jlpx2

I have been reading the posts on this site for a couple of months now--We are going to go Kenya and Tanzania in January and are really excited about our first trip to Africa. I am worried about the weight restriction--so I have been looking at safari light-weight cargo pants/shorts shirts etc. Lately I have been seeing some posts about ridiculous looking Americans appearing in all khaki--newly purchased safari clothing, looking way too touristy (as if first time in Americans visitig Africa are going to blend in). I want to be practical in my limited33 pounds of choice-things which will be serviceable, dry quickly and not be "blue or black". Living in the midwest I cannot just throw together a wardrobe of practical safari outfits in a second--nor do I want to later see a post of Midwest-housewife spa girl. What do you suggest for clothing to take for two week on a Micato trip to Kenya and Tanzania? We will be arriving two days early in Nairobi but not planning on any afer excursions as we still have to work to pay for these vacations.
I am not just planning my wardrobe--less you think I am totally blond, but have also been reading about the game we hope to see--if we are lucky. But thanks for your help with any and all suggestions. Jan

Leely

I have only been to Tanzania in June and July; I think the weather may be a bit warmer in January. But, for what it's worth:

Take and wear whatever you want! Don't worry about looking too safari'd out. It's not a big deal, and remember your primary concerns are comfort and respecting the culture(s) you're visiting (and on safari this also isn't a big deal at all).

Take 3 or 4 pairs of lightweight pants: khaki, olive, stone are all good colors. I never take shorts because I don't wear them anyway, but some people like them and/or those zip-off pants. I usually take one long-ish cotton skirt because I get bored in the safari clothes. But again, this is just personal choice.

This past summer I made the mistake of taking a couple of gunmetal gray/blue shirts. I <i>think</i> I attracted more tse tse flies when wearing these items, so I wouldn't bring them again. Otherwise, I wore T-shirts in neutral or muted/weathered colors. I think I took 4 or 5 Ts and 2 longsleeve cotton tunic tops (from Gap, Old Navy, wherever for cheap). Another longsleeved T-shirt to layer.

Some type of fleece or windbreaker or sweatshirt (I took a thin hoodie and a thicker one) for morning drives, etc. I pack a scarf--don't always use it.

I always take LOTS of socks and underwear; they don't weigh much and I don't like to wash things on safari. You can have laundry done at many/most/all camps and lodges but they generally won't wash &quot;smalls&quot; (your undies).

I take high-top Converse Chuck Taylors in &quot;natural&quot; and one pair rubber flip flops and one pair &quot;nice&quot; flip flops. Again, this is what I take because it's what I have in my closet already. Unless you're doing serious hiking, you'll be okay in whatever tennies or casual walking shoes you have.

Ziploc bags are invaluable for this, that and the other thing.

Don't worry about it! Have a wonderful time.

Toshi

We went with most earth tones, although tried to vary it a bit with different shades and make sure that everything matches so we can get away with packing as little as possible.

We are also from the midwest and had never been on a trip like this so we had to do some shopping. We ordered from REI, Backcountry, and Ex Officio and were quite pleased. Our strategy was wear one days worth of clothes, pack two days worth, and do laundry along the way. This worked perfectfor us because we were at lodges 2 nights which allowed for laundry time.

You can view out whole packing list here:
http://www.whywework.com/blog/2005_1...35387450927276

Don't overlook &quot;performance fabrics&quot; - especially the patagonia underwear - awesome! Ultra comfortable for long flights and drives and easy to wash in the sink and dries quickly.

Like you say - be practical and comfortable - no one really cares unless you are attracting insects.

sandi

I was just in The Gap, and they have lots of khaki, tan and brown. As above, just wear comfortable clothing and well broken in shoes. You should be fine.

There are so many threads on this board about clothing which will give you an idea how most of us actually manage to keep within the 33/lb weight.

But do remember, as LyndaS trip report and earlier posts indicated, the duffle Micato sends to you weights 7/lbs before you even put in a pair of &quot;wears.&quot; Keep that in mind. Or buy your own real lightweight duffle (there are some that weigh all of 2/lbs).

Also, you can have your clothing laundered at the lodges/camps at little or no charge; and everyone will be in the same situation as you, so go with the flow. You'll do just fine.

jenn24

I just came back from safari. I think I only had 1 thing in my whole bag that was khaki. I had a lot of browns and dark greens though and they were fine. In fact I liked the green and browns as they didn't seem to show the dirt quite as much. I got most of my things at The Gap and Old Navy. I liked layering my shirts with a tank top, short sleeved shirt and then a long sleeved shirt. This way I could peel stuff off as the day got hotter. The tank tops were the type with a built in bra, which was nice since they provided some extra support on all of those bumpy roads. I particually liked the light weight long sleeved shirts I brought as they kept me warm but also protected me from the sun, but were not too hot. They were also easy to wash and dryed overnight.

My favorite pants were 2 pairs of pants I got from the Gap. They were regular long length, but rolled up capri length if you wanted. They were light weight, comfortable and easy to wash/dry.

Just remember it is very dusty on safari, so don't bring anything you wouldn't want getting dirty. I was glad that the sneakers I brought with me were a dark grey instead of white since they got quite dirty.


Jenn

jenn24

I forgot to say that I stuck with earth tones as well because I was then able to mix and match everything.

I would bring a long skirt next time like Leely did as I did get tired of wearing the same clothes for 2 weeks.

I also invested in some light weight quick drying underwear by Ex Officio. They were great!


