I am quite certain we all take things unique to our own homelands when we go on an African safari. I try to do something different every year as an exchange of cultures.

However, most of the folks I hunt with request ONE thing year in and out when they know I am coming back over. That would be Smoores, yeah, the quintessential Girl Scout fireside snack.

The faces of the PH's and camp staff's kids is something to behold!

Anyway, I end up loading up boxes of Graham crackers and Hershey bars in my luggage for the trek over.

What have the rest of you taken over that was a hit (besides Folgers! )??

Ann, great suggestion for a thread.

We took shirts, sunglasses, hats, tote bags, candy, pencils and other odds and ends. But the items that seemed to get the greatest reaction were two frisbees. Right, two frisbees. They had never seen anything like a frisbee and after a short instruction session, they would toss the frisbees in a three or four person circle for hours it seemed. A couple of days they literally wore me out. I was shocked and would have never guessed at the reaction to the frisbees. Throw a couple of frisbees in the bag. Sunglasses were also a big hit -- once we got them to take the stick on tags off the lens.

Mike

Guys,

I took Hershey's chocolates in all kisses, small snack bars different flavors of chocolates
All the different kind of Hershey kisses

Mike

The bride did not wish to be without her Oreo's...

Besides small knives, t-shirts and the little kleenex mini-paks (don't laugh they're appreciated).

Lots of blank CDs and a laptop that can burn pictures for your PH.

I live near a Crayola Crayon factory, so I loaded up my luggage with crayons,markers,colored pencils,etc. Just about everything that Crayola makes.
Also my wife crocheted (sp?) the Ph's wife a nice doily. The children were estatic and sent pictures along back for my wife. The Ph's wife stated just how much of a lost art in their area crocheting is.

M&M's big hit with my PH


I also stock up on Kudu bars, some smoked venison, and wool NY Yankees hats!

The black staff seem to love any type of candy or jerky.

Once I took a bunch of inexpensive pull thru Knife sharpeners. The ones with the carbide 'V' that you pull blade thru. They really liked them and i didn't have nearly enough. I also took some of the SMALL LED's that last forever and they were appreciated. I have tried to take useful rather than consumable items. One other thing that was appreciated was cigarette papers. I figured they had to be better than newsprint and didn't cost much or take up much space.

We took the normal candies and stuff but being Canadian we took Maple Syrup. The PH's had never heard of the stuff. The one guy took it with him to the bush and would just take a slug once in a while.

...USD $$$

Peanut M&M's for the PH
Ammo for the PH in his caliber
Fishing equipment for his sons
Beef Jerky & candy for the trackers
Hats, gloves etc for trackers and camp staff.

and money.

BigB

We found the individually wrapped gummy bears were popular as well as Werthurs butterscotches. Tee shirts and visors were a big hit. We found we could buy them at TJ Maxx for about 2 bucks a piece and they were much appreciated. Take your PH a roll of good quality duct tape (Gorilla Tape would be a hit). Take extra batteries and leave yours behind. Small tablets and pencils were big hits with the kids as well as balloons. Most had never seen a balloon and were fasinated.

It amazes me just how much they are facinated with the simplest of everyday items and how much we take them for granted. I guess when you don't have them anything new and different is fascinating. That I can understand. I've never been to Africa and, as much as I want to, I don't see going for many years if ever. But I wonder what I would take if I ever get to go.

The tracker and PH thought the packs of Lance cheese on cheese crackers were amazing.

And the tracker went nuts over charms blowpops of all things. He just could not get over the fact that there was bubble gum inside of the candy sucker.

A big 5 1/2 pound bag of assorted American candies.

Lifesavers in several flavors in the individual sealed single paks. They are a wonderful pick-me up when on a track. I keep a pocket full and pass them out when ever the going get tough and I have one. Everyone loves them. Kudude

I also carry candy, cigarettes and give-aways for the trackers, drivers, skinners, etc. Their favorites seem to be gloves and Leatherman tools. Flashlights come in a distant second... probably the battery thing.

I think the frisbee idea is a great one! One of the neatest things I have heard was BillC carrying a deflated soccer ball for the kids in the villages. I've seen them kicking balls made of twine while they played futbol! Imagine their eyes when they got the REAL thing!

I took about 4 lbs of candy with me; passed it out to the staff, and left the remainder for PH's family.

At Xmas I sent him a trigger guard to replace his broken one, and sent the wife a set of BBQ spices/sauces from a local company (Cookshack)

The PH's son received a lock blade knife from my sister-in-law and one of the shake to recharge flashlights plus tips from both of us as he was the guide for 1/2 for me and a full day for my sister in law. Poor kid had to go back to school the next day. He want to take up out for the last day himself. The PH's son will be a PH himself someday soon.