Color codes: green for stuff which is definitely to be brought along.
We are open for any suggestions / reminders / advice you might have.
| item | have | buy | comment | |
| essentials | ||||
| papers | x | Passport/visas, tickets, traveller checques / money / credit card (incl. security numbers for blocking in case of loss), vaccination papers; bag for papers | ||
| rechargable batteries + charger | x |
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| binoculars | x | |||
| mobile | x | Which bands are used in South Africa, Botswana & Namibia. What is the best deal? Buying a local pre-paid card for example? | ||
| aviation stuff | ||||
| gps | x | We did consider buying a Garmin 196, but have now decided that the built in Garmin 95 and our own Garmin GPS III Pilot as a backup will do. | ||
| gps interface cable & adaptor | x | Garmin PC interface cable with cigarette lighter adapter | ||
| 2 headsets | x | For aviation gear we warmly recommend the online shop pilotmall. We wanted to buy a headset, and pilotmall were the cheapest ones we found on the web (for that particular Sennheiser headset). We ordered the headset which was in backorder, wrote a concerned email to enquire about how long time it would take to arrive because we needed it within a month. In less than 1 hour we got the answer that the Sennheiser had just come into stock, and that it had been shipped already. Not even 1 week later it was here. | ||
| maps | x | Aeronautical charts (16+2), aerodrome map, airfield directory | ||
| camping stuff | ||||
| tent | x | We might buy a new tent (although the one we have is absolutely new) in SA as local conditions (i.e. mosquito net windows) might require. | ||
| mattresses | x | x | Self inflating air matresses (e.g. two single Therm-A-Rest; not a double). Buy in CH or SA? | |
| 2 sleeping bags | x | |||
| 2 towels | x | The quicker they dry, the better. Don't need to be huge. | ||
| washing powder | x | |||
| clothesline | x | A rope can be useful for all kinds of things. | ||
| Flashlight / torch | x | A Maglite and a head mounted one (great for camping because it leavs your hands free). | ||
| Spare bulb | x | For Maglite (above) | ||
| moscito net(s) | SA | Malaria is a major problem in the northern part. Moscito nets for when we sleep in the plane or in the tent. | ||
| cooking stuff | SA | link OR trangia . Get a good bottle for the fuel. Important in a plane that you have no leaking containers. | ||
| other camping stuff | x | plates, cup, cutlery, boxes for spare food, insulated bag | ||
| Swiss army knife / Leatherman | x | x | Leatherman might be more suitable for the bush. | |
| water filter | SA | link | link. They seem to be extremly expensive - probably best to buy in SA (if at all). Possible alternative: water purification tablets? | ||
| tourist stuff | ||||
| camera | x |
We intend to bring three cameras:
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| camera tripod | x | Will bring two - a tiny one and a "proper sized" (still small) one | ||
| camera film | SA | Several rolls of film (Fuji 50/100/200) for the SLR camera (expensive in Botswana!). | ||
| laptop | x | Laptop - in order to download the pictures and update the homepage (locally - upload to the internet whenever possible). | ||
| portable cd-burner + cd's | x | To make backups of the pictures (just in case the laptop crashes, is lost or gets stolen) | ||
| guide book | x | lonely planet: southern africa | ||
| maps | x | Lonely planet southern africa road atlas + overview map | ||
| 2 backpacks | x | Day packs: Haglöfs | ||
| camel bags | SA | Water containers for the backpacks | ||
| pad lock(s) | x | Security at hostels, etc. | ||
| for surviving | ||||
| water containers | x | Many small ones instead of one (or only a few) big one. Normal plastic water bottles will do just fine. | ||
| survival food | SA | Some long lasting dry stuff that will keep one allive in case of an emergency in a remote area | ||
| for the health | ||||
| sunscreen | x | SA | ||
| insect stuff | SA | Insect repellant (e.g. Tabard, Rid, Jungle Juice, etc.) and antihistamine cream if the reppellant didn't do it | ||
| basic medical kit | x | x | syringes, aspirins, elastoplast/bandaids, immodium (diarrhea), antisecptic cream (pain relief, muscle & joint rub), wet tissues etc. | |
| malaria prophylactics and emergency treatment drugs | x | Northern part of Botswana and Namibia and Krüger NP are high risk areas. Most typical malaria type in Africa is P.falciparum which is Chloroquine resistant. Three prophylactical drugs exist Mefloquine (Lariam), Doxycycline, and Malarone | ||
| personal | ||||
| clothes | x | T-shirts, long sleeved leight weight shirt, shorts (zip-offs), underwear, socks. Generally not bright colors/white. Notice army clothes might be forbidden in some areas (In some Okavange delta camps for instance). Also it seems that tsetse flies are attracted to blue and black, so not much left on the color front when taking all this into consideration. | ||
| shoes | x | Sandals, hiking boots | ||
| light rain gear | x | |||
| fleece jacket | x | |||
| toiletries | x | Towel, shaving stuff, deo, enough contact lenses, moisturising cream, etc. | ||
| sunglasses | x | |||
| hat | x | SA | baseball cap, but a broad brimmed leather bush hat (like Crocodile Dundee's) is probably a lot better choice. A hat net (very cheap) looks silly, but if you don't mind that it gives great comfort by keeping flies and the like out of your face | |
| handkerchiefs | x | Again an item that can be used in different ways and for different purposes. E.g. to keep dust out of your mouth or to cool you down (wet). | ||
| Items that we once thought of bringing but chose not to | |
| solar panel | for charging would be quite cool and probably nowhere else in the world as usefull as in the Namibian desert, but the prices are unfortunately a bit high. |
| Cigarette lighter adapters for battery charger | would also have been usefull, but we couldn't find one |
| cigarette lighter adaptor (1 to many) | One to many adaptor such that we can have attached multiple devices to the power at once. |