The most important thing to bring on a Safari
You can see my other article about what you need to bring on a safari here, but that list did not include the most important thing to bring.
The most important thing to bring on a safari is:
being resilient
Things will go wrong. Sometimes multiple times in a day. You will be delayed and things you need will not be available or work when you need them. While on safari, my group encountered, among other things:
- Excursions, meals and arrivals at camp were frequently delayed due to long detours from roads blocked by trees, water, etc.
- Long delays were caused by a broken axle, necessitating a stop at a car repair facility, and a truck stuck in a muddy river
- We were often uncomfortable. From being hunted by mosquitos that didn’t respect DEET or mosquito netting, being bruised and sore from the Land Cruiser bouncing around (two of us broke off a door handle with our hips, and many of us hit our heads on the ceiling), lack of sleep/rest, and feeling dirty all the time as the dust is pervasive.
- Our patience with bureaucracy and uncertainty was tested with airline issues and slow border crossings with little info on what was going on, especially since the info we had been given previously being incorrect
- Things got lost, eaten, or damaged: my camera lens stopped working correctly, some people’s chargers or USB cords were lost or damaged, baboons broke into a friend’s tent and ate/stole/destroyed her deodorant and other items, . . .
To keep going requires a certain amount of commitment and tenacity.
And sharing deodorant with your friends.
