Packing Report: South Africa and Zimbabwe

We traveled around Johannesburg and Kruger in a small 18 passenger van. My personal item fit under the seat so I could carry my jacket, kindle etc easily. Johannesburg was colder than Capetown.

At Kruger, anything went for safari clothes. We saw people in a variety of colors and prints.
Within Karonge Private reserve, we were asked to wear “muted” colors, but it was more the shade rather than the actual color. Meaning, slate blue rather than bright blue, or wine red rather than bright Apple red. People also wore muted patterns.

Victoria Falls was hot! Like almost 100 degrees. We took a break midday (about 1-4 because it was so hot). I was happy for the lightweight sleeveless tops.

My Costco 32 degrees puffer worked great. I did not bring a beanie as many suggested. I found my sun hat and scarf worked just as well keeping my head warm and was more versatile.

After bringing 5 pants my last few trips (and regretting it!), I finally stuck with 4 and that is the magic number for me! The only thing I might have done differently is throw in one pair of tights (real tights, not the kind like leggings, but more like what I wore as a kid with dresses). It was cold on Robben Island and Table Mountain, as well as the day in Johannesburg. I wore tights under performance pants in Iceland and it worked well.

I bought just a couple of souvenirs: a table runner, a scarf, a very lightweight cloth bag for groceries and 3 small wooden bowls (the kind to put on a nightstand for rings). So they easily packed.

In Victoria Falls, we went to the women’s cooperative for shopping. I traded a pair of Skechers, 2 tops and a scarf. I could have easily traded more clothes. My water bottle was wanted, but I forgot to bring it with me. If I were to go again, I’d bring some extra nicer items to trade or give.

My old eBags Piazza bag worked well for day trips in Capetown and Johannesburg, but I also missed having a smaller crossbody. But, I didn’t want to bring two purses! Next time, I’d bring the smaller crossbody and just use my Sea to Summit ultra light zippered tote (weights under 3 ounces). This tote is amazing as it has a zipper and can hold up to 50 pounds of weight. It’s not made anymore but sometimes you can find it in the secondary market.

I used a Walleroo sun hat in a petite size. After all these years of hats being too big, I finally have one I can wear. No chin strap, but it never blew off on safari.

The packing list from G Adventures said to bring a towel and water purification tablets. Neither were needed and the towel was just wasted space.
I also never used my medicine bag but don’t regret taking it. Because if it was needed there were many times we weren’t someplace that would have had those items. And while they weren’t needed this trip, I have definitely used it on others. It all fit in a mesh bag maybe 6” long and 3” wide. I think I’ll just keep throwing it in my bag, at least on longer trips.

I keep the meds in small pill ziplock bags. I take a picture of the medicine and the directions and note the expiration date. Then I basically bring enough for one person for 2-3 days. I figure that buys me enough time to buy more if needed.

After doing quite a bit of travel since Covid (and my retirement in 2022), I feel like I finally have a couple of different packing lists that work well, depending on the length of trip and destination. (for example, warm weather cruise, visiting family, 2-3 week land based, etc), It may be boring but it sure makes it easy. I almost pack automatically now.

I’ve been around the US, to parts of Canada, Mexico and Caribbean, as well as parts of Europe and Iceland. They’ve been great trips. But seriously, Africa is amazing.