Dr. Livingstone, I presume?
yes, Livingstone, Zambia is named after that doctor. David Livingstone, was the first European to see Victoria Falls, which he named. he was born in Scotland and died in Zambia in 1873.
right now it is 5:01pm/28°C in Livingstone and 8:01am/7°C in Vancouver.*
i think i finally have all of the “prep” out of the way. i’m ready to pack and go – which is exactly the mental place i like to be three weeks before i leave. for the curious (and anyone else that might happen to be planning a trip to Zambia during the cooler non-rainy months), here is a list of the stuff i’m bringing:
clothing:
- sunglasses
- UV-protective sunhat
- Montrail shoes (trail runners will double as approach and light hiking shoes)
- Merrell leather jungle moc (will double as lab shoes next year)
- flip flops (will double as house slippers)
- breathable non-cotton socks
- thicker hiking socks
- underwear of all shapes and sizes
- breathable sports bras
- light khaki capris & long pants
- dark khaki pants
- long linen dress (personal fave for long flights)
- waterproof jacket (may not be the rainy season, but i would rather be prepared and i AM going to London right after)
- fleece pullover
- 2 long sleeve non-cotton layering shirts
- 4 short-sleeve non-cotton breathable UV-protective shirts
- bathing suit & towel
- something to sleep in
- small waist pack
paperwork:
- volunteer letter
- address of the place i am staying
- immunization record
- passport
- certified copies of identification
- American cash
- contact numbers for project managers
food:
- energy bars
- Lindt dark chocolate bar
- Nalgene narrow neck 1L water bottle
toiletries & meds:
- shampoo & conditioner
- SPF 50 kids sunblock (much less irritating to my skin)
- after-bite
- 30% DEET spray (i don’t care how harmful DEET “might” be when i’m combating mosquitoes that can carry malaria)
- Satsuma Body Butter (after hearing i had just purchased this next door, a woman at La Senza told me this was all the rage with BC tree planters for keeping the bugs away. smells better than DEET anyway.)
- antihistamines, ibuprofen, misc band-aids, hand sanitizer, and other first aid stuff
- Malorone (anti-malarial)
- Ciprofloxacin (traveler’s diarrhea)
technology:
- canon 30D and lenses
- lomo fisheye and 35mm film
- holga and 120 film
- canon a610
- palm treo and local Zambian SIM card
- ibook
- all cords and chargers
- plug converter
- headlamp & batteries
jewelry:
- absolutely none (i’ll be leaving behind the small fake diamond studs that i wear 24/7 and i doubt i’ll even wear a watch)
books:
- “Dark Star Safari”, Paul Theroux
- “The Art of Travel”, Alain de Botton
i plan to fit it all into my 80L Arc’teryx pack because – even though i’m not back-packing around the country – i am doubting there will be very many smooth sidewalks favorable to the two wheels and handle on my suitcase between the airport and volunteer house.
“If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for.”
~ Florence Scovel Shinn
————
*for the doubly curious, it’s 11:01am/30°C in Nevis.
May 5th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
wow…you should give lessons in packing – sounds like an efficient assortment of necessities! how long will the flight be?
May 5th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
let me know if you need to hit up a friendly neighborhood self-propelled activity co-op store before your trip for any 25% off goodies (with the right friend) :)
May 5th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Well, I for one am certainly relieved you’re taking a towel :-) If you take two large towels, you’ll also have “something to sleep in”.
All kidding aside, it looks like you’re better prepared for the trip than I’ve been prepared for anything in my entire life. Good job!
May 6th, 2007 at 8:23 am
allison – i’ll post flight and connection details before i leave, but with the time change, etc i leave 845pm on may 30th and arrive 1240pm on june 1st. two long legs between vancouver-london and london-johannesburg.
colin! i was just there last week and dropped $350! was only thinking “gee – i wonder if colin or des are working upstairs right now. would be awesome to run into them and say hi… !”
chris – haha. and i’m a list-maker. it’s the Type A in me that will end up being a great doctor someday. towel and all. ;))
May 6th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Ooohhhh Dad and I are excited for you. Pat always seems to shake her head in horror :) Reads like your ready to go and I can’t wait to view pictures. After all I still plan to fly med service when I’m done school and have enough hours. It’ll be nice to see from your perspective what its like over there. Safe travels.
May 6th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
You’ve got packing down to an artform! Are you staying in london for any time on your way back or is it just a layover?
May 6th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Ar the ‘non-cotton’ things really good? I have tried those camping sweat-wicking shirts here in Australia and I hate them and have given up on them. They might get rid of moisture, but they retain smell.
When I’m travelling in the hot, I go for linen shirts and cotton socks – I think they dry just as well as this hi-tech synthetic stuff. Maybe you’ve had a better experience with it, but I’m not a fan.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:29 am
[...] there were also a few small additions to my initial packing list: – herbal sleep aid (valerian root) – after sun lotion (just in case) – SPF60 sunblock stick (small enough to keep in a pocket for emergency or excessive sweating) – harness front-loading camera bag – scrabble-to-go (gift from a lovely friend) – a pile of audiobooks (including “The Langoliers”, Deepak Chopra, and Pullman’s trilogy) – noise-cancelling headset (this was a tough/expensive decision, but once i learned that ALL economy seats on British Airways are either on or behind the wings, it was a no-brainer) [...]