It all started with a notification that there was an open spot on a tour through east Africa. Arriving Nairobi, camping in the Serengeti of Tanzania, and ending beachside in Zanzibar. The Classic Serengeti and Zanzibar tour was the icon of my childhood dream of east Africa. When I was 4 I had a Lion King birthday party, by 10 I started teaching myself Swahili, and at 19 I was taking a sign language class in Boulder where I learned about my teachers-friend’s effort to start the first deaf school and orphanage in Kenya. The periodic planting of “you should really go see it” finally peaked.

Thanks to GAdventures, most of the legwork of the logistics of the trip itself was taken care of. After 10 years of solo traveling, being able to know that I just have to get myself there and then everything else falls into place is a really nice perk of going with a tour company. So far I have been on a couple GAdventure tours, and have decided that their mindfulness about giving back to communities, seeking local guides for their tours (known as Chief Experience Officers, or CEOs), and helping ensure that the tourism is ethical has made it one of my favorite companies so far.

www.GAdventures.com

I had researched everything I was going to need for this upcoming trip, exchanging clothes for more camera equipment, nearly telling myself “ehhh who needs clothes anyway?”, and decided that the rule of 3 was probably the best to keep my supplies fresh. (1 to wear, 1 to wash, and 1 in waiting.) I expanded this and would triple check weather predictions and our perspective camp sites to assess ‘do I really need that jacket?’ (the answer was yes.)

My favourite pack, the Osprey Fairview 55 with detachable daypack, has been updated by osprey.

https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/fairview-55-travel-pack-FAIRVEW55F22_273.html

This made a great system for being able to pack what I needed as a carry on, like my lenses, and have my small daypack for under my seat on the plane. Once I got to Africa, I could switch around some things and have my daypack ready to go!

Additionally, I had a small collapsible duffle that I used to transport my sleeping bag and pillow down, and used as check on, but could collapse on itself and be taken out of the equation for transport from one site to the next.

The Packing List

Photography Gear

• Nikon Bodies; D500 and D7000
• Rain Cover/Buffs
• Lenses; Kit, Wide angle, and 150 – 600 telephoto
• D500; CFExpress (512 gb), SD card (512gb)
• D7000 (64gb) eyefi card (64 gb) SD.
• Mono Pod, Gorilla Pod
• Binoculars

In late July/early August in the Serengeti, the dry months mean a lot of dust, but the trade off was that the low vegetation meant some amazing viewing of the Lions stalking in the grasses. The amount of dust in the air though can be ROUGH on camera lenses. Because of this I brought a couple extra buffs I had left over from the COVID era. They made wonderful dust guards, able to slide over the lens and body of my camera

I kept my kit lens on the D7000 and my 150 – 600 on the D500. This worked out great to reduce the amount of lens changes in the field. When I got back I ended up buying a Sigma 18 – 200 lens, which is now a staple of the lenses and replaces the kit lens for field photography.

The monopod was only used one day of the whole trip, and the Gorilla pod wasn’t used at all. They could have stayed home. The binoculars though would get passed around the safari vehicle. It was a great way to make friends, or just scope out that animal before you took a picture. For the most part, if you have a lens over 200 mm, the camera can double as a binocular, but when your driving its nice to have something shorter in length. (I definitely slammed my eye into the camera a couple times using my camera instead of the binoculars on VERY bumpy safari roads.)

First Aid/24 Hour kit/Camping gear

• Malaria Tablets
• Bandaids
• Med Tape
• Antiseptic
• Alcohol wipes
• Ibuprofen
• Asprin
• Imodium
• Bleed Stop
• Hydration tablets
• Bug Spray
• Rx’s
• SPF lip balm
• Sunscreen  
• Whistle
• Water Purification Tablets
• Sewing Kit
• Sleeping Bag
• Bag Liner
• Pillow Case
• Pillow
• Torch/Headlamp
• Compass
• Fire Starter
• Space Blanket
• Multi Tool
• Rain Coat
• Rain Pack Cover
• Water Bottle
• Day Pack (which was part of the Fairview system)

The lip balm I only needed a little, as someone who really doesn’t ware it often, I only used it 1 day. I did only pack a travel size sunscreen and really should have packed a lot more, especially for Zanzibar.

When we would pack up camp and my sleeping bag and pillow would be strapped to the outside of my Fairview, I would use a simple pack rain cover to put over everything before we would load it into the safari vehicle. This really helped keep my bedding from getting super dusty on our drives.

I got a cheap throw pillow that was my level of soft and used the travel pillow case on it. At the end of my trip I left my sleeping bag and pillow with our guide to reduce the check-on bag space. Check with your guide early to make sure that they have recommendations on where to donate/leave it. I ended up just giving it to him since he was needing a new one.

