I forgot to ask Ngaire before she departed so I am hoping one of the other experts around here can answer.

Does "soft sided" mean totally "shapeless" like a stuffed pillow case or a duffle bag or does it mean that the "material" on the outside of the bag is soft such as the ballistic nylon travel pro roll aboards (versus a hard sided samsonite)? If the former, do rolling duffle bags satisfy the requirement as they have a "hard" side where the handle mechanism is located?

thanks,

My take on it is that "soft-sided" means that the outside is nylon, etc. I think when they specify "soft-sided" it is because they want to have more flexibility in loading luggage into the back of a van, small plane cargo hold, etc. - hard sided luggage makes that more difficult since it doesn't flex at all. It also might have something to do with weight.

I have always thought it meant what Leslie said. But my duffles are on wheels, so one side only isn't flexible. I guess if that doesn't work, we'll find out before April.

We ordered some Delsey Helium bags because they were the lightest weight we could find without going overboard $$$ wise.

Leslie/Pam:

Thanks. I am wondering if this bag would be legal:



Or, do I need to purchase something like this:



For the former, we would pick up a 26" rollaboard which is about the right size for 44lbs or even the new 50lb limit domestically. I don't know if we would get a lot of use out of rolling duffle. It looks like we need to pick up one new suitcase as I don't think we could do with two 22" rollaboards for 18 days total.

Again, thanks,

I'd get what I thought I could use again, for sure. Ngaire said that K&D will give us a regular duffle bag, so you could probably use that for something.

We bought a rolling duffle because we needed one anyway, but also bought a 25" version of the bag you have on top (just different brand).

Marc,

I just received a rolling duffle that was bought for use when we go on Tusk. I think it can be seen at

http://www.luggageonline.com/product.cfm?ProductID=4368&tab=3&catID=4&brandID=0

I also received a new rolling garment bag that was a Travel Pro Walkabout Lite, which I exchanged. While I have several Travel Pro suitcases that are fine, they are a different line than the Walkabout Lite. I didn't think the latter looked too sturdy. Pathfinder has a new "lite" line carried by most department stores (but the same line does not seem to be available at the Internet luggage sites). At the stores (like Hechts) it is the Presidential 3LT model (not the Avenger). It may be very similar to Pathfinder Revolution on the Internet. The Pathfinder is more money than the Travel Pro, but it was the same weight and seemed much more sturdy--by the way, Hechts had a great deal if you wanted the line in red.

---------

Eugene

Just read this thread. Let me clarify.

Eugene the luggage you are mentioning is the luggage Ken and I use all the time. I LOVE this bag and will never change BUT I think that is too big for what we are doing on safari. I will be taking that to Cape Town but leaving it at Johannesburg airport for the safari portion of the trip. Although it says duffle it is pretty rigid on that back side and the ends and is not a really flexible bag. I would buy that though and bet you never use anything else once you have it.

For South Africa -- a rolling TRUE duffle bag, light weight and totally flexible except for the area with wheels will work for Singita. On Marc's post the travelpro Walkabout would not work - non flexible sides, but the Travelpro Extreme duffel would work. I just checked this out with Ker & Downey.

For Botswana - NO wheels at all is the way it will have to be. Totally flexible duffle.

My suggestion is one of the following options.

(a) buy a rolling duffle to take to Singita and as a second bag for the whole trip. (probably best for TUSK as we change parks from Kings Camp to Leopard Hills and have one extra day on safari)

(b) buy a very lightweight but strong totally collapsable duffle you take with you with no wheels of course. It could even be empty and just stuffed in your regular bag. Use this for the Singita time period only.

(c) use Ker & Downey duffle, pack it for safari check the duffle as luggage so you dont have to deal with it. (too big for carry on anyway) You could even leave it in Johannesburg if you stop there on the way to Cape Town and pick it up when everyone drops off all their Cape Town luggage.

If you use the Ker & Downey duffle it has no wheels is NOT a carry on and gets heavy to carry around.

There is a lot of walking in airports with bags and so the wheeled bags truly are so much easier.

Instead of the Ker and Downey duffle bag we can also get you a free back pack that is nice. It is a choice of duffle bag or back pack. I took both things to MINT If you can remember them. I plan on getting everyones wishes on this closer to the time of ticketing.

Hope that helps

Ngaire, thanks!

Is that one duffle or back pack per person or couple?

What is extent of laundry facilities at Singita. I was planning on bringing all clothes so we could get laundry done prior to Vic Falls segment of trip. If we can take 44lbs per person to Singita, don't really see need to leave anything behind. Do the Singita limits include carryon (camera, etc)?

thanks,

One back pack or duffle PER PERSON.

Pick up in the morning and returned the next morning at Singita. Only Laundry no dry cleaning. Complimentary.

One bag at 44lbs plus one personal item per person such as a camera bag.

Ngaire could you please clarify?

(a) buy a rolling duffle to take to Singita
(c) use Ker & Downey duffle, pack it for safari

Can we take both a rolling duffle ad the K&D duffle to Singita?

Is it one carryon bag plus a purse or just a purse?

Each person can check a bag weighing up to 44lbs in either (a) a rolling duffle (soft sided) or in (c) the Ker and Downey duffle packed for a safari.

Then each person can have ONE small carry on - either a purse, camera bag etc.

Oooooooh you are sooooo lucky to be going to Africa. We had two trips to Botswana with K&D and they are the best. Never missed one thing with them. Someone was always there when they should be to drive us from point A to point B and we loved their camps too. Their people are always helpful and friendly. They do everything to make your trip the best!
I would love to read your itinerary. I know we will be sooooo jealous, but those long flights finally got the best of us and we packed away our safari clothes. If your itinerary is posted somewhere, could you please give me a link? You lucky ducks! Liz

Liz - here is a link to our itinerary:

http://www.bkafrica.com/I_Esc_SouthAfrica_Apr06.htm

Thanks Andrea-
This is really the best of the BEST!!!! I am green with envy.
Didn't I read something about Namibia too? Is there more? We missed Namibia and I really regret that. It is soooooo gorgeous in all the pictures I've viewed. Liz

I think we are set...

We picked up a totally collapsible rolling duffle that is a legal carryon. Samsonite on sale for only $29 at our local luggage store.

Current plan is to use two K&D duffles packed to exactly 44lbs; legal on all flights including domestic SAA, Singita, and Vic Falls on Nationwide. (Ngaire, are we in Economy or Excutive Econony for fligths to/from Vic Falls?) We would then use new rolling duffle and camera bag as our one carry on each. SAA and Nationwide each limit carry on to 7Kg (12 Kg if executive economy). Ngaire, can we use the rolling duffle as carry on to Singita if less than 7Kg, too?