Leaving on a jet plane…

This weekend was a packing frenzy. After some last minute shopping and errands (including shaving off the majority of my hair), I’ve got my life, at least for the next three months, packed into one large suitcase, a messenger bag and a backpack. Being a Lifehacker/Gizmodo-obsessed guy, here is a small selection of the things I packed:

Clothing

•  Since South Africa is located in the southern hemisphere, I’ll actually be traveling to Africa during their wintertime. According to my guidebook, Jo’burg won’t dip below 40 degrees F, which will be a welcome respite from the below-freezing temperatures of Chicago winters. I’ve packed a few long-sleeved shirts, my toasty Under Armour and a fleece. I hear it’s been raining all week, so I made sure to bring rain gear as well.
• The temperatures will be in the 70s during the daytime – hello T-shirts and shorts!

Electronics

• DSLR, camcorder, lav mic, digital recorder, laptop, external HD and related accessories necessary for multimedia journalism. I ended up having to buy a small and light tripod for steady shots. I hope nothing breaks. 

Security

• After my mom was pick-pocketed on a bus in Rome during a family vacation, I became obsessed with security. Crime is problem in South Africa, so I’ve packed locks, Pacsafes and a money belt. In addition, I’ll probably buy a cheap dummy wallet to thwart muggers. 

Medicine

• I’ll be in a malaria zone for around 10 days, so I’m bringing a few dozen Malarone pills and some mosquito repellent (~30 percent Deet concentration is good). 
• I’m not sure how friendly my stomach will be to food in South Africa, so I’ve brought an assortment of digestive medicine from Tums to Cipro. 
• Sunblock. I don’t burn easily in the sun, but this is Africa. 

Travel Route

Vodpod videos no longer available.

 

This is a broad visual representation of my travel route. The following is a rough travel itinerary:

Flight to South Africa:

• First, I’m flying from Chicago to Minneapolis for a few-hours layover.
• Then, I’ll jet out to Amsterdam where I’ll be staying for three nights. (Speaking of which, I need to figure out my hostel situation ASAP. I’ve found that booking a room for 5 people this late in the game is pretty difficult. My fingers are crossed…)
• After exploring Amsterdam for a couple of days and recuperating from the transatlantic flight, I’ll fly to the southern hemisphere.

Three months in South Africa:

• I’ll be staying in Johannesburg for most of my time in South Africa.  
• However, NU has planned a group trip to Cape Town and Kruger National Park. 
• Still in the planning stages: weekend trips to visit Pretoria, Durban, Lesotho, Swaziland, etc 
• In addition, a group of us are staying an extra week to do some personal traveling after finishing our internships. So, I might end up traveling to neighboring countries Botswana and Mozambique during my time in Africa. We’ll see what happens. 

Return trip back:

• Around mid-June, I’ll (sadly) fly back to New Jersey via a short layover in Amsterdam. 

I still need to work out some details, but that’s basically where I’ll be traveling. While I think I’ll enjoy my destinations, I know getting there and back is going to be tough. My flight time from Johannesburg to Newark, NJ, will be around 20 hours. I don’t think I’ve ever been on a plane that long.  For comparison, here are some long flights I’ve experienced before:

• Newark, NJ to Rome, Italy: 8.5 hours
• Newark, NJ to Sao Paulo, Brazil: 10 hours
• Newark, NJ to Tokyo, Japan: 14 hours 

Jet-lag, here I come!

– 30 –