Most of this stuff wasn’t used, but as a Search and Rescue member, I am a big advocate for being prepared. This is the list of ‘better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.’ When you get out into the rural areas, there are not a lot of options for what you can get for medicines.

Accessories

• Scarf
• Gloves
• Warm Hat
• Sun Hat
• Sunglasses
• Face mask
• Jacket
• Thermals/sun shirts
• sleep mask
• money belt
• journal
• pens
• locks for bags

The jacket I liked having on the plane and at Ngorongoro Crater. I think I used multiple layers while we camped on the crater rim, and the hat was great overnight.

The face mask and buffs that I brought along were a massive help with the dust, likewise the sunglasses kept the dust out of my eyes.

Most hotels had safes in the rooms, but when camping it was a great ease of mind to be able to lock up my bag with the important stuff in it. My locking day pack was also nice for keeping everything secure while walking around bustling cities.

Dingbats* Earth Collection

Dingbats just happened to make the BEST journal for my Serengeti trip. I ordered it for a nice themed journal that I could have in route without the bulk of my daily journal. Sure enough when it got here I realized that the whole front cover is FULL of Serengeti information!

I found that I really didn’t use the extra colourful pens, but I did use the printer! I would recommend bringing 2 extra black pens for when you run out while journaling.

Electronics

• Phone
• Watch
• Tablet
• Chargers
• Battery packs
• Solar Charger
• Power bar
• Earbuds
• Card adapters for tablet
• 2 USB power adapter
• Canon Ivy printer & paper

I have a NetZero charger that I was planning on bringing for our time at camps in the Serengeti, as power would randomly cut out. At the very last minute stateside I took the charger out of the bag, and I am kinda glad I did. The safari vehicle had charging ports throughout the back seat. And more than a solar charger, having a double usb plug in was perfect for extending the number of ports in the car and I could offer to charge someone elses phone at my seat while also charging the camera batteries.

I really didn’t use my tablet for photo processing. From the minute I got there, I found that the best thing I brought to fill time was my journal. Using my wifi enabled cameras allowed me to pull up the pictures on my phone, and then I could print the photo on the ivy to put in the journal as I went. I think that made the journal even more special. During the planning I could also add print offs of factoids and maps that really made my journal go the extra mile.

Toiletries

• Covid Test
• Muchinex
• Hand sanitizer
• Travel towel
• Shampoo
• Conditioner
• Spf moisturizer
• Makeup
• Face wash
• Contacts
• Solution
• Glasses
• Q tips
• Toothbrush
• Tooth paste
• Clothes wash
• Pads
• Lume
• Wash cloth
• Wet Wipes/Camp Wipes
• Eye drops

I used Dry Shampoo and Dry conditioner, which is just bar soap for your hair. I got some travel cases for them so that they didn’t muck up my shower kit.

For my makeup, I use bare minerals. I got some small tubes of the tinted SPF moisturizer and used standard little travel containers for my nighttime moisturizer and foundation. I only really wore makeup when we were in some of the cities, but even then the tinted moisturizer did the trick and was nice enough for pictures.

COMPLEXION RESCUE® Tinted Moisturizer with Hyaluronic Acid and Mineral SPF 30

I talked with my optometrist about my contacts, and having good contacts to sleep in. I have Acuvue Oasis and slept in my contacts for a couple days, using eyedrops daily and making sure they had a good rinse before and after the trip. I did bring spare sets of contacts incase any rip or fall out, etc.

Documents

• Passport
• Insuance
• Visas
• Flight info
• Vouchers
• Vaccination card
• 2×2 passport photos,
• Packing list
• Scuba Cert
• Credit cards
• Cash
• Itinerary

I kept everything organized in my travel wallet that I’ve had since I studied abroad in 2011. This way I didn’t need to hunt down everything when we got to the hotels and I needed to put things in the safe – they were all together. I took photos of everything too and kept them in an album on my phone, that way if anything happened I would have record of them. The packing list was a new one for me, but I was told that if anything happens and I need to get something from travel insurance, I will have a record of what was in the bag that was lost. This travel wallet was always kept locket up or on my person.

Clothes

• Convertible Pants/shorts
• convertible pants/capris
• Maxi skirt
• Leggings
• Tanks (x2)
• T-shirt
• Long sleeve sun shirts (x2)
• Long sleeve
• Sandals
• Flats
• (2)Sports (1)town bras
• Undies & Socks (3 each)
• Bathing suits (2)
• Sleep ware
• Hiking Boots

Hiking boots were a MUST for the Serengeti. I should have left the flats at home since I had a nice pair of sandals that could be dressed up with the maxi skirt.

The leggings were great for camping on the crater rim, and I wore them under my sleep ware and the long sleeve over as an extra layer.

I had 2 swimsuits for Zanzibar, which I would rotate out. I guess it made me burn a little more evenly? Seriously though, I had a two piece and a one piece and it was nice to be able to alternate depending on the activity.