Traveling to Southern Africa: How to Prepare and Pack

Our family’s once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa and Zambia took a lot of planning and preparation. Here’s what we packed, including our safari gear, and how we prepared to go abroad.

What to Pack for a Trip to Southern Africa

We could pack a maximum of 44 pounds each so we were pretty limited on how much we could bring. We each took a rolling carry-on and a backpack and it worked out great.

One standard that is very common at safari lodges is that they will do your laundry same-day, complimentary or for a very small fee. This was a game-changer when it came to packing. Therefore, I packed us each two full game drive outfits that we could rotate each day while the other set was being washed. We also had a washer and dryer at our VRBO in Cape Town and at our friends’ house in Johannesburg so we had access to laundry facilities the entire trip.

Clothing:

For game drives, I wanted us to fit “safari style”, but also be comfortable. See below for a detailed list of what our family of six wore on safari with several links. You can also browse my Africa Safari Amazon List and my Africa Safari LTK Collection for links to everything we packed.

When we weren’t wearing game drive gear, we wore casual travel clothes and brought a few nice outfits each for Cape Town dinners and exploring. Comfort was key!

We packed several layers since we were outside most of the trip and we were visiting South Africa during the winter (we were there June 19-July 6). It was chilly in the mornings and at a night (down in the low 40s), so a sweater or light jacket was perfect. But when the sun came out, it would warm up to between 65-75 degrees F.

Other items we packed:

• Camera – Brandon brought a nice camera to take pictures and videos with while on the game drives and I would use my phone to mostly video and take some pictures. We were usually on a different side or layer to the truck so it was nice to get different angles of the animals as we observed them. We are so glad that we have the high quality images that Brandon took so we can print and frame several of them.
• Binoculars– We packed our own binoculars which were handy to have, but the trucks have binoculars in them that you can share and use to see animals far away. We got the kids these kid-friendly binoculars which were nice for them to each to have their own. And we took some nicer binoculars for myself and Brandon to use.
• Sunglasses – I was fully invested into the safari theme and wore leopard framed sunglasses. Brandon took his prescription sunglasses and the kids don’t like wearing sunglasses so they relied on their hats to block the sun.
• Sunscreen – that South African sun is powerful in the bush with very little shade at times so wearing sunscreen on your face and any exposed skin is highly recommended. We took travel size sunscreen sticks for our faces and travel size sunscreen lotion for our skin.
• Swimsuits – there was a pool at every lodge and house we stayed in so having swimsuits was great! It was pretty epic swimming in the middle of the bush with baboons, elephants and other animals roaming nearby.
• Flashlights – we only used our rechargeable flashlights a few times, but we were so glad we had them. We used them a few times on the game drives in the dark morning or after the sun went down at night to see animals that weren’t bothered by the lights. And we also used them one night when there was a scheduled power outage in Zambia.
• Power Adapters – we definitely needed these South Africa Power Adapters at each place we stayed to convert the plug-ins so that we could charge our electronics, cameras, etc.
• Over-the-Counter Medications – although we didn’t use most of these, we took Tylenol (children’s chewables as well), Dramamine Less Drowsy, Pepto-Bismol, Tums, Benadryl, Melatonin, Nuun (for travel hydration)

What to Wear on a Game Drive (AKA Safari)

Leading up to our trip, it was hard to find an easy guide with links for what to pack and wear on a safari, especially for kids. We were advised to not wear bright colors so I decided to go as neutral as possible when packing everyone with tans, khakis and browns with some white and green as well. I wanted us to fit the “safari style”, but also be comfortable and I tried to coordinate the outfits for each person so that they could be mixed and matched throughout the trip.

Packing layers to wear on the game drives was key. For the morning drives, we would all start out with a light jacket or hoodie on and then take it off as the sun came out. For the evening drives, we would start out in short sleeves and tank tops and then put on our light jackets and hoodies after the sun went down as it would start to get chilly.

• Boys: The boys wore a comfortable t-shirt with a button up short-sleeve cargo shirt and then lightweight cargo pants or cargo shorts with thick socks and hiking shoes, a bucket safari hat, and brought along a hooded sweatshirt.
• Girls: Brookie either wore a cute khaki cargo dress with khaki leggings or lightweight cargo joggers with a cozy shirt or tank top and a pullover or button-up sweater along with thick socks and hiking boots and a straw hat.
• Women: I wore lightweight cargo jogger pants, tank tops, button-down shirts or a pull-over hoodie, with a lightweight jacket, thick socks, hiking boots and a straw hat. I also took the most comfortable pair of white sneakers to wear around the lodges, on travel days and when out exploring.
• Men: Brandon wore tracker pants or kinetic shorts, a long sleeve button down shirt or a short sleeve button down shirt, a soft-shell vest, thick socks, waterproof Nike Duck Boots and a wide brim hat.
• Hats: We all wore safari hats to block the sun and fit the “safari style”: boys’ safari hats, Brookie’s safari hat, my straw hat, Brandon’s wide brim hat.

You can also browse my Africa Safari Amazon List and my Africa Safari LTK Collection for links to everything we packed.

The only thing clothing-wise that we bought while in the bush were these cozy beanies. We found that it was nice to have a beanie in the mornings and late in the evenings, especially when the game driver was driving fast to get to an animal sighting and the cold wind was blowing at our heads.

Medicines and Mosquitos

While we actually didn’t encounter any mosquitos or bugs or get any bug bites while on the trip, there is a risk of getting malaria from mosquito bites while in some southern African regions so we went to a Passport Health USA Clinic here in Dallas about 3 weeks before we left for the trip. We went over any health risks and got travel medicine for Malaria as well as Travelers’ Diarrhea.

We started the Malaria meds (one pill a day) two days before we went into the bush and continued taking them for 7 days after we left the bush. Fortunately, we never had to use the Traveler’s Diarrhea meds as everyone stayed very healthy throughout the trip.

For bug protection in the bush, we wiped down with these Deet Mosquito Repellent Wipes each morning before getting dressed. None of us got any mosquito bites while on the trip which was a pleasant surprise! We did take this awesome After Bite Cream just in case we got bites that were itching.

I hope this answers all of your questions and gives you a glimpse into a once-in-a-lifetime adventure in South Africa and Zambia. To see more behind the scenes from our trip, check out my Instagram Story Highlights (Africa 1, Africa 2, Africa 3) for lots of fun videos, pictures and location links I shared while we were there.

xoxo,