Welcome to the home of safari clothing, gear & advice.

Essential accessories for sun, insect & night-time protection

There is nothing more boring than ruining a great adventure - or a Sunday afternoon - with a bad sunburn, or itchy insect bites. Ensure your optimal enjoyment in the outdoors, on safari, and on your travels with essential accessories for your protection from bugs, bites, burns, and the things that go bump in the night. After all the right gear guarantees that there is no impediment to your adventures.

Safari Insect Repellent Read our Safari Insect Repellent Advice Guide

Pack a highly-effective safari insect repellent for your safari - whether or not you are going to a malaria area. If you don't pack an effective insect repellent, the constant annoyance of insects such as mosquitoes, midges, and flies may dampen your enjoyment of your safari.

In areas with tropical diseases which are carried by insects - such as malaria - the higher the quality of the safari insect repellent you pack and constantly apply while on safari, the lower the chance of contracting any disease or illness. "Don't get bitten" just about sums up this line of thinking.

Insect repellents that are made and tested in tropical areas - and which are used daily in places such as Australia - we have found to be the best on numerous field tests in Africa. This is the reason why we personally use Australian-made insect repellent on our own safaris and expeditions and why we believe that you should too.

Apply insect repellent frequently to both your skin and clothing. For your face, spray the repellent into your hand and then apply it to your skin. Do not get it into your eyes and follow the instructions on the insect repellent bottle. For your clothing, check first that the safari insect repellent you use does not stain or damage your clothing and then apply it all over your trousers, shirt, hat, and shoes.

Always re-apply insect repellent after physical activities, sweating, swimming, or towelling yourself down.

Only use insect repellents for your safari which contain up to a maximum of 40% DEET. Some manufacturers include more DEET than that in their formula, but it does not increase the efficacy of the repellent - only the length of time it stays on your skin. Rather re-apply more frequently than use a repellent with more than 40% DEET.

Travel tip: Many of our clients make the mistake of only packing insect repellent for their safari and not for their beach holiday after their safari. Simply put, the risk of malaria is greater in coastal, tropical areas where there are usually much higher concentrations of people than in the wilderness and back country of Africa where you will go on safari. Pack enough insect repellent to cover your beach holiday - or onward travel in Africa - too.

Number of bottles of safari insect repellent to pack:
Up to 4-day safari: 1 x bottle per person; Up to 8-day safari: 2 x bottles per person; Up to 12-day safari: 3 x bottles per person

*Local conditions such as the time of year and presence of rain will determine the number of insects you may encounter on your safari. We prefer to err on taking a few too many bottles on safari than running out. For any extras after your safari, note that most insect repellents should last for a number of years and you will be able to use them at home during the summer months.

Mosi-guard Natural Bug Spray Extra, DEET-Free, 75ml

£10.00

Bushman Ultra Insect Repellent Pump Spray

£10.95

Safari Torches (flashlights) Read our Safari Torches (flashlights) Advice Guide

Packing a good safari torch (flashlight) is an important essential for all safaris as it increases your safety while in the safari camp and may also add to the enjoyment of your safari.

Your safari torch should be used in the evenings as you walk around the safari camp to shine on the ground in front of you to avoid standing on any snakes (and other reptiles), spiders, scorpions, or insects which may bite or sting you. This is especially important when wearing open sandals or shoes around the camp area.

Use your safari torch to shine in the bush around you as you walk around the camp at night to spot and avoid wildlife which may have wandered into the camp in the evenings. Please note that this is important as many camps are unfenced - and, even for those with fences, some mammals are able to jump over fences. For unfenced camps, should you spot any of the predators (lion, leopard, hyena, and cheetah) or any of the bigger herbivores (elephant, rhino, buffalo), take care to avoid them as as they are all potentially dangerous. Very important tip: do not shine into the eyes of any of the bigger herbivores listed above, with particular attention paid to not shining into the eyes of elephant.

The safety aspect of safari flashlights aside, safari torches are very useful for trying to view nocturnal wildlife from the safety and comfort of your room or from the safari lodge. It is also a great way to show others the constellations in the night sky and to shine in your tent or room should the camp you are staying in have limited power for lights late into the night or on more basic walking and adventure safaris.

For safaris which are not lodge or camp based - or where amenities are limited and you have to use a torch to light your room, look for your clothes, and check for scorpions in your shoes - then packing a small battery-powered safari lamp which offers more diffuse and less direct lighting is a great idea. These types of lamps or lanterns are also great for reading a book at night where a torch would be too bright on a white page.

Number of safari torches to pack:
1 x powerful, compact safari torch per person; 1 x small battery-powered lantern or lamp per person for safaris where strong lighting is not provided in the room or tent.

*Pack extra batteries and a charger if the torch, lantern, or lamp is rechargeable. If there is no power source in the camp, then pack a small solar charger and recharge your torch, lamp, or lantern during the day. We often recommend that clients pack extra batteries for rechargeable torches and lanterns which are pre-charged at home as it is easier to replace a battery when it runs out - often when you really don't want it to - than to wait for a battery to recharge.