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[irax]

Hello all.

I'm off to East Africa soon and was wondering about little pieces of kit that I may need there. In the past I've taken kit to South East Asia and then sent them home as I discovered that I didn't really need it there. However do I need them for East Africa?

Specificially I'll be going to.....

Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia (maybe Rwanda and DR Congo for the Gorillas)

Do I need to take...... ?

Mozzy net
Water Purifying bottle
pak safe (lockable wire mesh)

I've never needed them before now, do I need them this time?

Cheers,
Ron.

[kevandsian]

Hi Ron,

I think to a certain extent it depends on where you'll be staying. We camped most of the time and therefore didn't need a mozzie net much but on the occasion we stayed in a hotel, it did come in handy as often the ones supplied were full of holes and would have taken ages to patch with duck tape, elastoplast whatever! So I would definitely take your net. The more expensive hotels have decent nets but these are few and far between especially in Ethiopia and Uganda. As for water purifying, we ended up drinking the local water throughout Africa without much ill effect but I wouldn't recommend it as there are some nasty diseases out there. Bottled water is readily available in most but not all places (depends how far off the beaten track you go) and not as available as Coca Cola! It can also be a bit expensive relatively speaking as you'll be drinking gallons of the stuff. As long as your purifier has a decent filter to take out all the nasties then it's probably a good idea to take it. As for the pacsafe, I wouldn't bother. I don't think its necessary, Africa was one of the safest continents I travelled in terms of the threat of opportunistic theft.

Have a great trip, I'm envious, I cant wait to go back! When are you going?

Sian

My Pod

[irax]

Thanks for the info, it's great to know. I'll leave the pacsafe then and take the other stuff. I leave tomorrow morning, in fact I need to get out of my bed in 5.5 hours time, why do I always do this?

Cheers,
Ron.

[whereshegoes]

Hope you landed ok Ron....

Why do you always do this??? Good question. I have the same habit.

[irax]

I'm back now, back in the UK

So, as an update to my own question.

Mozzy Net. For sure, take one. I only used it twice, but I tell you I was really thankful that I had it with me on both of those nights.

Water Purifier. I didn't really go off the beaten track so bottled water was always available. I should have used it, but I didn't.

Pacsafe. Glad I left that baby at home, never ever missed it.

For anyone else heading out that way, make sure you go to Ethiopia, really great country.

Cheers,
Ron.

[ScottWoz]

Hey Ron,

Thanks for the tips. Agree with you on Ethiopia. I was only there for a short time but it really made a huge impact. Glad you've had a blast and made it back safe mate..

[yenni]

Hey guys,

I agree totaly on Ethiopia, it is wonderful. Just more demanding i think. Well of African countries I can only compare it to Tanzania, but Ethiopians are surely not that used to "faranji" so you re shouted at, pointed at, sometimes even thrown a stone at ALL the time.

Do you agree with that, or did you feel more like "a real alien" elsewhere?

And to medicals and stuff - I am always better equipped with medicine than Doctors Without Borders (my mother is a doctor so she wont let me go unless I have a pill for everything...) but I ve only used some anti-headache pills:-) Usualy you find you really dont need anything, so the more you leave at home the better. And if you really need something, you can almost always buy it there...