Submitted by SafariADV on Wed, 2019-09-11
Here we are! Tomorrow we leave to Ethiopia!
This is a journey that we have long wanted and that we have studied in detail and now it is time to pack and leave!
What to pack for a trip to Ethiopia
It is essential to organize the suitcase well and bring with you everything you need, in Ethiopia it is not easy to find products and objects that we are used to, so it is better to make an accurate list so as not to forget anything.
The camera
We shoot with the reflexand we usually travel with 2 bodies, partly so as not to have to constantly change the objectives, but also because, if we were to have some problems or a fault, we could hardly find someone to fix the camera in remote places.
For this trip we decided to take the 50 mm fixed focus lens for population portraits, my favorite lens a light and useful in many situations 18-200 mmsince it is very versatile, the wide angle 14-24 for Lalibela churches since the spaces are limited and the 100-400 mm to immortalize the animals, in particular the birds, in the naturalistic part of the journey.
For some time we have also a mirrorless, it is small, light and compact, very useful for taking reportage-style travel photos, but it also has a good quality for photographing details or distant subjects, finally it shoots videos in 4K; in short, it is the perfect traveling companion.
We always carry also our Go Pro with us, we will use it on this trip when we visit villages and markets; we will wear it on the head or on the back to capture scenes of everyday life.
Finally we will also use our iPhones to take photos, film, take selfies or create hyperlapse and boomerangs; it's fun to make memories a little different.
Obviously in our camera luggage you can't miss various accessories like tripods, the various Go Pro supports.
Travel guides, books and maps
Usually we always buy one or more travel guides, it is true that there is a lot of information online summing operator sites, bloggers, wikipedia, but I always prefer to consult the guides as well.
Usually we buy two: the Lonely Planet and the Bradt; both have their own characteristics and compensate in my opinion.
For this trip we will not need a detailed street map as we will have a guide, we will only download the Tracks4Africamap on the iPhone app, so we can follow our itinerary in real time.
We bought, and therefore we will take with us, the Birds of the Horn of Africa, it is part of our series of books for bird identification; it will be useful in national parks, and not only, to identify the various species of birds that we will sight, we also have the habit of updating a checklist of sightings directly on the books, so, after some time, we remember what we spotted in a certain place.
Clothing and shoes
As far as clothing is concerned we will have to make an "intelligent" suitcase, in the sense that we will have to wear clothes of different weights, but it will also have to be light, not only because ours will be a traveling journey, but also because we will have to take an internal flight.
In Lalibela, that is 2600 meters high, the evening will be chilly in this period while the days will have a mild temperature if the sun is there, otherwise it will be cool and probably windy and it could even rain; while in the South of Ethiopia, particularly in Turmi, it will be hot both during the day and in the evening.
In practice we will have to bring a bit of everything, from light t-shirts and short pants to fleece.
Surely in the evening we will not be hobnobbing, so we just need to wear comfortable and sporty clothing.
As for shoes, they must be comfortable for walking, light and closed; it is never a good idea to wear open shoes in Africa.
What cannot be missing in our suitcase
Surely I can't miss my Macbook Air that faithfully follows me in every trip, I need to download the photos and videos, that I save on my external HD, but also to write impressions about the trip, expectations, adventures, anecdotes and so much more that then will help to create the travel diary you are reading.
Our mascotsthat have been following us for some time in our travels: a stuffed baby elephant called Bobotie, a Hawaiian bear by Starbucks called Waikikiand 2 explorer smurfs that look a lot like us!
A notebook that I need to write down thoughts, addresses, names and to store receipts, beer labels, postcards and more.
Our backpacks, that are always with us, are our faithful traveling companions, they contain everything that could be useful for us; everyone has his own, mine is small and mimetic, while that of Silvan is definitely larger and capacious.
Our rain ponchos are always in our suitcase, we always take them with us even if we go to the desert, you never know!
Our Masai blanket has been following us for more than a decade now, it is light and compact but keeps us warm; we have used it on different occasions and situations and not only as a blanket for the cold, but also as a tablecloth or to make a hotel room more cheerful and colorful.
Finally, we can't miss a shopping bag, because we already know that we will buy different handicraft items and therefore we will need an additional bag when we return; we have a huge canvass bag that, when empty, takes up very little space, but has an incredible capacity: it could contain an elephant!
