JAMBO! GOING ON A CAMPING SAFARI? Tips, Tricks, and What to Expect

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A Safari? Me?? I’ve never considered booking a safari – it’s never been on my bucket list (but if you know me, I don’t really have an actual bucket 🪣 list anyway!) I was sure it wasn’t for me; it was probably too expensive. Out of my league. For wealthy people who have dreamt their entire life of doing a safari.

But when a friend invited me to her wedding on the tiny island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania, it seemed silly NOT to find a safari to do before or after the wedding. After all, if I were going alllll the way to Zanzibar, it would be foolish not to go on safari, right?!

So I started doing what I do best – researching a trip. 🤔 I was, of course, looking for something low budget. Something “no frills” and for adventurous people like myself (and the Frenchman, who would be joining me) who don’t need a 5-star lodge with all the bells and whistles. I searched online, read a few blogs, and reviewed reviews until I came up with 3 companies that had similar itineraries and good prices, chose one, and booked it!

Listed below, you’ll find some of my expectations and what the reality was about safaris in general, and my safari in particular.

In addition, I’ve included a list of 11 items I’d suggest you pack if you, too, choose a budget-priced camping safari. A few of the things were the usual things one would bring on a camping trip, and a couple of them were specific to safari camping.

So without further ado…

The safari challenged my expectations and preconceived ideas in many ways. Here’s 5 of them.

🦁EXPECTATION: A safari is a considerable expense and will cost thousands and thousands of dollars. As a budget traveler, it would be beyond my reach. 

🦁 REALITY: I paid $900 for 6 nights’ accommodation (2 hotel nights plus 4 nights shared tent camping ⛺️), visits to 4 incredible parks, and all meals for 5 days. The reviews for Suricata Safaris were all stellar, so I was comfortable booking this budget option. 💰 

🦒 EXPECTATION: the animals would be seen waaaaay off in the distance – I guessed they would be 100 meters/300’ from our safari jeep, just dots on the horizon. 

🦒 REALITY: the cheetahs, lions 🦁, and baboons were practically within reach from the open-air jeep! They were sprawled out on the pavement and the grass next to the road, snoozing, totally unconcerned by us. The antelopes, giraffes, zebras, 🦓 and elephants were further away, but we rarely needed binoculars – and zooming in with our phone cameras was perfect. 

🦓 EXPECTATION: What if I got stuck with a group of people I didn’t know? It was going to be 5 days of togetherness in a confined space. It could be awful! Long days in the car together. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner together! Yikes.  

🦓 REALITY: our group was amazing! Fun, curious, helpful, friendly – and our guide was absolutely incredible. (Damian for the win – he was an amazing guide. Helpful, fun, knowledgeable, and made sure we saw everything!)

🦏 EXPECTATION: we all hoped to see the legendary Big 5 (the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo) but I knew that was just a wish – we didn’t expect to see them all.. 

🦏 REALITY: except for the rhino…we saw them all! Multiple times! 🤩

 🐘EXPECTATION: 5 days – allll day (8 am to 5 pm and sometimes more!) in a jeep was gonna be brutal – tiring, uncomfortable, and not fun. 

 🐘 REALITY: It was tiring. Very. But it was a very comfortable and spacious vehicle with a great supportive and cushioned seat, and being in the company of great folks made it fun. We stopped for lunch and bathroom breaks throughout the day, so it was manageable. (But it was still a LOT – a lot!! of drive time!) 

WHAT TO BRING ON A CAMPING SAFARI

Now, for my list of items you might want to toss into your bag for a safari-specific camping trip. What I didn’t realize beforehand was how dry it would be! We were at altitude for most of the safari, from a low of 950 meters/3,125 feet up to nearly 2,400 meters/7,900 feet. Because of this, it was dry. Really dry. As in, “Holy moly; where’s my chapstick?” dry.

Here are my recommendations to combat that:

1. Lip balm. Lip balm containing sunscreen would be ideal. Somehow I didn’t have one and was miserable! ☹️
2. An abundance of hair conditioner! It’s sooo dry that I ended up using more than I normally do, and ran out of conditioner toward the end of the trip. And it’s pretty much impossible to buy more once you’re in the middle of nowhere!
3. Hand lotion. 🧴 Same reasons as above.

4. In addition to these items, you’re gonna want to bring toilet paper. 🧻 Yep. Bring an entire roll, because the campgrounds and many of the bathroom breaks didn’t supply TP. #yourewelcome

5. Mosquito 🦟 spray. Whether or not you opt to use malarial medicine, you’ll want spray as well. Get some “jungle” strength stuff – I’m a fan of organic or citronella spray, but for this trip, you’ll probably want to use DEET or Icaridin spray (aka Picaridin).

6. Wet wipes. It’s dry out there. Dusty. Windy. You’re going to be covered in red and brown dust – they call it “African makeup”! You may want to wipe down your arms and legs periodically, and having wipes would be handy. Also, your hands will be grateful for a wipe before lunch in the middle of the Serengeti.

7. On the topic of dusty and windy – you may want to bring a bandana or buff to cover your face, especially when you’re bumping and jostling and speeding through the plains to get to the next wildlife viewing. I had a scarf 🧣 tied around my neck and put it over my nose and mouth periodically.

8. Flip flops. 🩴 Great for shower shoes and walking around the campground at the end of the day. If you’re not a flip-flop person (I am not!) get yourself some lightweight Crocs or some slides you can wear into the shower and around the campsite in the evenings.

9. Don’t forget an external battery. Although our jeep had USB charging ports for our phones, I don’t know if they all do (I’d hazard a guess they do, but better safe than sorry!).

10. If you’re a fan of coffee, good luck. Although Tanzania and neighboring Kenya are famous for incredible coffee, they export most of it and drink a local instant coffee called “Africafe” which was not something I enjoyed. At all. During the safari, you’ll have instant coffee, weak tea, and powdered milk and sugar. I’d recommend you get some Starbucks instant coffee packets, or any other brand you are ok with. And although I detest CoffeeMate powdered creamer, it would’ve been welcome!

11. I wish I had brought mine, so I’m suggesting you bring yours…a silk sleeping bag liner. This would’ve been so nice to cover the icky pillow and ancient sleeping bags we had in our tents which I doubt had seen soap and water in ages. To have a clean surface for my head and inside the sleeping bag would’ve been sweet. But nope. I didn’t bring one.

And that’s it! Do your research and choose a great tour company, pack these 11 items, and enjoy the safari. It’s quite amazing -not just the incredible animals, but the epic, rolling plains of the never-ending Serengeti, the many ecosystems of the Ngorongoro Crater, the lush forest of the Manyara Lake area, and the resilient indigenous nomadic Maasai tribes living in the middle of all of this is truly exceptional.

Awaken your spirit to adventure. Hold nothing back. Learn to find ease in risk, for your soul senses the world that awaits you. ~ John O’Donoghue