My wife and I are planning our first visit and hunt to Africa in 2005. I have been reading and collecting information from the AR authorities for almost two years. I have the packing list from T.Carr and Terry Blauwkamp has forwarded me a wealth of information on planning and packing the first trip. BUT - it doesn't satifsy my wonderful wife on how she should pack and dress.

It is easy for me, as a intuitive male to simply take the existing lists and logically amend them for the female. This doesn't work for her. She would like to see suggestions for the female, from the female, with ideas on shoes, trouser, shirts, shorts, headgear, undergarments, makeup (Terry didn't give me any hints on this , jewelry, and number of each item. I already "know" I left some things out.

My wife is looking forward to this trip (she is not a hunter) as much as I am, she is contributing financially for us to go, and I am anxious it be enjoyable for her also, so if she prefers advice from the female travellers I am going to humble myself and ask.

Thanks in advance for all contributors even if you are male.

Hi Fred,

I'd be happy to go over some things with her. Just have her drop me an email with a list of questions...

aspenhill@triton.net

My wife packs about 4 sets of clothes. Three sets are "sensible" clothes. Light to medium weight cotton pants, cotton blouses, and the like that can withstand field washing by the local ladies that tend to such things. One set is more frilly for town wear, but still of cuts and cloths that are low maintenance. The set she wears on the airline are like her 'fancier' set, and the bits-n-pieces can be exchanged between the two sets.

For shoes, she takes a pair of light boots suitable for hunting, a pair of sneakers for camp wear, and a pair of open loose shoes for wear on the airline.

Among her collection of unguents and ointments are moisturizing lotions and sun cremes for field and camp. She carries a reduced set of regular makeups for town use. She also carries shampoo and conditioner suitable for hard water.

Sports bras and undies of the sort she'd wear when working out are the main underwear for her, along with a set or two suitable for under her town clothes.

One thing that she always takes plenty of is scarves. She takes some of neutral colors for wearing when hunting, and several bright colored ones that she gives to the ladies that do the cooking, laundry, etc.

Her hat is a boonie style hat with a short brim all around.

I hope that helps a bit. The important thing to remember is that any type of high maintenance cloth will be ruined.

Fred,

Please feel free to have your wife contact mine.

Evelyn Clemmons
eclemmons@hotmail.com
(828) 754-0841

Sam

We just got back and I got to say everything Rupert Bear said. Don't forget the sunscreen too. We had our clothes washed regurarly. Jeans, loose fitting clothes, underwear, sweats for nights wear, big brimmed hat, light hiking boots. You can even wear this to town unless you are going to a fancy eatery. Chap stick is also a necessity--the air is VERY dry.
We got Polar tecs from Cabellas and they worked great except for tracking in the bush--thorns catch it easily. I am assuming you are going there during THEIR winter.
My wife and my buddies wife had a great time and nobody was uncomfortable. Remember--its a LONG plane ride so think of that b4 you board---Advil is good for this too....

If the bad luck hits you with a case of the sniffles while you are traveling by plane, take along a bottle of Afrin nasal spray. Squirt a dose of that up your schnoz about 1/2 hour prior to landing and your ears won't stop up. That tip was passed on to me by a USAF air crewman and it really works for me.

(From Mrs. H T)

Handi-Wipes become a very treasured item to have with you!!

As a wife that just accompanied her husband on his first safari, I am responding to your concerns that only us women can understand. I am the organized one in our family. We started planning 2-1/2 years before our actual safari took place and let me tell you, Cabela's and Santa never had it so good. I took both of the Terrys list and that of our PH, John Sharp and then compiled my own checklist to fit with our needs. Everybody's list is great, but you really need your own. I took a hanging cosmetic bag that became our combined ditty bags. It included both our essentials that we would need in a bathroom (toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shampoo, etc), plus my makeup (base makeup, compact powder, blush, eye shadow, mascara, etc.). In looking through my journal under 'some noteworthy thoughts' dated toward the end of our trip, I wrote, "...when we left Atlanta on that early Wednesday morning in June, that was the last time I wore makeup until we went out to dinner in Victoria Falls 20 days later..." Makeup became very unimportant - anyway, the animals didn't care and I didn't either.

I wear Jockey undershirts, and I was able to find some heavy ribbed tank tops which I wore under my layered clothes. I was very glad to have a sleeveless vest (Cabela's). I dressed in layers: Undershirt (tanktop), long sleeve shirt, sleeveless vest, then over-shirt. Only two days did we have to wear our canvas coats, but I was glad we had them packed. As the day got hotter, off came the shirt, then the long-sleeve tee shirt, and all I had on at the end of the day was the tank top and the vest. We also took rainsuits that we bought at Wal-Mart (Eddie Bauer). We didn't need them until Vic Falls, but it definitely is a must.

