Preparation

We all go about travel preparation in our own way but for trips of this nature, you will rarely get away with throwing a few things together at the last minute. A few simple tips which may be useful are:

Check, clean and test your camera gear well in advance. Things can happen whilst it’s been stored away since the last trip.

Charge batteries, clear your cards and ensure you have sufficient storage and everything else for this trip. It may be different to the last trip. Ask us, we can tell you what we are doing but then you make your own decision based on your own preferences.

For international flights, find out what the regulation size limit is for hand luggage and don’t even think about exceeding it these days. Be mindful of the overall weight restriction for the domestic flights in light aircraft once you are abroad. There’s no point taking 22kg away with you if you can’t move around within Africa with more than 12kg!

Do you need waterproofing for your gear? Plastic bags, heavy duty latex carry bags? With changeable weather patterns we have been rained on when we shouldn’t have been so we are increasingly taking this protection not just in the rainy season but in all but the high dry season.

Bring instruction booklets if you are not 100% sure about the workings of your gear. We can help you with most things but your trip will be frustrating if we can’t work it out.

Check your travel insurance, visas and vaccination requirements well in advance. Don’t assume that because you were OK for your last trip you will be OK for this next trip. Some vaccinations need boosters or need time or have to be repeated a few weeks apart to be effective. Requirements may change if you are traveling in the rainy season or to a different country or they may have just changed since you went last time.

Even if you are a seasoned traveler, when you get out the clothes you are planning to take, put some of them back ie leave them behind. Reserve your precious baggage allowance for what really counts. Keep in mind pretty much all of our trips have a laundry service.

Don’t forget hat and sunscreen. Easily overlooked but the sun is brutal.

Think about your fitness level in advance of the trip. None of our trips require you to be an Olympian but you will enjoy gorilla tracking in Uganda a whole lot more if you are confident in your ability to walk for up to 6-7 hours per day (it may only take 1 – 2 hours but what if it is 6-7 hours???!!!), and it is likely to be slippery, muddy, steep terrain. For tracking gorillas in Rwanda and sitting in a vehicle on safari, there is no issue. Antarctica means being able to get in and out of a zodiac boat from the gang plank of the mother boat whilst carrying your gear and wearing a whole lot more clothes than you are used to plus your life jacket. For most people there’s no issue but think about it if you have joint or movement problems.