Sunday, August 26, 2007

Packing Woes

One of my biggest pre-trip stresses has been weight limits and how to pack what I need to carry and have it all be under the weight limit:

My 300-800mm lens - 21 lbs
My camera bag with computer -
clothes

Total limits - 20 kg per person - roughly 44 lbs.

Plus there were some carryon weight limits to worry about.

Not to mention concerns about checked luggage going through Johannesburg.

I started this blog before we left . . .

I ended up getting a Pelican carryon designed to carry camera equipment and my laptop. I brought 2 Canon 5D bodies, 24-105mm L lens, and a 100-400mm zoom. Cry . . . sob . . . sigh . . . my big lens stayed home. Probably a good thing . . . check out the blog about airports. But I sure hope those animals are as cooperative as some I've seen in photos.

Henry had packed a small duffle with his clothes. I repacked his with mine in a larger duffle - including the tripod. I kept looking at it - we weighed it (30 lbs). I kept looking at it - no wheels . . . Henry kept saying it was ok . . . I kept going . . .hum . . .hum. . . . I dug out another duffle (bought in England right before the flight home to carry the things we had accumulated on that trip) It is large - soft sided AND has wheels. His clothes and my clothes and the tripod, plus things like voltage plugs so perhaps we will be able to charge our equipment. This duffle will be checked and locked.

At the last minute (to Henry's dismay, I added a small backpack containing my Ipod, my medicines, and one shirt and one pair of underwear.

Now that we are actually here in Africa . . . The duffle made it all the way through - it is with us at the hotel. My camera rolling bag worked great.

I think our total weight was about 76 out of the possible 88 max on the small planes. We've successfully made it through the South African Airline system. Next test will be Thursday when we fly Air Namibia and one of the small charter planes to get to the desert camps.

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