It's only a few more days till we leave on our trip so we did a test-pack tonight. We laid everything out that we wanted to take and then did our best to subtract items. It's a science, really, seeing how much you can creatively stuff in a back-pack of medium size.
We actually seem to be quite well-organized. I found an old notebook with lists from a previous trip and it looks very similar. It seems we've found a formula. :)
The secret, my friends, (as some of you already know) is Ziploc bags, lots of them with the air squeezed out. It helps your clothes squish down into compact little blobs. Put a dryer sheet like Bounce in with them and they stay fresh as a daisy. I swear by them. Hmmmm...it seems I've just plugged two products. Any representatives from Bounce or Ziploc reading? I'd be happy to rave about your products on television for a nice round sum of money! Anybody?
I also must thank my friend Pol, Queen of Khaki and Countess of Camping Clothes for lending me practical and correctly coloured clothing for this trip. I am VERY glad for her help. :)
The tricky part of packing for this trip is that we have three separate parts to it.
Firstly, we will be mucking about in tents and on dusty roads in the Serengeti. We need to bring our own sleeping bags and mats. The overland company said it may be very hot during the day, but cold at night. It may rain with equatorial zeal, turning the landscape into sucking red mud. Bring water-bottles and hiking boots for a day on Kilimanjaro.
Secondly, we will be on the tropical island of Zanzibar where I need both bathing suit for snorkelling and modest garb for walking around a place which is mostly Muslim.
Thirdly, back to London where I need at least one outfit suitable for going out to a nice dinner or to a theatre.
Sigh, it tasks the most dedicated philosopher of packing light.
But Jeff's mom called tonight to tell us excitedly that she had finished packing and EVERYTHING she is taking ,including her sleeping bag ,fits in a single pack. She has obviously conquered a mighty demon for I have watched this lady pack before and most everything but the kitchen sink usually goes with her. I am very proud of her.
In the last two years my mother-in-law has spent months in Nepal, India, and Tibet, back-packed in Australia, toured around the British Isles, and driven all the way across Canada to the Maritimes. She is a travelling wonder! I could not ask for a better mother-in-law. Some of you out there might think it odd that I'd like to bring my mother-in-law (and sister-in-law)on a trip, but I really think this is going to work. It's going to be fun. Our little family group will make up a fifth of the whole group on safari.
We have the names of all the other people in our Exodus group: fifteen out of twenty of us are women! Two of them are doctors.
Ever looked at a list of names and tried to imagine their personalities? For instance, one lady is named Davina. I've never met a Davina before.
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