Travel Tips

I keep a permanent packing list on my PC, and add to it every time I discover something I wish I’d taken on a trip. The list is very extensive and I don’t take everything on the list every time I travel. It does mean that I rare forget something important though.

Luggage

Think very carefully about what to take for your safari trip, as packing light is very important. The best luggage to take is a soft sided bag, as these are so much easier to store in the boot of the vehicle. There won’t be much room for luggage, especially if there are a few of you on the trip. Larger items can usually be left behind and collected at the end of the safari – especially useful if you are going on somewhere else afterwards. We did this on our very first safari when we were spending a week in the Seychelles afterwards and wanted a few nice things with us for the beach and dressing up at night.

Whether you want to take a rucksack or a duffel type bag is up to you. I have a very good bag which is a combination of a wheely bag and a rucksack. Obviously wheels are no good on uneven ground, but are very useful in airports and lodges. I have a back problem, so the less time I have carrying my bag, the better, but if need be, the bag can convert to a rucksack. I also don’t like the top-loading type of bags, as I think it is so difficult to find stuff inside in those bags; so I like one with a large zip opening up the entire top of the bag. Mine has straps that compact the bag, so that if I carry less stuff with me, the bag becomes smaller; and if I want to fill it to its capacity, there is room. I spent a lot of time looking around for the most suitable bag for my requirements, and this one fitted the bill perfectly. I have spent many years using cheap bags, which have lasted a couple of trips before falling apart. I finally decided to invest in a quality (if expensive) piece of luggage. It has certainly been worth it.

Another thing to think about when buying your luggage is the airport handling. If you go for a rucksack, make sure you tuck the straps out of the way, or invest in one of those sacks that cover the whole bag.

You may want to consider putting your stuff inside plastic bag in the main luggage, especially during the wet season. Many vehicles will carry the luggage on the roof, and if it rains, everything gets very wet.

As for locks, I suppose that if a thief was determined, they could get into anything, but a sturdy padlock is at least a small deterrent. Never place valuable items in non-lockable outside compartments. I have spoken to so many people recently who have been caught by the new check-in legislations and have had to place items in the hold luggage at the check in desk and therefore just slipped them into an easy outside pocket – only to find them missing when they get to the other end. Check what the latest rules are at the airport you are travelling from before you set off from home.

Clearly mark your luggage with your name, flight number and destination. Do not have your home address easily visible on the outside of your luggage; it’s an open invitation to thieves. Slip a piece of paper with your home address and telephone number INSIDE your luggage, just in case it is lost and the label comes off.

I also carry a photograph of my luggage with me – it is so much easier to hand over to the airport authorities if your bag is lost, than to try and describe the luggage to them. It is obviously so much easier for them to find it that way too.

David and I also mark our bags with different coloured ribbon; for two reasons: we can easily see which one is which later on in the room/tent (not that it makes a huge difference as we are usually in the room/tent, but there have been times when we’ve been in single sex dorms, and then the differentiation is invaluable. Of course that doesn’t apply if you don’t have the same bag! Another good use for the ribbon is quick and easy identification on the airport carousel.

The two main things for consideration when thinking about what clothes to take are: comfort and dust. You will be sitting down for hours on end, so you might as well be comfortable. Baggy cotton clothes tend to be more comfortable than tight-fitting man-made ones.

It will be hot during the middle of the day, but the mornings can be really quite cold, so try and dress in layers. I always take a windproof jacket and a thick fleece, and I have been known to take a wooly hat and gloves too. Depending on where you are and what time of year it is, the temperature can drop down to 5-10 degrees centigrade in the night. It was about 13°C in Tanzania this time, but even that felt very cold in an open top car at speed. I wish I’d brought my gloves!

They always say not to dress in bright colours, especially red, but people never seem to take any notice of that, including many drivers I saw. I did hear a driver ask a passenger to go back and change from a brightly coloured top a few years ago though. It is best to dress in neutral colours to be safe.

