Safari Clothing Help

Okay, got the tipping down, now help me with the appropriate safari clothing for both my husband and me.

What I find confusing is when someone says to wear long pants and sleeves to avoid mosquitos, then I see where it is suggested that long pants & sleeves be worn in the early morning safari and shorts and short sleeves for afternoon safaris :confused::confused:

Thanks

What I find confusing is when someone says to wear long pants and sleeves to avoid mosquitos, then I see where it is suggested that long pants & sleeves be worn in the early morning safari and shorts and short sleeves for afternoon safaris :confused::confused:

 

So here is my understanding. The time of season has some relation to what you wear regarding mosquitoes. The season also has some bearing on the daily temperature range.

We went on safari in July, the winter dry season for much of the Kruger and Tuli Block areas. We did not see any mosquitoes where we visited. However, it was cold before sunrise and cold after sundown. So, wearing long pants, long sleeved shirts, light vest, Primaloft jacket and gloves were helpful for warmth. As the temperature changed, we removed/added layers as needed. Our ranger at MalaMala was a hardy fellow and wore shorts during the morning and afternoon game drives, but did wear a heavy jacket during the cooler temperatures. FYI, we started our game drives between 6am and 7am (dark) and the evening drives ended around 7pm (dark). We did not wear shorts during the morning or late afternoon drives.

I believe the summer in many Africa safari areas can be much warmer than the winter. This can have some bearing on the game drive start times to avoid the mid-day heat - e.g., an even earlier morning start time and later afternoon start time.

How cold was it? I didn't watch the temperatures very closely. However, on one morning as we were transiting Johannesburg airport (at least an hour south of the lodges) it was 32F degrees in the morning. On the morning game drives, we were often offered hot water bottles and blankets for our laps. We often reached the mid-70s to low 80s at mid-day.

If you're going during the wet season, you might run into mosquitoes, depending on where you are going. We did wear long-sleeved travel shirts that were treated (permethrin) to resist bugs (that we didn't see).

As I understand, during the dry season, visitors (to the areas we visited) are often able to see many animals as they move during the day to diminishing water holes and creeks. During the wet season, the animals may be more distributed due to more available water sources.

Despite not seeing any mosquitoes, we followed the advice of our physicians and took an anti-malarial. Some of the folks we met during our trip did not take any anti-malarial measures - other than maybe Deet.

I hope this helps. The trip was well worth all the pre-trip planning.

And just to add that bright primary colours should be avoided, not least because they alert the animals you're trying to get close to. Drab is good.

What countries are you visiting and when are you going?

In general.lightweight, washable, wrinkle-resistantt cotton blends, such as poplin cargo pants, are good. Better if you can find zip-off pants that convert to shorts, or pants that roll up to convert to capris.

Fly-fishing shirts are good. L.L. Bean's has "No Fly" shirts treated to repel flies and mosquitos:

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/98?nav=gnro-hp#/llb/shop/507930?nav=ln-98&page=fishing-apparel

Also a lightweight travel vest is useful.

Hats should have chin straps to keep them on your head. If you wear a baseball cap and a breeze blows it off, don't expect your guide to get out of the safari truck and retrieve it for you.

Here's a packing list for a safari:

http://goafrica.about.com/od/africasafariguide/a/What-To-Pack-For-A-Safari.htm

Besides mosquitoes, another reason to wear long pants and long sleeves is to avoid tsetse fly bites. Those flies carry sleeping sickness, but are not everywhere in Africa:

http://blog.wellcome.ac.uk/2012/03/01/developing-the-atlas-of-human-infectious-diseases/african-trypanosomiasis/

As a previous poster stated, wear earth-tone neutrals such as tan, brown, and sage green.

DO NOT wear camouflage. Many African countries ban the wearing of camo.

DO NOT wear blue in areas where there are tsetse flies. Tsetse fly traps are blue to attract the flies:

Wow, incredible information, and I thank you all for taking the time to give such great descriptions.

We are doing a cruise from Cape Town to Singapore, and we will be going in for a 3-day safari prior to the cruise. The camp to which we are assigned is Sibuya Forest. We fly in December 15th, which I believe is their summer.

Then, during the cruise, we will have just day safaris from the ship. On 12/22, we will go to Botlierskop Game Reserve; on 12/23, we go to Addo Elephant Park, and on 12/25, we go to Tala Game Reserve.

