Safari packing lists tend to run to four pages, most of which is either obvious or unnecessary. The following six items are the ones that genuinely change the experience, and the last section covers what you can safely leave behind.
1. Your own binoculars
This is the single highest impact item on the list and the one most frequently skipped. Vehicles usually carry a shared pair, which means passing them around and missing the sighting while you wait.
Eight by forty two or ten by forty two is the standard specification for this kind of viewing. You do not need to spend a great deal, and a modest pair you own beats an excellent pair you are sharing with five people.
The travellers who enjoy game drives most are almost always the ones holding their own binoculars.
2. A warm layer
Morning game drives leave before sunrise in an open vehicle at altitude, and it is genuinely cold. Travellers pack for the equator, arrive at the savannah in July, and spend the first two hours of every day miserable.
A fleece and a windproof outer layer is enough. You will take both off by nine in the morning and want them again the next dawn.
3. A soft bag, not a hard case
If any part of your itinerary involves a light aircraft transfer, and most good ones do, baggage must be soft sided so it can be packed into the aircraft hold. Weight limits are commonly around fifteen kilograms including hand luggage.
This catches people out regularly and the solution at the airstrip is expensive and inconvenient. Check the specific limit for your flights before packing rather than after.
4. Sun protection that works in wind
High factor sunscreen, a hat that will survive a moving vehicle with a strap or a tight fit, and sunglasses. Sunburn on safari usually happens through cloud and wind, when it does not feel hot.
5. Power
Camp electricity is frequently generator or solar and available only for part of the day. A power bank means your camera and phone are charged when the good light arrives rather than when the generator comes on.
Kenya and Tanzania both use the UK style three pin plug, so travellers from the UK need no adapter and most others do.
6. Dust management
Dust is constant and it is the thing that ends camera equipment. A sealable bag or a wrap for your camera between sightings, and a lens cloth, is sufficient. A large scarf serves for both your gear and your face on rough tracks.
What you can leave
- Full head to toe khaki. Neutral tones help on walking safaris. In a vehicle, animals respond to the vehicle rather than your shirt.
- Serious hiking boots. Unless you are climbing, comfortable trainers or light walking shoes are entirely sufficient.
- Large quantities of clothing. Most camps offer laundry, often daily and often included. Three or four days of clothes covers a week.
- A heavy telephoto lens you have never used. Learn it beforehand or leave it. A trip is a poor time to start.
Two things worth checking rather than packing
Antimalarial requirements and any vaccination recommendations should come from a travel clinic, ideally several weeks before departure rather than the week of.
And confirm your travel insurance covers emergency evacuation from remote areas. Standard policies frequently do not, and it is the one exclusion that matters on safari.