Wear stuff that is easily washable and that you don’t mind getting dirty, as you WILL get dusty during the dry season.

I always wear long trousers, socks and trainers on a safari, as we regularly walk over uneven ground with tall grasses. Easy slip-on sandals are nice for around the camp in the evening, especially for going to the loo in the night. If you are doing a trek or a walking safari as part of your tour, you may wish to take walking boots.

If you are staying in some nice lodges, you may want to consider something to change into for dinner, although I have never been to a lodge where there is a strict dress code, even on New Year’s Eve. Wear what you think is comfortable.

You may want to take a rain proof jacket and/or an umbrella, depending on the season. Long sleeves shirts can be very useful as a protection against mosquitoes in the evening and the sun during the day, especially if you got sunburnt the day before.

Always take a hat. I almost didn’t bother this time, as I thought I wouldn’t need it inside the vehicle. What I didn’t think about was the fact that the roof came off completely, so we were exposed to the sun all day. I would have really suffered without a hat.

I bought a thin, white cotton scarf in Egypt many years ago, which now travels with me on almost every trip. It is great for covering my head if I enter a mosque, my neck if I have got sunburnt and my face in a dust storm.

Another very useful item on my packing list is the sarong. I have used it for wrapping around me when I go to the public shower in the camp ground, for sitting on during a picnic, for covering against the sun on a boat trip, as a sheet during a hot night when the sleeping bag was too warm, as a shawl during a chilly evening, to wrap around my waist when wearing short and wanting to enter a religious site, for covering up over my swim suit when go backing to room in the lodge, as a curtain etc. I bought a really, really thin cotton sarong many years ago in India, and it packs down to almost nothing. Totally invaluable.

Nightwear is a matter of preference really, but it is worth considering the conditions: will it be so hot that a thin nighty is all I need? Will it be cold at night in the camp so that I may wish to sleep in a track suit? Will I want something modest while making my nightly visit to the toilet?

It is always worth taking a swim suit, you never know hen you might want to cool off in a pool. Many lodges and some camp ground have swimming pools. I have also seen a woman wearing a swim suit for modesty when showering in a common shower on a camp site.

Of course toiletries are very much a personal thing. I can tell you what I find useful, but these things may not be very helpful to you. This is what I take with me when I travel:

Body lotion. I find that the dust makes my skin very dry, so I like to moisturise it after a shower.

Dental floss. This is not just useful for removing bits of food that are stuck between your teeth, but also acts as a very strong string for repair jobs.

Deodorant. I have started to take a deodorant stick, rather than a roll-on (I don’t like aerosols), as I have had a couple of accidents recently where the ball has come our after a flight, soaking my entire wash bag in sweet smelling, but sticky stuff.

Flannel. I also take a plastic bag to transport the flannel in when it is wet. I actually take two flannels, one in my day pack for wiping my face during hot sticky days. I find my face gets gritty and uncomfortable when I sweat a lot in the extreme heat, and if it is dusty too, the wet flannel is a wonderful relief and really does cool you down.

Lipsalve. My lips get very dry when travelling, so I always take a good quality lipsalve, which I apply every night when going to bed. I also use a lipsalve with at least a Factor 15 during the day. If you have ever got your lips sunburnt, you will understand why – it is most uncomfortable! This is my favourite lipsalve, and I will never use anything else: http://www.expresschemist.co.uk/product_8208_melrose-multi-purpose-skincare-stick-18g.html. Believe me, I have tried a lot of them, and nothing comes anywhere near close the qualities of this.

One thing I very often forget is a mirror. If you are camping, there may not be a mirror in the shower/toilet block, so you may not know what you look like for a day or two. This happened to me on our last trip to Tanzania – I had to use the car mirror to make sure I didn’t have toothpaste on my face.