I packed everything in 2-1/2 gallon zip lock baggies (pair of long pants, long sleeve tee shirt, long sleeve shirt) and using Terry B's advice separated our outfits among the bags in case one got lost. Everybody suggest 3 sets of long pants, but I am glad we took 4 sets. We really didn't wear our bermudas (Bob did unzip his 2 in 1 during a warm afternoon), but if it is hot, they would be great to have - we took 2 sets each - we were there in June which is the winter in Africa - brisk mornings and warm/hot afternoons. The zip lock baggies were a good idea, but they lost their organization as soon as we unpacked, and by the time we left Africa, we were wrapping all of our clothes around the souvenirs that we bought in the native craft market in Vic Falls and I was tossing the zip locks. Will probably be using zip locks again, but will also buy mesh bags as suggested by Terry B.

About one year before our trip, my hair was due for a cut (usually wore it kind of short), but I decided to let it grow so I could wear it back in a ponytail. This was an excellent idea, because you really don't want to take the time to fix your hair in the early morning when you are getting ready to go out and 'observe,' so the longer hair pulled back in a pony tail with my olive green, Disney's Animal Kingdom baseball cap was great. With my hair pulled out the back hole, and the cap pulled down over my head, you really couldn't tell if I was wearing make up or not!!! One morning it was really chilly so I tied my olive green paisley bandanna around my head to cover my ears and then put the hat on over it. After the second day, John asked me - "what's with the bandanna? Is that to keep your hair from getting dirty?" Needless to say, the bandanna went around my neck from then on. Bandannas are a good idea to take, though.

Since your laundry is done everyday unless it rains, you really don't need as much as you think. However, after seeing my undies hanging on the outside line, I decided to wash my own. So every 4 or 5 days, I would wash them out in the bathroom sink and hang them on hangers in the shower to dry.

One of the best things that I took was my fanny pack. I tossed around whether I wanted to take it or not, and I am really glad I did. It never left my side, literally. It contained all of our traveler's checks and cash, our passports, chap stick, band-aids, antibacterial hand wipes, tissues, eye glass cleaner wipes (for both eyeglasses and gun scopes), extra roll of film, and my cigarettes and lighter.

Another great thing I took was an olive green canvas bag (Target). This bag went with me every day and sat at my feet in the safari truck. It contained a small first aid kit, emergency medicines, my bottle of water, camcorder, camera, extra film, journal, and other essentials that I might need during the day. Speaking of journals, we both had our own; different view, different perspective - mine's funny, his is technical. We both are avid readers, but we took too many books (the one we were reading, plus two more each). We did read, but by bedtime, it's sleep time. I did take a crossword/logic puzzle book and stuck it in my canvas bag, which was good for those 2-3 hour stalks where I sat in the truck waiting (my choice).

One other thing I took was a Polaroid camera. This idea came off this forum and I am glad that I bought one to take. They only cost around $35.00 and the film is around $20.00 for two packs, but the excitement that you see when you take and give a picture to someone that has never had their picture taken is well worth the cost and the effort to carry it with you. X-ray does not hurt the film, nor does it hurt 400 speed or less. I had been experimenting with 800 speed, but the quality was not worth the extra worry of the x-ray machines hurting the film.

This was a wonderful trip from the beginning with planning to the end unpacking, and we have already decided that we will go back to Africa - hopefully, in two or three years. If you have any other questions or specific concerns, let me know.

Added footnotes from previous post, plus a picture. The only jewelry I took was a waterproof watch (yes, with an olive green band - Timex), and a pair of post earrings, which I had purchased at the last SCI Atlanta convention. I did not wear any of my rings, fearing I would lose them. Also, we both packed two pairs of boots each. We only ended up wearing one of the pairs, but I'm glad we had the extra pair just in case we needed them. We also packed comfortable camp shoes. I wore a pair of canvas sneakers on the plane and Bob had dockers on. Bob's dockers were fine in Vic Falls with his casual pants when we went out to dinner, but unfortunately, I had not thought about another pair of casual shoes and had to wear my canvas sneakers.

The picture below is of me and Bob with his Cape Buffalo that he got the first day of hunting.

Fred:
Have your wife email mine at my email address. She went through the same thing last year. In general, we took way too much stuff along to wear. The first criterion should be comfort. Take comfortable clothes.

You don't say what type of hunt your have booked, nor where you are going. Some safaris are a bit more on the "roughing it" side than others. On some, laundry is done every day. On others, it is not. Mostly you will be surprised at the level of service you get and the accomodations you stay in. The next time we go, we will take far less along in the way of changes of clothes.

trkyhntr@comcast.net

My thanks to all the consideration and assistance in replying to this thread. This is great information and my wife has already made contact by E-Mail with a couple of the ladies. The response below is from her.

Great information! Thank you. Please express my appreciation for the responses. I�ve already contacted Ann and Evelyn. Margaret Y. Gordon