Here's the breakdown:
Clothing Packing List
• 2 Long sleeved lightweight shirt for protection from the sun *all clothes should be muted colors, bright colors will scare away some animals or attract others…we don’t want either occurring!
• 1 Sweater / jacket for cold temperatures experienced at night
• Hat (again sun protection, I also had a wool hat for warmth and gloves and long johns)
• Bathing suit (if you stay in a lodge/hotel that has a swimming pool and would want to swim) – not required but an option if you want to get into the pool
• Socks, undergarments (4 or 5 days’ worth, then plan to wash, most places offered clothes washing but you are charged a fee, in some places Maasi men did the laundry so no female undergarments were allowed…as I said, plan to wash in the sink
• Belt (if preferred)
• Sandals (flip flops) for wear during safari in the truck, if we stop and walk you will want hiking shoes and socks – the reason for flip flops or sandals is they don’t want you standing on the seats in the safari vehicles with your shoes on
• Lightweight hiking shoes
• 2 Shorts/zip off pants (two pair) that convert into shorts are best, 3 -4 t-shirts, something to sleep in if preferred (your roommates might prefer!)
• Sunglasses
• Reading glasses (if you wear contacts bring glasses as it can be very dusty)
• Remember: Bring enough clothing for the entire safari as you may not have them washed (most lodges do offer laundry service) *you can always wash clothes in your sink, we did
Personal items
• Sunscreen / Sun block
• Lip sun block
• Toiletries such as toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo *soap and shampoo are provided by all lodges, however, bring a small travel bottle then can be used to wash clothes
• Several Ziploc bags for camera and toiletries (and dirty clothes)
• Antibacterial hand (or facial) wipes/hand sanitizer and/or baby wipes
• Ibuprofen and other required medications – make sure they are in original bottles *for Malaria we use Doxycycline a broad spectrum antibiotic, started 1 – 2 days before we leave for Tanzania – also consider controlled release Ambien, anti-diarrhea meds and get a prescription for Cipro (strong general antibiotic)
• Recommended if you are not up-to-date with routine shots, such as measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) vaccine, poliovirus vaccine, etc., Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Polio
• Bug repellant (Tsetse flies cause sleeping sickness and are bad!) *we used lemon eucalyptus from Forestry Suppliers
• You will NOT need bed nets
Other
• Camera, 300 mm lens recommended. (bring extra scan disks so you can maintain resolution of each photo *we shot our photos in RAW but that took a lot of room, we each had 5 scan disks!)
• Extra camera batteries *we will have electricity at each site and in the vehicle so bring rechargeable camera batteries and an adapter
• Flashlight
• Binoculars (each of our vehicles has 1~2 binoculars)
• Locks for baggage
• Video camera (if you want)
• Small gifts for Maasai children (if you want) – maybe chalk or gum or other school supplies
• Travelers checks or currency *bring currency in small denominations, in some places they would not take a $20 *call your credit card company, let them know you will be using your Visa or American express (not discover) in Tanzania and the Netherlands, give them the dates of your travel
• Wildlife guides (we can consolidate as weight will quickly become an issue)
• Small backpack (to use on non-travel days to bring in the truck while on safari – this is also what I will use as carry on for our international flight)
• Money belt (place to keep your passport) *each lodge had a safe in the closet of each room so you can leave extra cash, airline tickets and passport locked in the room, however, don’t forget them when we depart!) *Keep your passport on you while we are traveling DO NOT PACK YOUR PASSPORT, you will need to show it several times*
• Snacks *if needed, to be honest we often had packed lunches or breakfasts and they gave us so much food we didn’t need snacks
• Good Earth will provide bottled water in the trucks; you should carry a couple of bottles with you to your room. Don’t drink water from the tap. Only drink bottled liquids, wipe off the mouth piece or use a straw.
So if anyone knows where I can borrow this stuff or get it cheap, I'd love advice. As far as the medical stuff, I do not have health insurance, but I participate in a medical sharing plan called Samaritan Ministries. This means that preventative stuff and anything under a certain amount is covered by us, and anything else is sent to them and shared among the members. So donations in that regard are definitely welcome. Donation button to PayPal is below. Thanks everyone!