Facial moisturiser is equally import as body lotion. Dry air, sunshine, dust and water all play havoc with your skin, so a good moisturiser is very important. Unfortunately, many moisturizers come in fancy glad pots, which are not very good for travelling. In Boots (in the UK), you can buy small empty containers for travelling, which are ideal to decanter your stuff into.

One thing I never travel without is a nail brush. It is not something I use a lot at home, other than when gardening, but I find it very useful on safari. Dust and dirt always end up getting under my finger- and toe-nails on these trips and a small nail brush is useful for cleaning other things too. I take a tiny little one that came in a Christmas cracker one year. I also take a nail file and a small foot file as the dry air also plays havoc with the dry skin on my feet. I am always amazed that the X-rays in airports never pick up on my nail file!

A multi-purpose travel plug for the sink is a very useful item to take. This is the kind of thing I am on about: Travel Plug Many hotels do not have plugs in their sinks, and especially if you want to wash your clothes, you might find this useful. I also take a travel wash for the same reason. Having said that, many a time have I showered with my clothes on, giving them a good wash while I am still wearing them, then discarding them one by one, placing them under my feet in the shower so that I trample on them. After a quick rinse, they are ready to hang up. I always take a travel clothes line which has a hook at each end and doesn’t require pegs.

I usually buy travel sized shampoo and conditioner, or decanter them into smaller sized containers. I never skimp on conditioner on my trips, as my hair suffers from the dry conditions too. I always place the shampoo and conditioner inside a plastic bag, in case of leaks.

Many years ago I nicked (sorry!) a soap and container from a posh hotel. It was one of those freeby small sized ones with the hotel logo on it. It is only about two inches long and one-and-a-half inch wide. It has travelled with me ever since, but now is showing signs of cracking. I shall have to stay at another up market hotel I think. I refill the soap inside with small bars of Dove soap from the travel counter in Superdrug. I prefer to use my own soap in public showers, even if one is provided.

Ladies, always take enough tampons/sanitary towels, as these are often hard to get in out-of-the-way places.

We always take two rolls of toilet paper, even though we rarely use that much. The reason for taking two is that we may both want to visit the toilet at the same time. I usually pack the toilet roll inside a very thin plastic bag – the type they use at check-outs to wrap fresh produce in. I also nab the roll from my own toilet just before it is finished, when it only has about half an inch of paper left on it. That way I can flatten it and place it in my hand bag, again inside a plastic bag. One word of advice: dig out the toilet roll from your bag before doing your business in a squat loo. Usually there is no dry floor to place your bag on, and when you are squatting over a hole, trying to keep the end of your trousers from getting dirty from the floor, it is not easy to rummage in the bag for the paper. I speak from experience. I also take a sealable plastic bag for used toilet paper from bush-stops. Never throw the paper in the wild. Take it with you and burn on the vamp fire at night, or place in the bin in the lodge or vamp site. Also take some wet wipes and antiseptic hand wash with you, as you may not be able to wash your hands properly after a toilet visit or before eating. Best to be safe.

I take a foldable travel tooth brush and a sample sized tooth paste. I always use bottled water for brushing my teeth, even though David doesn’t and has never had any problems. My stomach is much more sensitive to germs than his.

If you are camping, you will want to take a towel with you; if you are staying in lodges, this should not be necessary, although you may want one for around the pool (some lodges will provide towels for this too). I personally don’t like the specific travel towels, I find they don’t absorb water in the same way as terry towels do. We both have some very expensive proper travel towels in their own net bags, but we tend to take some cheap, thin terry towels we bought in Hawaii 25 years ago. They dry almost as quickly as the proper towels, don’t take up any more room and are much more efficient!

I keep a fully packed travel washbag at all times, that way I don’t have to rummage around to find the stuff each time I travel. The things I take when travelling I don’t usually use at home anyway.

