Come and experience self drive in East Africa. I break up the list in 2 parts; the first is the gear that is included with your car rental and the second part is about what you still need to bring. As you can see from the below list the equipment you get with your car is quite extensive but when looking to rent 4×4 rooftop tent with camping equipment make sure to check what is included in the price as not every car rental is including the same things. One of these things is a fridge.
Even if you’re not camping a fridge can be a great addition because shops in National Parks are not created equal. But it will also help you on your drives to keep your lunch, snacks and drinks cool just be sure you only get out of your car in designated areas.
When you do require a fridge, make sure to also have a second battery. This is so that the fridge is not impacting your main battery immediately and you can keep it on also when not driving. You will also get an electricity cable that you can plug in your car when you do have it on your campsite (as not all campsites have electricity) so that the fridge can run on that.
- 24 Piece Cutlery Bag
- Cooking Pots
- Frying Pan
- Kettle
- Plates
- Bowls
- Glasses
- Wine goblets
- Mugs
- Light
- Tablecloth
- Breadboard
- Can opener
- Corkscrew
- Barbeque Tongs
- Barbeque Grid
Camping Equipment
- Rooftop Tent
- Rain cover for the tent
- Tent Pegs
- Gas Bottle
- Cooker Top
- Chairs
- Table
Camping Equipment cont.
- Dustpan & brush
- Fire extinguisher
- Water basin
- Pillows
- Sleeping bags
- Towels
- Pillows
- Sleeping bags
- Vehicle
- Second Battery
- 2x Spare Tyre
- Tow Rope
- Jumper Cables
- Tools for Tyre change
- Compressor
- Fuses
- Water tank 45l
- Spade
- Fridge
What you need to bring
A brush
This one might seem odd but if you have been driven on gravel roads you know how dusty everything gets. A brush like this is great to clean your car, bags and shoes.
Dish washing
Kitchen towels, scrub sponge and dish washing liquid but with these, you can buy when you reach the country.
Cooking
We like to bring some seasoning for cooking instead of having to buy in the supermarket and then not use it all. We use the small jars from this bottle set to bring salt, pepper & dish washing liquid.
A very important one: instant coffee. Not ideal but if there’s nothing else or if the camp shops are not open yet it will definitely help with the early mornings.
Zip-lock bags
You bring them to preserve our food but they also double as dry bags or to keep dirty laundry from the rest of the clothes.
Buy or bring toilet paper; just in case
First aid kit for your self-drive safari
You can be quite far away from a doctor or a hospital so we like to be prepared and have a fully stocked first aid kit with:
- Paracetamol
- Antiseptic wound wash to protect against infection when you have cuts
- Triangular bandage
- Wound/gauze dressings
- Alcohol-free cleansing wipes
- Bandages and plasters
- Band-aids
- Diarrhea relief and electrolyte powder
- Pills against travel sickness
- Echina force tablets to prevent colds (which happens quite often when coming from colder weather and the cold of the air in a plane)
- For the same reason, we also bring tissues and strepsils.
- Tweezer
- Latex gloves
- Scissors
- Next to the first aid kit, we pack insect repellent and insect bite relief pens to treat the bites. As well as antibacterial hand gel and biodegradable wet/baby wipes.
- And off course sunscreen, after-sun and body lotion. Even tough you’re in the car most of the time, you often have the windows open and the sun is so strong that you’ll burn easily and your skin will dry out quickly. These are also the only toiletries that you may bring the full bottles because you will use a lot of it, and they are really expensive to buy in the supermarket or one of the camp shops.
Clothing & Shoes for your self-drive safari
Below are some of the clothings and shoes you bring with during your safari: skirts, dresses, small handbags, huge sun hats and heels. This might be great when you’re on a luxury safari and all you have to do is walk to the safari truck, but it’s a while different thing when you’re on a self-drive camping safari.
Pants
1x pair of Jeans
Which we tend to wear on the plane.
1x pair of linen pants
For when it’s a bit colder you may need long pants for things like a walking safari
2x pair of shorts
Don’t think I need to explain these
Short sleeves shirts
These shirts are great for a self-drive safari because they’re lightweight, keep you cool and dry fast.
Long Sleeves
For when the temperature starts you may bring with you 1 or 2 cotton long sleeve shirts
Fleece or Hoody
But for the really cold mornings or during evening or night drives we have a hoody or fleece like this one from Odlo. If we’re on a road trip where we also travel outside of the national parks we also bring a nice/dressy shirt.
Jacket
Light windbreaker
OTHER
Scarf/Buff
I use a scarf for in the car as I often have an issue with the seat belt scratching my neck if I’m wearing a t-shirt. For our next trip I would like to get one of these travel scarfs as they have a hidden pocket that you can use to store a small wallet or your passport. And for those days that it’s windy and the sand is blowing it’s nice to have a Buff.
Sleepwear
This can be a tricky one as there are days that it’s so warm that you have all your windows open and want to sleep in the thinnest sleepwear possible. Then there are other days that it’s raining at night or there is a lot of wind and it cools down quite a bit. But it also has some socks, a hoody and sweatpants in case it gets cold during the night or for bathroom breaks.
Underwear
You may bring a mix of cotton underwear and some fast drying ones.
Swimwear
To cool down in the pool after a long warm day
Bra
This one is for the ladies but I would advise to bring some sturdy sports bra’s
SHOES
Walking Shoes
Just make sure you also bring a couple pairs of walking socks when you bring these shoes.