Can't wait. :D

We wore long sleeves for sun protection and also long pants. My spouse wore the pants that if he got too hot he could turn into shorts . I wore pants that would roll up and turn into capris. We were there in December, just a little later than you will be and we did not need a jacket in the morning or in the evening. Mind you we were coming from winter, so it felt hot to us. We did have to watch out for mosquitoes early in the morning and after sundown as it had rained heavily for three days before we arrived. We did spray our clothing and were not bitten.

We were up at 5 am for the morning safari and usually left at 4 pm for the evening safari while at the reserve.

Thanks for the info NoFussTravel. Question. The slacks that convert to shorts or capris when it got warm, was it during the safari? We have slacks, and then we have shorts/capris. We were thinking about wearing the slacks during the safari, and when we were back at the main camp, putting on our shorts/capris. Is that in line with what you are explaining?

We are actually laughing at ourselves. We have travelled throughout the world, but we have never done this before. Having these forums has been great.

My husband wore the slacks that converted during the safaris. I am not a sun lover, so tended to keep my skin well covered while on safari. There is a fair amount of dust kicked up, so I preferred to keep covered for that reason. Make sure you have a wide brimmed hat with straps to hold it on. They move quickly at times to get you to the animals and you do not want to lose your hat. On our last day when the cheetah was spotted, we were traveling at high speeds to get there. Several people gave up and took off their hats at this point. I use a Tilley hat, and it stayed on well with the straps and gave me the needed sun protection. Take sun screen with you each day so that you can reapply while out on safari. If you are wearing long sleeves and long pants, you will not need bug spray as the mosquitoes tend to only go after those wearing shorts or have exposed skin. I actually used Avon's Skin So Soft for my hands and face and did not get bitten once.

Thanks NoFussTravel. I do, in fact, have some Avon So Soft as I had heard it was good for "bug" protection. I think we will just stick with the regular pants. My husband bought a pair of slacks for the safaris, and then some cargo pants for around the camp inbetween safari runs. Heck, he is only 81. He will enjoy the cargo pants. We are golfers so he sure can't wear them then. Ha Ha

I found the pants that convert to capris (my choice), but they are "fishing gear" pants. Don't know if the fabric would be too hot or too warm.

Isn't this crazy that we have to ask about clothing on a trip? Oh well, I'm not proud. Just want to have everything right so we enjoy everything, and this is a great place to get the answers.

thanks everyone.

spindrift, I spent a fair amount of time on TripAdvisor reading about clothes to wear on safari, and it is a very frequently asked question. We used the plunge pool in the afternoon which was very refreshing in the heat. Also, you can get reasonable massages while at the lodges. They also have walks you can go on. We got very close to an elephant during one of our walks, and we had to wait very quietly for him to move. If you get a dinner in the BOMA, it is quite an experience. You will never regret doing a safari. We are looking at going back to Africa in 2016, but this time will do a land tour, so we can spend more time on safari.

BOMA? We are really excited about going, and have been looking forward to doing a safari for years. We just never had had the right amount of time until now.

I think that would be amazing to come across elephants as you did. I know this is going to be memorable.

It is held in an outside area. They will feed you African food. They will also do some entertainment by the locals. A fantastic experience and I don't want to tell you everything so that you can experience the magic of the evening.

We just got back from a 13 day land safari Tanzania/Kenya during September. It was usually quite warm. We wore tan/light green colored light weight long pants, short sleeve SPF shirt, and light long sleeve SPF shirt over it for sun protection. We also sprayed our clothes with permethrin before we left. Always wore a wide brimmed hat with a strap- game drives can be bumpy and breezy. Also, brought jacket/sweatshirt for evening game drives. And a buff for the dust. Never had a need for a "safari-type" vest. Almost, no one wore shorts during game drives. Usually wore white socks, and my sneakers. I'm about 5'5.and was tall enough to look out the top of the safari trucks, and never needed to stand on the seats. We stayed at many Serena hotels, and they were a relatively economical place to have our clothes laundered (so we could have brought less clothes). Sunglasses and sunscreen completed our attire. Never saw any mosquitoes, although we did take Malarone with milk/meals .Brought one pair of black pants that could be dressed up with a nice top for dinner, and a pair of sandals. Nothing else dressy needed. Binoculars are worthwhile.

Brought bathing suit and T-shirt coverup and shorts- used it once. Had a fantastic time- the experience of a lifetime!!!

Kathy