summer months bring a lightweight water/windproof jacket in case of rain, but otherwise temperatures are very warm. For evenings bring lightweight long sleeved clothing as protection from mosquitoes.

Neutral colours such as khaki and drab or olive green are appropriate, and are less conspicuous to the animals. Laundry is done daily in camp, so it is not necessary to over pack.

Suggestions

Outdoor clothing in neutral tones and natural fibres work best
Light-weight cotton type long trousers and shorts
Shirts- three long and three short sleeved
Pyjamas or anything comfortable for sleeping
Light wind proof jacket, sleeveless jacket or fleece (for game drives, boat trips, winter nights and longer drives between camping areas)
Warm and windproof jacket, gloves, hat (May – August)
Pair of comfortable walking shoes, tennis shoes, lightweight hiking boots and/or sandals for camp/flip flops
Lightweight rain jacket (November – March)
Light scarf (great to protect the hair in an open car while driving)
Underwear including sports bras: bumpy roads : )
Swimwear
Sarong or multi-purpose cotton wrap-around (useful for many things)
Hat in neutral tones

Essential Items

Binoculars
Headlamp and powerful hand flashlight
Sunglasses
Sunscreen lotion / sunblock / lip-aid
Skin moisturiser
Toiletries
Baby wipes can be very helpful in the bush
Shaving kit
Extra pair or prescription glasses or contact lenses
Mosquito repellent
Extra camera batteries and memory cards
Electrical adaptors (in Botswana you will need a 3-prong, round-point adapter)
Pen and paper, or writing journal/diary
Locks for luggage

Small private medical kit containing:

Aspirin
Antiseptic cream
Band aids
Anti-diarrhoea medicine
Eye and nose drops
Antihistamine if you suffer from allergies/hay fever as the grass and dust levels can be quite high.

Remember to bring any specific medicine you need to take.

Suggested Photo Equipment

(For the 'keen' photographer).

35 mm cameras with flash (possibly one standard and one auto-focus).
Standard lens, 35-50 mm range.
Wide angle lens, 24-35 mm range.
Zoom lens, 70-200 or 100-300 mm range.
Long lens, 200-400 mm range, with f3.5 or f4 speed if possible.
Miniature 35 mm camera or digital for “happy snaps” and campfire shots.
Camera battery charger.
At least one spare camera battery.
Camera cleaning equipment (dust can be a problem).

A tripod may be useful when photographing outside the vehicle: otherwise a small beanbag (often furnished in your safari vehicle) will stabilise your camera on the window or roof hatch of the vehicle.
Pack your equipment in a good, soft-sided case, and carry it on the plane with you. Africa can be dusty and you should protect your equipment well. Plastic ‘ziplock’ bags or cloth pillowcases are ideal means of covering and storing your photographic equipment during your safari.