What to pack for a safari

We get the same message every Friday night, every dry-season week. "Quick question, what do I actually need to bring?" Usually from a guest flying out on Sunday. Usually with the suitcase open on the bed.

Here is the version we send back, refined over many years of doing this.

The single most important rule

Soft bags only. Hard suitcases do not fit on light aircraft transfers, and most of southern and east African safari travel involves at least one Cessna leg with a strict weight limit and a cargo pod the size of a small cupboard. Twenty kilograms total, including hand luggage, is the standard rule for the bush airlines. Some are stricter.

A cheap canvas duffel works perfectly. So does a soft-sided rolling holdall. If you arrive at Maun or Kasane or Hoedspruit with a hardshell, the lodge will sort it out, but you will be the reason the takeoff is delayed.

What goes in the bag

Layers, not coats. The temperature swing on a winter morning in southern Africa can be twenty degrees Celsius between 5am and noon. You want a long-sleeved base layer, a fleece or a soft jacket, and a windproof shell. By 10am you will be down to the base layer. By noon you will have rolled the sleeves up.

Earth tones. Not because the animals will spot you (they don't care about colour, they care about movement and scent), but because the lodges photograph beautifully against neutral palettes and the camp staff have washed white shirts a thousand times and they would prefer not to. Khaki, olive, stone, charcoal, and faded blue all work. Avoid bright white in the bush because dust. Avoid black and dark blue in tsetse country in northern Botswana, Zambia, and the Selous, because tsetse flies are attracted to those colours specifically.

One pair of closed shoes you can walk in. Not new ones. The vehicles are open, the dust is fine, and your feet will be filthy by lunch. Walking safaris are usually offered as an option, and decent grip matters. Trail runners or low hikers are perfect. Do not bring boots that need breaking in.

A wide-brimmed hat. Caps work for the morning drive but the afternoon sun on your ears and neck is the thing that ends the second drive early. A proper bush hat is worth the slight social discomfort of wearing one.

Sunglasses with proper UV protection. And a strap. The vehicles bounce.

Sunblock. Higher than you think you need. SPF 50, applied properly, twice a day. The African sun is sneaky and the open vehicle gets you from every angle.

Insect repellent with DEET. Citronella does not work. Picaridin-based repellents work but DEET is still the gold standard. Apply at sunset, before the mosquitoes arrive, not after they have started biting. If you are going to a malaria area, you should also be on prophylaxis from your GP, which is a separate conversation.

A small headtorch. Most lodges provide one in the room, but you will use yours walking from the dinner boma to the tent. Red light setting is preferable for the bush.

A power bank. Most lodges have power in the rooms but not always 24 hours, especially in remote camps that run on generators or solar. A 10,000mAh power bank covers a long drive plus a charge of two phones overnight.

A daypack. Small, soft, no rigid frame. For the vehicle. Carries water, sunblock, camera, a fleece for the afternoon when the wind picks up, your binoculars.

Binoculars. This is the single piece of kit guests most often regret not bringing. The lodge will have a pair on the vehicle but it will be shared, and at 6:15am with three pairs of eyes on a leopard a kilometre away, you will want your own. 8x42 is the standard size. You can spend $80 or $800. The $200 mid-range pairs from Nikon, Vortex, or Bushnell are excellent.

A camera, possibly. Honest answer: most guests get more out of putting the phone down and watching. If you are going to take a camera, a mirrorless body with a 100-400mm lens covers ninety percent of safari photography. A phone with a decent zoom is genuinely fine for the rest. The lodge guides will take photos for you on request.

A swimsuit. Most lodges have a pool. Most of them are very, very good.

One smarter outfit. Some lodges still do a slightly more formal dinner mid-stay. Linen trousers, a clean shirt, a cotton dress. Nothing dramatic.

Plug adapter (Type M for South Africa, Type G for Zambia, Type D in many Tanzanian lodges). A universal travel adapter covers everything but tends to be bulky. Two specific adapters often work better.

What to leave behind

Camo print. Reserved for the military in many African countries, including Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Zambia. Wearing it can get you stopped at borders.

A hairdryer. Every lodge has one.

More than one pair of jeans. They are heavy and slow to dry.

Heels. The boardwalks are uneven, the floors are wood or stone, and there is genuinely nowhere to wear them.

A drone. Banned in most national parks and reserves and a fast way to get the lodge fined or your equipment confiscated. If you are a working photographer who needs aerial footage, ask us first and we can arrange permits where they exist.

The thing to bring that nobody mentions

A small notebook.

Not for the practical reasons. Because some of what you see, you will want to write down within the hour. The way the light hit the dust at 5:45am. The exact sequence the wild dogs ran the impala. What the guide said when the elephant stopped in the road and looked at you and decided you were not worth the energy.

The photos will not hold this for you. The notebook will. Twenty years later, the journals are the part of the safari we still go back to.

Start with a conversation.