The first aid kit is for some reason my pet hate. I know I take far too much stuff, but I would rather take too much than need something I didn’t have. Especially when travelling off the beaten track, where medical facilities could be a day’s drive away and even then you don’t know what the amenities would be like. In a major emergency you would of course evacuate to the nearest town, but if it was just a minor crisis, you would be better of having treatment with you. This is what I take:

Eye drops. I find my eyes get very sore, dry and irritated by the dust, and the eye drops are a great relief for this. If you wear contact lenses, you may find the dust to be a problem. I always take a spare pair of prescription spectacles and sunglasses with me. On some trips I will also take a copy of the prescription with me, in case I can get some cheap glasses made up.

Anti-histamine cream is great for insect bites and nettle rashes. Other creams, sticks or sprays may be available to relieve the itching of insect bites – use whichever one works best for you. I must admit I haven’t found one yet that takes away the itching completely, but they do dull the sensation a little.

Anti-malaria prophylaxis is imperative. Check with your doctor for the latest updates. My personal favourite is Larium (meflaquine), but it doesn’t suit everyone and it can have some devastating side effects. I love this web site for up-t-date advice Traveldoctor, but you still should check with a doctor or travel clinic. I personally prefer to visit a travel clinic, as most doctors are pretty clueless about travel health. At least in a travel clinic, it is what they do every single day, so they should have a lot more up-t-date information than your average GP. In Bristol we have a great travel clinic: Nomad, they are part of a nationwide chain. We find them very helpful and reasonably priced. Most GPs will charge you for a private prescription for any travel-related medicine anyway.

I have also got my GP to prescribe malaria treatment which I take with me on some trips. Malaria has an incubation period of at least seven days, so if my trip is a week or less, I leave this stuff at home. I have been told that it is better to take the treatment if you suspect malaria even if it turns out not to be so serious, than it is to wait and see how the illness develops. Fortunately I have not yet had to take it. The symptoms of malaria are very similar to those of influenza, so if you develop a headache, fever, nausea or vomiting, suspect malaria. I have seen people suffering from malaria myself, and it is not nice. Do not take the illness lightly. VTs own KingaFreespirit didn’t survive.

Make sure you take an insect repellent with at least 50% DEET in it and apply to all exposed areas as soon as the sun is about to go down.

Also check with your travel health store or doctor for other inoculations recommended for your particular destination. I never skimp on the cost of vaccinations; I wouldn’t play Russian roulette with my health. Some countries require you to show a certificate of inoculation on entering; check this with the embassy. This is often the case with Yellow fever when travelling overland in Africa or South America.

I also take antiseptic wipes, plasters (in various sizes) and skin closures as well as syringe and needles. Always pack these in your checked in luggage. I don’t tend to take large bandages, as I figure a wound that big would probably warrant medical supervision anyway. I keep a couple of plasters in my hand bag for small everyday cuts. For any holiday involving some amount of walking, I take a supply of Comped In fact, I always take one or two of them anyway, even if we are not trekking, as they are just so marvellous. Being waterproof, they are ideal for covering cuts and grazes in dusty or humid environments. David grazed his elbow once and Compeed was the only stuff that would stay on and keep in clean. I swear by them. They are not cheap, but really worth the money! I will also take some antiseptic cream such as Savlon, and if the trip involves trekking, I will take an antiseptic spray.

Pain killers: I take a supply of various pain killers especially suited to me, such as ibuprofen, paracetamol, codeine and aspirin. Having a back problem, I probably take more painkillers than the average person would, so base the amount on how much you would normally take. Make sure you keep a few in your day pack for access during a game drive. It is not nice to spend hours with a head ache when it can easily be cured with some tablets. Remember you may not have access to your main bags during the day. Dry air, sunshine and dehydration can very easily result in a head ache.

