Africa Packing 101

Well, this post is meant for a dear friend in DC who is getting ready to come to Africa with our group and missed my famous Packing for Africa demonstration. So I've done a digital version of this, but emailing all the photos to him was too hard, so I'm posting it on my blog. Maybe some of you out there were really curious about which shirts I'm packing for the trip. Well, here it is. My point of all of this is that you can travel to Africa for two weeks and carry your luggage on. I do not believe in checking luggage - and traveling light makes everything easier when traveling across Africa. So here it goes.

PACKING









This is what I'm wearing on the airplane




- 5-6 comfortable, modest t-shirts
- 2 long-sleeved shirts
- 3-4 lightweight, knee- or ankle-length skirts (most women wear skirts)
- 2 pair of lightweight pants/capris (comfortable for the airplane)
- 1 t-shirt and 1 pair of cotton shorts/boxers for sleeping (it will be warm at night)
- 1 fleece or zip up outer layer
- Lightweight rain jacket
- 2 bandanas
- 10 pairs of underwear
- 3-4 pairs of socks
- Pack quick-dry towel (can get at any camping store)
- 1 pair of comfortable walking shoes
- 1 pair of open toed shoes – like chacos or tevas
- 1 pair of flip flop/sandals (generally the shoe that all women wear)
- Sunglasses/Sun hat (optional – people in the village rarely wear these)

GEAR






- Small/Medium-sized rolling duffle bag or suitcase (Travel will be MUCH easier with a small bag. I never check luggage)
- Day backpack
- Purse-type of bag you can carry each day wherever you go
- Headlamp with extra batteries
- 1 Nalgene water bottle
- Alarm clock (or on your watch)
- Earplugs
- Camera
- Universal electricity plugs (can buy at REI, etc – comes in one pack of many adaptors)
- Power bars/granola bars, etc (or some kind of comfort food that is familiar for you)
- Passport and Drivers License
- Copy of passport and drivers license kept separate from real passport
- Travel Insurance card (I have this for you)
- Notebook and pens
- ATM card (call your bank before you leave so they won’t hold your withdrawals)
- US cash – Make sure your $50 and $100 US bills are dated AT LEAST 2003 – they WILL NOT accept anything that was printed before that
- Inoculations proof (you will receive a yellow card – just keep in passport)

TOILETRIES

All carry-on liquids need to be less than 3oz.




And fit into a 1 quart sized bag.



I put my medicines in little pill bags that you can buy at Walgreens. And then I put the stickers from the bottles onto the bag.







- 2-3 packs of travel baby wipes
- Toothbrush, toothbrush cover, and travel-sized toothpaste
- Floss
- Hair brush
- 3 packets of travel Kleenex
- Mini travel mirror
- 2 razors and travel shaving cream
- 2 travel-sized hand sanitizer
- Soap and container
- Contact solution, etc - eyeglasses
- Sun block – at least 30 spf
- Insect Repellant
- Deodorant
- Travel sized lotion
- Shampoo and conditioner (or get it in one – trust me, it will be easier)

o A small roll of toilet paper (you can roll your own or get Charmin’s version at the drug store)

MEDICINE

- Malarone (malaria pills) – take one every morning with food
- 3-4 Ambien pills (sleeping pills) – I generally take an ambien the first two nights in Africa to help me sleep on the right schedule
- 1 package Immodium
- 1 small bottle of Pepto Bismol pills (I generally take one every morning to coat the stomach)
- 2 rolls of the travel-sized Tums
- 1 broad-spectrum antibiotic (you’ll need a prescription for this – I use Levaquin)
- Small baggie of cough drops/throat lozenges
- Cortizone, anti-itch cream

Truly, you can pack it all in a small duffle and backpack. Use ziplock bags and roll your clothes. I put the guitar in the picture only for you to be able to get a sense of the size of the duffle bag.