"Africa: Gear List "
Here was my list of gear for Africa and Kili.
CLOTHING:
Outer Wear:
Thinsulate fleece cap
Wide brim rain/sun hat
North Face Gore-Tex Mountain Light jacket
Nylon rain/wind pants
Wind-stopper Polartech fleece jacket
Polartech 200 fleece pants
Light Gloves (don't forget!)
Heavy Mittens
Balaclava/Ski-mask
Bandana
Inner Wear:
2 long sleve polypro shirts
3 CoolMax or cotton T-shirts
4 polypro bike style boxer shorts
1 polypro long johns
4 pairs of heavy trekker Merino wool Wigwam socks
1 pair cotton socks
1 Nylon bathing suit
1 pair cargo shorts
1 pair climbing tights
2 pair nylon cargo pants
1 Stretch polartech midweight sweatshirt (VERY handy layer!)
Belt
Footwear:
Leather Gore-Tex Asolo hiking boots
Nylon gaiters (wear on the first day in mud, and last day and the descent)
Sport sandals
Running shoes
GEAR:
1 bottle iodine tablets
Pur water filter (with virus protection)
2 Nalgene bottles
1 camelpack
1 Trekking pole
North Face Badlands 5000 cu/in backpack
Small North Face daypack
Lockable Duffel Bag
Small padlock
Pack Rain cover
15 degree F sleeping bag
Thermarest pad with repair kit
Whistle
2 carabiners
Binoculars
Big bottle of Camp-suds
2 packets of Moleskin
Swiss Army knife
Polarized sunglasses
Good Headlamp (don't leave home without it!!!)
Lots of Batteries for lamp - 8 packs
Large Camp towel
Waterproof matches
Small roll of duct tape
30 feet of nylon cord
Sunblock/SPF 30
1 bottle of Deet bug repelent
1 bottle "Lion-b-gone"
Several sizes of zip lock bags (very handy)
Two large black plastic bags
Two or three nylon stuff sacks
Couple packs of gum/mints/candy etc.
Deck of cards
CAMERA:
Canon EOS with 28-300mm Tamron zoom lens (at least 200 mm is ESSENTIAL!)
10 rolls color Fuji Realla 100 film (36 exp)
3 rolls B/W 400 film (24 exp)
10 rolls color 400 film (36 exp)
5 rolls color 200 film (24 exp)
1 extra battery
UV filter
Polarized filter (would be handy in serengetti and on Kili.)
Mini-tripod
Lead lined Film bag
Good camera bag
PERSONAL:
1 roll toilet paper (don't forget!)
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
3 disposable razors or one battery powered electric
Portable mirror
Roll of dental floss
Shaving creme
Deodorant
Bar of Soap
Hand lotion
2 boxes of Met-Rx bars
1 bottle of vitamins
Neck wallet
Belt Wallet
Guide book
Plastic eating utensils
2 Pens
One permanent marker
Note Pad
Carmex/Chapstick
Chair conversion kit for Thermarest
2-3 paperback books
One jar of peanut butter
Extra shoe laces
A few plastic bags, big trash size and small ziplock
DOCUMENTS:
Airline tickets
Passport
Immunization record
Visa
Photocopies of passport/immunizations and extra passport photos
Mini Address book for postcards
Record of credit card numbers
Travelers checks ($2000)
Cash ($600)
Three visa cards
Drivers license
FIRST-AID:
Antiseptic/Triple antibiotic creme
Band-Aids (various sizes)
Rubber gloves
Gauze Bandages
Tape
Ace bandages
Imodium AD
Dramamine
Alegra/Allergy
Antibiotic/Ciproflaxin - two complete cycles
Pepto-Bismol
Diamox
Ibuprofin - lots of it
Cold medicine/Sudafed
Hydrocortizone creme
Malaria medicine
Antibacterial hand cleaner
IMMUNIZATIONS:
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Tetanus
Typhoid
Malaria
Yellow Fever
Cholera
Menengitis
Polio
Advice:
Kenya Immigration: The correct answer is "30 days"
Money: Credit cards are not widely accepted. Cash and T-checks are vital.
Kids: Always want "pens for school". Bring a few good pens and you will make lots of friends.
Safety: Watch yourself in Nai-robbery. Keep your money spread between two internal wallets. Always have "safety cash" stuffed somewhere else.
Greetings: When someone says "Karibu", Say "Asante". When someone says "Haburi", say "Nzuri"
Animals: You ain't smarter, faster, stronger or scarier. They don't fear you, and you ain't the top of the food chain. Leave the camp site at your own risk.
Trading: Want some cool souveniers? Bring a thrashed old pair of Nike shoes and a few old Ironman watches and you can write your own ticket. The vendors jones for that kind of shit and will trade even the best carvings/masks/spears/etc for them. Anything you have is tradeable, and will command a high price in the bargain. The hot trading items: shoes sunglasses, watches, socks, clothing. Bring stuff you can part with, and you will bring back some great souveniers.
Bargaining: You are getting screwed no matter how well you bargain. Start your bargaining at 1/2 of what you are willing to pay. And don't move up too fast. Show the money, and start to walk away, and chances are, you will get the deal.
Kili: Trekking pole is damn nice to have. So is a chair kit for your Thermarest. Be sure to bring a Thermarest. The pads they provide suck rocks.
Buy the "Lonely Planet Guide" to either "East Africa" or "Tanzania and Zanzibar". They are bibles for the region. They also make a trekking guide that is damn handy to have for route research.
Be generous with your guides and porters. They are doing a shit load of work and see very little of the money. For our trek, we spent a total of $1400. Tanzania took $748 of that as park fees. The tour company took another big chunk. And very little ever made it to the guys who actually do the work.
