Pablo's Great Adventure - Clothing

60 days to go.

I certainly won't be spending stacks of money on kit because a) I don't need it and b) I can't afford it!

I haven't been to that continent before so I've had to do a bit of research on kit and clothing as well as taking advice from the expedition leaders.

Here's the recommended kit list:

Training and work clothing

• Large brimmed sun hat or similar

• "Cargo" type trousers (2 pairs)

• Long sleeve cotton shirt (2)

• Synthetic thin socks (2 pairs)

• Walking socks (3 pairs)

• Underwear

• Desert or Jungle boots

• Belt

Evening/relaxation wear

• Shorts (cargo type)

• Cotton “T” shirt (2)

• Sandals or lightweight foot wear

• Underwear

• Warm fleece or similar (the evenings can become chilly)

• Flip-flops

• Swimming gear (is there a pool there?)

Camo is illegal in some African countries. I'm not sure about Namibia, but I'm not taking any chances, so outfitting at my local surplus store is out. Ttsetse flies are attracted to blue and black colours. Anything white or black or bright is not a good idea. It's very similar to our own principles of blending in with the landscape with neutral colours; so olive green and khaki or sand colours is the way ahead.

You might ask why do African tribesmen (for example the Masaai) wear bright colours in the bush. The answer is simple - they are protecting their cattle from attack by predators, and so want to stand out as much as possible.

I spotted some hard wearing Rogue cotton shirts, and a pair of trousers at the Wilderness Gathering on John Muirden's stall and I couldn't resist a multi-pocketed waistcoat. I couldn't turn my back on at £12-00 to £17-00 per item. I've already got a khaki coloured Tilly hat, so I'm pretty confident I won't spend much more on clothing. Perhaps some new sandals would be good.

I will have to sort out a light fleece. The night temperatures may drop quite a bit. I suspect the old Swandri shirt will be a bit of an overkill as well as being heavy to pack.

I've already raided the Army surplus store for some boots. £20-00 saw me walk away with some good fitting second hand Meindl desert boots. Just the job - oh, and a nifty desert coloured light weight neck scarf at £4-00. Good sturdy boots are important because of the large thorns which will apparently shred light footwear.

Clothing wise I think it's all systems go.

Pablo