Before you travel on your safari you may suffer a small anxiety attack when your travel planner informs you that you’re only allowed to take between 15kg – 20kg of luggage on the plane (depending on your destination) and in one small soft bag only.
Never fear!
Below are some points to help you ease your packing concerns: –
All &Beyond lodges include free daily laundry service (and most other lodges too). So take just a small amount of your required clothing items and feel happy in the knowledge that they will be cleaned and smelling beautiful whenever you need.
Please be aware, if travelling during the Southern and East African winters, even though the days are generally warm, you will need to make space in your bag for a compact fleece/jacket during those cold mornings and nights. Please note Ngorongoro Crater is generally cold all year round.
A not so balmy day at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
Regarding toiletries – all &Beyond lodges (and most other lodges too) have an array of guest amenities such as shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and soap, hairdryers and mosquito repellent, so leave those at home. Just bring your own sun cream, lip balm, toothbrush, toothpaste and any other essentials not mentioned. For ladies with long hair I do suggest you bring your own “stronger” conditioner to prevent the safari windswept look.
Safari clothing colours do not have to mean you wear khaki, khaki and more khaki. Pastels and other muted colours are very acceptable. Darker colours like green and blue do attract Tsetse flies in certain parts of East Africa. White and black shirts are a no-no especially if partaking on a walking safari, as these colours are too contrasting to the surrounding bush.
Don’t forget to pack your hat! If you do, don’t stress, you can buy a stylish branded one at any &Beyond safari shop.
If you’re travelling during the rainy season, there’s no need to worry about packing a raincoat. All our &Beyond lodges have umbrellas (some even have gumboots) and all vehicles are supplied with rain ponchos.
Ponchos supplied on game drives
Africa is mostly always sunny and warm, so don’t forget to pack your bathing suit.Personally, and this one is for the ladies, I also like to take a long a pretty scarf and a summer dress so that I can still feel feminine while roughing it with my gin & tonic at the poolside staring at the wildlife roaming by.
With regards to your camera equipment, try a good high-quality compact camera to cut down on the weight. If you’re a serious photographer with heavy equipment you can to pay for extra luggage on the small air transfers if need be.
Swarovski Binoculars
At every &Beyond lodge there is the added perk where each room has 1 pair of Swarovski (only the best) binoculars to share during your safari at the lodge, so if you’re only doing &Beyond lodges leave your bulky binoculars at home.
Lastly, and this weighs nothing, remember to pack a heart full of love and adventure.
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