If you are bringing your own rifles, also bring a can of compressed air like used for blowing dust from computers. Africa is dusty and this grit gets into every crevice of your rifle. I remove most of the lube from my rifles and blow the dust off of the scope, the bolts and the trigger mechanism every evening. A micro fiber towel is also nice for cleaning the rifles. The Mauser style actions are pretty immune to dust but the push feed style can get enough grit into the bolt to slow the ejector plunger when can prevent positive ejection of spent cases. Plus, I am loath to wiping on the lenses of my scopes. A gentle dusting with a puff or two of the canned air is enough to satisfy my OCD. And you should bring your own rifles. Trust me, that is part of the process and fun of Safari. To acquire and become proficient with two proper big game hunting rifles. i.e. a 375HH and a 308, or a 458wm and a 300wm, etc. Use low power optics with good lighted reticles. FFP is better but not necessary. Be expert in their use and memorize your ballistics out to 300y at every distance from 50y to max range you are comfortable shooting game.
Spend the time to learn to speak some of the native language in the country you plan to visit. You will be perceived differently by this small act of caring. Educated people the world over speak some English. So, try not to seem un-educated by learning a little Afrikaans or Swahili, Bantu, etc.
The take only 3 outfits advice may work most of the time. But, this year I spent 4 days in Free State before making the trek to Limpopo for 6 more days. In Free State the host outfitter neglected to do laundry at all. By the day we travelled to Limpopo, I was down to a lucky pair of hunting shorts and the logo shirt my PH from Limpopo had given me and a hunting vest. While standing beside the Land Cruiser at a gas station on the way North, another PH from a different Outfitter mistook me for a fellow PH and strolled up to my chattering away in Afrikaans. Maybe it was the shorts or the slightly hung over look on my face, but I was able to reply back to him in Afrikaans that I was the client and our PH was inside getting lunch while I watched over the rifles and heads in the back of the truck. He saw my Cape Buffalo head and got very excited and asked to bring all five of his clients across the parking lot to admire it. By speaking to him in Afrikaans, I was treated as one of the guys and accepted immediately. Every morning my PH's greets me in English and I do likewise in Afrikaans. In the evening, when I stroll into the bar and am asked what I want to drink, I can ask for a beer or a bourbon in Afrikaans. I am far from fluent but know enough to pick up about every 3rd word in most conversations.