That brings me nicely on to rehydration sachets. These are available in a variety of flavours; my personal ‘favourite’ (if you can call it that) is the blackcurrant one. They are not enjoyable, but very effective. In very hot weather I will take a sachet morning and night as a matter of course, even if I do not feel dehydrated. The problem with dehydration is that you don’t normally realise that you are suffering until it is too late. The amount of water in your body only has to decrease by a few per cent, for dehydration to occur. The effects of dehydration can be serious and, in extreme circumstances, they can be fatal. Things to look out for are headache, lightheadedness, dizziness, tiredness, confusion, dark urine and less frequent/ quantity of urination. The problem is of course, that you know you are not going to be able to use a toilet for several hours, so you try to drink less water. Also, dry heat is very deceptive, as you don’t realise how much you sweat, as the sweat dries immediately on your skin. Funnily enough, thirst is not one of the first symptoms of dehydration, which is why you don’t always realise that you are suffering. Of course, if you are suffering from an upset tummy with vomiting and diarrhea, you are losing a lot of fluids from your body and even more susceptible to dehydration.

Mild dehydration can easily be remedied with drinking plenty of fluid. The fluid should ideally contain the salts and sugars that your body has lost, as too much plain water can further dilute the body’s minerals. If you have no rehydration remedies, you can make your own by adding a three tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of salt to a litre of water. Adding a mashed banana will improve the taste and add potassium. Failing that, a glass of cola and some salty crisps will also help. I have a lot of experience with dehydration (my body needs a lot of fluids, probably more than most, not sure why), and I am very aware of when I become dehydrated. My head start to ‘float’ and I feel strangely ‘distant’. I crave salt. I always listen to my body’s cravings in these instances, as it has never let me down yet. More sever dehydration required medical attention.

David is very susceptible to cold and upper respiratory infections, so we always take our favourite cold remedy. We both find Day and Night Nurse capsules to be the best. They are much more easily transported than in its liquid form and they work well. You may have your own favourite. We also take antihistamine tablets, decongestant nasal spray, and throat pastilles.

If you are travelling for any length of time you may wish to visit your dentist before setting out. You can buy Dental Repair Kits which give a quick temporary solution to fillings falling out by stuffing them with a gooey substance that sets hard. I have fortunately never had to test it out, but I do take a kit with me. Some people also swear by oil of clover for toothache, but I personally can’t stand the stuff.

One of my more unusual, but ever-so useful items in the first aid kit, is some DUCT Tape. “What?” You may very well ask. Also known as Gaffer Tape or Cloth Tape, it has a plethora of uses: mending a hole in your luggage, clothes or tent; taping the back of your heal will stop a blister forming; repairing a mosquito net; sealing a leak in a hose or water carrier; holding the sole in place on a broken sandal – the list is endless. I have found a small, flat ‘roll’ of DUCT tape, rather than the usually large round stuff. I also take a small tube of Superglue for the same reason.

As mentioned under the Warnings and Dangers heading, I take treatment for diarrhea: Immodium, rehydration sachets and Ciprofloaxacin tablets. I recommend checking with your doctor or travel health centre for further information about what would be most suitable for you.

This is going to sound very odd after the previous tip, but I always take some laxatives with me. I suffer from severe IBS and very unpredictable bowel movements, so I always want to be prepared. Funnily enough, it has been fellow travellers who have made use of my laxatives more than me. First time travellers to the continent often find that their bowels seize up at the sight of the squat toilets or, even worse, bush toilets. The thought of people being able to see/hear what you are doing is enough to put many people off ‘going’. I know this is a very sensitive subject, but it is one that is often discussed on holiday. I take senna tablets for light relief and glycerin suppositories for immediate reprieve. The problem I find with senna tablets is that they work overnight and you never know what time in the morning the result will come. You may very well be half way across the African savannah by the time the tablets are working. The suppositories, on the other hand, work within half an hour. You do need to be within VERY easy access to a toilet at the time though!

If you are easily car sick, you may wish to take some tablets with you for this, and also perhaps take the sick bags from the plane ‘just in case’. I always carry a sick bag in my hand bag. The roads in Tanzania are bumpy and uneven, and the air is not always clean and easy to breathe in, so if you are prone to travel sickness, the chances are that you will be sick here.