Doing Dunes, Delta, Falls in Dec/Jan - Do I Need Shorts?

[emmajustine]

Hey all -

I'm doing DCF - Dunes, Delta and Falls departure in December, trip lasting until January. I'm in Canada right now where it's pretty, pretty chilly and having THE worst time finding shorts. Funnily enough, no one seems to be selling cheap shorts in the middle of winter! I'm also really not a fan of shorts. Much prefer skirts or dresses.

So I guess I'm wondering how much do I really need 4 pairs of shorts? I've got some capri yoga-type pants, some longer yoga pants set aside right now and not much else. Could I get away with dresses or jeans during the trip at all?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[kateyb]

i did this trip 2 years ago in March (also from Canada). I wore capris as did most girls. Ditch the dresses and skirts. No one on our trip brought them. Most people wore shorts, capris or hiking pants. it gets really dusty and a lot of the times we hand washed our clothes in the sinks. I wouldn't bring jeans as they would take forever to dry. A couple of pairs of shorts would be a good idea.

[catraveller]

When I was travelling through Africa, I tended to wear knee length shorts most of the time - draws less attention to you especially at border crossings or in towns. Convertible hiking pants are great - especially if they are made of a quick-drying material. I would also recommend leaving the jeans behind because you'll likely find them too heavy and hot, and they will take up too much room in your pack. I would look for quick-dry materials that are easy to clean and light to pack. Most of the outdoors stores around in Toronto usually carry good travel gear (including shorts) even in the winter.

[emmajustine]

Thanks kateyb and catraveller for the insight! I'll definitely bring my capris, ditch the jeans and see what I can do about shorts.

[Zuleika]

I wore capri's and knee length shorts as I dont like short shorts either. Dont bring jeans, its hot and summery there right now. Your clothes get really dirty so dont bring anything too nice either.
However I would recommend bringing one decent outfit, a dress or skirt maybe, for the nights out in towns, I dont like going to city bars in safari outfits so I took one nice skirt and 2 nice tops for these occasions.