Cristys ground tent- our 2.5m x 2.5m canvas ground tent has been fantastic. Its has stood up very well to all the weather, thorns, rocks and sand that Africa has to throw at it and it is quick and easy to put up. We constantly have people asking us where we bought (although one chap wanted it in a different colour as if he took a khaki tent into Casamance he thought he risked being mistaken for military and shot!)
Garmin GPS with Tracks 4 Africa maps – don’t leave without these maps! The confidence that a GPS with known tracks and roads gives you is invaluable. We also frequently use T4A to find camping sites which are always great. The maps are up to date (the only time they’ve let us down was in Rabat as the camping site there is now a building site).
And not so much..
Both of the highly recommended and very expensive Optima batteries we bought failed on us and had to be replaced whilst the old Bosch battery that came with the car stayed strong!
The satellite phone was used, but only because we had prepaid minutes to burn. Cellphone coverage was very good throughout the trip and we only went without coverage for more than a day very occasionally.
