Top 10 things to Take on Safari!

This post has come about after countless friends have asked me what they need to make sure that they have a great safari and that hardly anything goes wrong. There are two types of Safari you can go on when travelling around Africa. The first is with a Safari company which will charge you a ridiculous amount of money and sort everything out for you - if this is the Safari you want to go on then stop reading now! The second type is for the more intrepid and adventurous of you - the guys who want to do it by themselves - camping in the Bush - The best type of Safari. Forget the buses and hotels full of tourists- why settle for that when you can chill in a tent in the bush itself?
Here are a few of the things which I would suggest you take with you:

1) A Landrover  - probably the best overland car which will get you bundu bashing (serious off road driving) in no time (you might also want to consider taking a Land Cruiser to pull out the Landrover when it inevitably gets stuck in the mud)

2) A Swiss Army Knife complete with all parts - if you haven't used yours until now I promise after a Safari you will be blessing the day they were invented.

3) Alcohol - can't go wrong with a crate full of Tusker Beers (staple drink of Kenya) and a few bottles of something stronger to knock you out so you are not disturbed by the roaring lions and buzzing mosquitoes at night

4) The Three B's (a.k.a Bacon, Beans and Bread - have those three and you are set)

5) A tent - no Safari is a real safari unless you camp in your own tent in the middle of the bush.

6) Matches - Vital for all safari!

7) If you don't have a safari guide then take animal books, tree books, bird books - whatever floats your boat - because honestly if you can't tell a leopard from a cheetah then you will need a little help along your adventure.

8) A camera - in case you see something amazing like a pack of wild dogs (and no I don't mean the dogs that you see on the side of the road)!

9) Binoculars because sometimes, just sometimes the lions aren't right next to your car

10) Finally - a good attitude - because chances are things are going to go wrong at some point, you will get stuck in the mud, you may have a puncture in the middle of a herd of elephants, a cheetah might use your car as a view point (don't worry - don't piss them off and they will soon be on their way) and as long as you remember that however nice they may seem, monkeys are NOT your friends then you will be fine!!

And of course the one thing you must not take is a travel companion who is a) afraid of getting out of the car at any given point, b)starts telling you off when you stray from the road in order to seen an animal and c) makes annoying comments when seeing animals for example "well it's really just a big cat isn't it". On second thought you could always take them along as bait for the lions - then you really would get some awesome pics!

Have a good one!