Post-Safari Reflections

As we travel back to the US, I've been thinking about useful safari travel considerations from our trip. You might find my first cut at consolidating my thoughts via the below list helpful for planning a trip to Africa.

Travel related lessons

• For carry-on luggage, we found using small duffels were best. These bags lacked any physical structure and, thus, were able to fit into the small overhead bins in  the regional jets. The duffels were also easy to fit into the very small aircraft we used to move between some lodges. For checked luggage, we used 22 inch rolling duffels.
• It's helpful to bring a portable bag for extra items that you acquire on your trip. We had a couple of the nylon grocery bags that collapsed into a small three inch square.
• We packed microfiber camp towels and used them to extract excess moisture from our hand-washed clothes. This significantly sped up clothes drying - in most cases - to overnight.
• Use good safety judgment. You may have evacuation insurance but that doesn't mean that such services are easy or quick to engage. Local medical services may be somewhat limited despite being in a luxury lodge location. We heard about this issue first hand from another guest.
• It can be helpful to brush your teeth with bottled water and drink only bottled water particularly when in remote lodges/camps. No need to take unnecessary risks - bush breaks are not always convenient. We also brought Pepto Bismal, Immodium and Cipro for an unexpected (and ultimately unneeded) emergency.
• Bring several packets of powdered electrolytes for mixing in bottled water. In some countries, products such as Gatorade are not easily available. Such additives could be useful when dealing with traveler's diarrhea. Luckily, we didn't have this need but encountered someone whose spouse had to return back to the US early and wished he had this powder for her.
• At the start of our trip, I had my passport in an RFID security cover. The cover felt as if it was constructed from paper but probably had some metallic characteristic. Airport body scanners would always alarm over the security cover. I ended up not using the security cover as it became a nuisance and could delay airport security processing.

Clothing related lessons

• While staying in lodge rooms during the winter, you don't need base layers to sleep in - the rooms are plenty warm enough. But base layer pants are very helpful for early winter morning game drives. Many lodges/camps provide blankets for these drives, as well as hot water bottles for your lap. If you're in a tent camp, the need for top and bottom base layers may be greater.
• It is very convenient to have personal laundry included in your reservation. You can hand wash your own clothes in the evening, but your daily schedule may not provide a lot of spare time. Some clothing items, such as socks, can take a long time to dry.
• Bring clothes that don't need special wash handling and that can dry quickly.
• Bring a knit cap or headband covering your ears if cold wind from the early morning drives might bother you.

Africa game drive lessons

• We found the private game reserves provided better opportunities to view game close up. In addition, in a national park, there may be more drive vehicles attempting to see the same game. While visiting Chobe National Park, at one point, there were 17 safari and private vehicles all attempting to see one leopard. At the private reserves, there were up to three vehicles at any single animal siting. 
• As you make your lodge/camp reservations, consider the type of game you would like to see and different geographical environments.
• Some drive vehicles are more comfortable than others. If you're long legged, the front passenger seat may provide the most comfortable seat location. However, from this seat, it may be hard to hear a game tracker - especially if the tracker is sitting in the furthest rear seat row. The rear seats are generally higher which could provide better viewing but also a bouncier ride. Many of our game vehicles were uncovered, but we were told that many lodges/camps in Botswana use drive vehicles with canvas tops.
• On some vehicle game drives, the ranger or tracker may bring a rifle. In many cases, the need for the rifle seemed limited and maybe more for show on game drives. Some rangers indicated that the rifles have never been used on a drive. It is more important to observe the guidance provided from the ranger to stay still when near dangerous animals and keep noises to a minimum. The rifle may be more handy for hiking in the reserves. While on foot, you can become much more visible to the wildllife.
• Bring a tote bag or small backpack with you while on a game drive. It is convenient to have a place to put your clothes layers as the day warms up or cools down. The bag can also hold your camera equipment and binoculars.
• Bring a 10x40 power binocular with you. Lesser power binoculars may limit your ability  to see distant animals and birds.
• Bring water shoes (e.g., Keens) and shorts for a walk along Victoria Falls. You can rent a poncho or long rain jacket at the falls entry point to help stay dry. Although these items will help, you will not likely remain dry by the end of your walk. If you wear regular shoes, they will be soaked at the end of your walk and your shoes can take a long time to dry in the winter. Some clothing will be wet from your walk despite your precautions - except during the very dry seasons. 
• Opportunities for walking game drives were rare in vehicle based lodges/camps. it might have been better to specifically arrange a walking game drive.
• Plan on getting up early. The morning game drives start, depending on the season and location, with a wake-up around 5am. If you don't participate in the early morning drives, you might miss some interesting large cat activity.

Photography lessons

• Bring a lens brush to clean your binoculars and camera lens. Vehicle travel during the game drives can be very dusty. Each evening, I cleaned my photography equipment in preparation for the next day.
• While in game drive transit, placing your camera in a plastic or nylon bag may help to keep dust away from the camera and lens.
• While I brought a full frame DSLR on our game safaris, I might recommend consideration for bringing a crop frame DSLR. My reasoning is that you can get a little more distance from your lens with a crop frame camera. This would provide you more opportunities to extend the reach of your telephoto lens and get that needed close-up. This comes in handy particularly if you have weight restrictions that prevent you from traveling with a lot of lenses. On the other hand a full frame DSLR may permit greater ISO range and less image noise. This comes in handy when dark falls.
• At least triple the number/capacity of your camera memory cards that you typically bring on vacation. It is best to avoid having to reuse memory cards even if you download the images to a laptop computer or portable hard drive.
• If you are on a private game reserve, a 200mm telephoto lens is fine. If in a national park, bring at least a 300mm telephoto lens. National park rules prohibit going off-road to follow animals, so at times you may not be able to get very close to view an animal.
• Practice with changing the automatic focus areas of your camera and/or manual focus, if these options are available. At times, an auto focus mechanism can get confused over the focus point when an animal is lying in grass.
• Bring a camera that can quickly take multiple photographs. Animals can move quickly.
• Charge your camera batteries each evening if you can. If not, bring a charged extra battery with you during game drives. You don't want to miss a photo due to a dead battery.
• Bring a spare memory card for your camera with you during game drives. This is especially important if the current card is near capacity. 
• Bring a camera wherever you go during your time in Africa - even to meals. You can never tell when a photography opportunity will present itself.
• Wearing a lightweight travel vest with lots of pockets is handy for game drives. The vest can easily hold filters, lens cleaners, lens brushes and other items. It is very handy to just grab your vest in the early morning for a drive and know everything you need is in the vest.
• A feature that I am fond of with my DSLR is the capability to manually set aperture and shutter speed while ISO automatically is set by the camera to fall within a predefined ISO range. 
• Multiple DSLRs could be handy on a game safari. I only brought one DSLR body to Africa, but will be bringing a full frame Canon DSLR along with a crop frame Canon Rebel T4i, as a backup camera, for our travel to Antarctic. I'm uncertain about the cold weather and, hence, the two DSLR bodies.