May have been answered before, so please forgive me.
I've heard that some African countries frown on Camo clothing. What about Namibia?
Will be shopping over the next few months for bargains and I don't want to go purchase a bunch of Camo, then find out I can't use it.
While I'm at it, would it be better to go with the solid colors like Dark Green, Olive Drab, Dark Khaki, etc.?

Thanks for any information.

Mauser

Solid dark earthy colors. Depending the area some light colors i e tan, british tan etc. will work. I love it when the trackers wear french blue coveralls. Again it is like the the caliber. Shot placement most important - movement important.

Mauser, I am going to Namibia next year and the outfitter is fine with camo, actually wears it himself. As long as it is a commercial pattern, not military, it seems you would be fine. I plan on wearing a camo shirt, something like Real Tree Obsession, with dark olive pants but that is me.

Camo is not a problem in Namibia. I have worn it on 4 trips.

It is not a big deal either way. Earth tone clothing will probably work just as well.

Hunting camo is fine in Namibia, but just don't wear it in town. Just not appropriate. A lot of the guides will be wearing it on the hunt.

That being said, 90% of my hunting world-wide is in comfortable green or brown Wrangler jeans and a dark green shirt!

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Hunting camo is fine in Namibia, but just don't wear it in town. Just not appropriate. A lot of the guides will be wearing it on the hunt.

True.

Worry more about keeping warm in the mornings. Can be quite cold in the desert take some woolens!

Blue works, I asked why all the trackers and skinners wore blue. Was told "it's like the sky and doesn't scare the game". I have seen it work. As has been said, movement is the key, like shot placement. Take layers as it will be cold in the morning and 70+ by 1:00pm. If I'm stalking I like camo......Tom

Camo and scent control clothing is just not necessary for big game hunting. Turkey, Ducks, Geese, etc that can see color, yeah OK. But not big game. Neutral earth colors like green, blue, and brown are best. Kaki is probably too bright.

Stay downwind, move in the shadows when the animals are moving or have their vision obstructed is all you need. Save the extra $10 or so per item that camo adds.

Enjoy your hunt!

Supposedly a lot of game animals can see blue very easily.

I no longer wear it for hunting, including blue jeans.

I prefer olive drab in Africa. No kidding about the jacket! It gets really cold at night and in the early mornings in Namibia.

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Originally posted by Jriley:
I prefer olive drab in Africa. No kidding about the jacket! It gets really cold at night and in the early mornings in Namibia.

Take a warm wool watch cap, warm sweater, warm jacket and warm gloves. The wool hat was most valuble as were the gloves in the mornings and evenings. Temp in 30's in the morn.

In Namibia I believe it is technically illegal to wear camo of any kind in public i.e. in town and traveling. Once in the hunting area it is not a problem. Current military camo patterns are not allowed. How anyone there really knows what pattern is current and not current I haven't a clue and we've used the discontinued forest and desert GORTEX coats for hunting and we take normal civilian coats for doing tourist stuff.

The important thing is to layer. From mid-May to the beginning of Aug your day can start with frost on the ground/vehicle at daylight but, by mid morning the temps can be in the mid 60's and mid to high 70's by mid afternoon and the temps can drop fast as the sun goes down. The wool watch cap as previously mentioned - don't leave home without it.

If you don't wear glasses you may want to think about taking some cheap clear safety glasses to wear at night for the road trip back to camp. You may very well still be sitting high up in the back of the truck that is making a high speed run with bugs and thorn bush limbs overhanging the road/path - in the last five years they have now twice saved me and once my wife from what could have been a serious eye injury.

Feb to the end of April first part of May is their traditional "rainy season", but a freak rain shower is remotely possible later. The mil GORTEX is nice since it is designed for layering and if your siting out high in the back of a baki in the wind it is also wind proof. Plus, you can pick them up in near new condition off the net or surplus stores for cheap. That way if it gets ripped or torn on any of the multitude of thorn bushes/trees or lost in the luggage your not out so much.

Here is a big tip - you don't need to spend big bucks on cloths. You really only need 2-3 changes of hunting clothes and your travel cloths if you are not going to do any additional tourist days. For less than $30 you can go to a thrift store and buy a couple of pairs of nearly new khaki pants, and brown/dark green long sleeve shirts. Your only going to need the stuff for a few days to a couple of weeks. If the stuff gets torn up, big deal. Then when you leave you leave the cloths behind and use the room to bring back your souvenir booty.

DO spend the money you save on cloths on good boots and make sure they are well broken in BEFORE you get there.

In all honesty, in all the TV shows on African hunting, it is a rarity to ever see the local PH's, trackers or game scouts wearing any camo - it's mostly just the hunting clients. The locals seem to always just dress in dark browns and subdued greens. Since their lives and livelihoods depend on a successful hunt, if camo really made a difference there, you would think they would be wearing it too.