Jenn

VIRGINIAUSH

Leely...we are leaving on Set 12th...your comment about Converse shoes is great to me...was not sure what to wear...no white sneakers of course...no hiking shoes..I'm not a serious hiker....and the long shirt also is a good idea...at this time my first concern is what to pack!!! thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences...I can-t wait to arrive there!

Lucia78

Since you're in a vehicle the WHOLE time, the only really important things to consider are avoiding bugs attracted to certain colors and being comfortable sitting/standing in a vehicle all day.

The other important things to consider are clothes you don't care getting ruined and those that dry quickly.

I didn't buy any &quot;travel&quot; clothes, except zip off pants and those weren't too comfortable to sit in all day, so I only wore them once.

My best buys were the 2 for $15 lightweight t-shirts at Old Navy, $14 gaucho pants from Old Navy and a $15 gray hoodie from Old Navy.

Don't worry too much about color, except in Tanzania where tse tse flies are (they aren't in Kenya). I wore pink and yellow and green and brown. As someone earlier posted, the Masai wear red, so this khaki thing really isn't necessary.

Also, I think travel underwear are the biggest rip off. My regular cotton underwear dried in the same amount of time as the expensive travel undies.

Here's what I would take relative to clothing:
1 pair sneakers
1 pair flip/flops or sandals
6 pairs underwear
4 bras (sports bras or other comfortable bras)
3 pairs of socks
2 long sleeve shirts (1 for dinner)
1 fleece
1 hooded sweatshirt
5 t-shirts
3 pants (1 for dinner the other two for game drives)
1 pair of gaucho pants...or comfortable long shorts or skirt.
hat

It is DEFINITELY possible to pack light. My pack was 25 lbs and I could have EASILY shaved off 5 lbs after the fact.

Have a great time!

betharwein

We live in Minneapolis and just came back from a 2 week safari in Kenya. We all wore safari tan most of the trip, some muted green, many a lite brown. Our guides always wore safari colors so I was glad we did, too. What I found was the good safari pants and shirts I bought at REI dried within hours. After a ride for 3-4 hours, we would come back so dusty it was good to rinse our clothes out. The better ones dried within a few hours. We did not need wind breakers in Kenya. A fleece jacket or sweatshirt was enough for the cold. We didn't need gloves, either. My daughter took a safari skirt that zipped off and wore it a lot at night. It was cute. We wore our same clothes every day. We carried one suitcase each and our weight was way under 33 lbs. You can carry a lot of clothes for that amount of weight. The only time you really have a problem is when you fly on a little plane.
Anyway, we never looked out of place in our safari clothes. Most people wore them. Betty

sandi

My Victoria Secret or Jockey wears (cotton) dry as quickly, if not faster, than those special quick-dry ones. Tried these before a trip years back and decided to wear my own. Though as many know, I don't do laundry when on holiday, so just bring enough for the entire stay.

You really don't need &quot;special&quot; clothes for safari, as all the &quot;safari colors&quot; are available year-round, often on sale. As above, check out The Gap, Old Navy and/or similar stores for what you need.

sundowner

I agree with others that special safari clothes aren't necessary. I did buy khaki pants/shirts at acadamy sports store for my first trip to Africa. I have worn the same ones every year that I've gone (5x now). So it was a good investment for me. They aren't really clothes that I wear at home but that's good because they don't wear out. I never wonder what I'm going to wear or pack and never need to go shopping before I go.

Also, maybe it's just me but I never notice what other people are wearing unless it's just atrocious. There is one I remember and it was this 25ish lady whose pants were at least 2 sizes too small. Embarrassingly too small but she thought she looked great. And I noticed on the mobile camping safari that my light khaki showed the dirt way more than the greenish khaki. And mine (cotton) were harder to wash clean than the synthetics (on the mobile camping safari).

So I say wear whatever you want but stay with the earthy colors. I think (this is only my opinion) people in bright colors look silly - like they didn't know they were going on safari? or didn't care enough to find out what to wear? And if you want to buy safari clothes, then do it. You won't look ridiculous because that IS what many people wear.

Just have a great time - that's all that matters!

OnlyMeOirish

Unlike Lucia, I absolutely LOVED my zip-off pants. I bought them the day before we left and I can honestly say that I will NEVER go on safari without them again ..... SOOOO comfortable and practical. In fact, next trip I will take TWO pairs of those and leave the rest of the trousers and shorts at home. I also took a lightweight waterproof jacket which was fantastic but I'm not too sure what the weather will be like in January so you may not need one. A cap was definately very handy for keeping the sun off my face and also'saving' it from some of the dust.
I only took one fleece for the colder morning and evening drives and if I was going again I would take two as I didn't have time to wash it in between and it was pretty dusty by the end.
One thing I didn't take was a light sweater (dressy type) for the evening - would take that too on our next trip!

comtnboy

Don't worry about being to &quot;Safari'd out&quot;. I saw plenty of folks in brand new head to toe safari get up's. Hey- if it makes you comfortable then go for it. I loved my REI convertible pants. They were a blend of synthetic and cotton so they were a bit more sturdy. I barely ever converted them to shorts, though. I actually felt better staying covered up from the strong African sun. My favorite item was my Humvee vest. Although it had so many pockets I would temporarily lose items it was awesome to be able to hold everything I needed right on me. Also, it is great for the security screenings. Anything that could set off the metal detector went into the vest and I would run the vest through the x ray machine. It made life much easier. Have fun!

Trisha1

Don't forget gloves. Your hands will be sunburned because you are holding on to the safari vehicle.

I also took a safari hat with a net, which is invaluable around insects and dust.

comtnboy

Gloves are a good idea or sunblock SPF45. That was the first place I managed to get sunburned!