Packing, Health, and Safety for all Safaris

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Personal Health:
Please ensure that you bring sufficient quantities of any toiletries or medications you require. Consult your doctor before  departing so that he/she knows the conditions under which you will be taking medication. Please advise us of any side effects of any medication you take and of any dietary requirements related to taking them.

Some suggested personal health items to bring:

• Anti-malaria pills

• General antibiotic treatment

• Antacid tablets/anti-diarrheal/indigestion preparations

• Cold & flu medication

• Aspirin/Tylenol or equivalent

• Antiseptic solution

• Band-aids

• Insect repellent

• Sunscreen

• Calamine lotion/Bactine for insect bites or sunburn

Clothing:

The dress for our safaris is informal; therefore lightweight, casual clothes are appropriate. Safari clothing should be neutral in color (tan, brown, khaki, light green). This list is intended merely as a guideline, so you should use your own judgment and experience in packing.

Shirts: Cotton, short-sleeved or T-shirts, long-sleeved, if you are sensitive to the sun.

Trousers: Shorts may be worn in some places. However, long, cotton field pants are advisable in some of the areas in which we will be walking.

Hat: A wide-brimmed or peaked hat for sun protection.
 

Sweater: Light sweater, jacket or sweatshirt for cooler evenings. It cools off quite drastically in the higher elevations.
 

Bathing suit: Some of the hotels or lodges will have pools.
 

Raingear: Poncho or raincoat just in case, especially if gorilla trekking is on your itinerary.
 

Shoes and socks: Trail shoes or running shoes with a good solid grip and good support and cotton socks are the most versatile and comfortable footwear for this trip. Some people prefer their well broken- in hiking boots. You can also put in some gardening gloves for gorilla trekking.
 

Accessories:

Daypack: Bring a small backpack to carry bottled water, extra socks, moist travel wipes or sanitizing hand lotion, field guides, film, and your personal items.

Flashlight: Bring a strong flashlight (and extra batteries) in case we go on a night walk or power failures.
 

Binoculars: Binoculars are an essential piece of equipment on safari.
 

Miscellaneous: Personal soap, extra pair of prescription glasses, pocket calculator, travel alarm clock, laundry soap (for washing delicates), large zip-lock bags for damp laundry, and paperback books if you are a reader.

 

Equipment:

If you are taking expensive camera, video, or sound equipment with you, we suggest that you make a list of the items, including description, serial and model numbers and bring one copy with you. We are not responsible for the loss or theft of any personal articles such as cameras, binoculars or other valuables while you are on safari. Therefore, we strongly urge you to check your household or personal insurance policies to ensure that all the valuable articles you may take with you are insured to the level of your personal requirements.

 

Our safari vehicles are four wheel drive Land Cruisers or Mini-buses. They have both sides and a roof, as distinguished from the vehicles in southern Africa, which have neither. The roof rises up several feet to allow passengers to stand and photograph 360 degrees unobstructed by windows and the like.

Under most conditions, you will not be able to safely get out of the safari vehicle during game drives.
 

Vehicles are not allowed off road in national parks and reserves. There are numerous tracks for vehicles in the parks, and few, if any, paved roads. However, in areas outside the parks, vehicles can go off road and depart from the tracks. Photographers often want to photograph an animal from a particular angle, which may not be possible if you are in a national park as the vehicles are not allowed to go off road.

Please note that when photographing gorillas and chimpanzees, no flash is allowed.

The roads in East Africa are generally bad to very bad. Consequently, driving times may be long. For example, in Uganda, the drive from Entebbe to Bwindi may be up to 10 hours.

While on safari, you will find local people in East Africa to be extremely friendly and welcoming. However, before taking photographs of members of the local community it is asked that you please get their permission first. Your driver/guide will be able to help you with this if needed. Please do not give money in exchange for photographs. If you wish to send copies of photographs back to East Africa, we will make sure they are given out the next time our driver/guide is in that location.

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