How I Pack for 18 Days South Africa Spring Trip in One Cabin Size Luggage

My principle is: pack light! I always manage to pack everything into my 7kg backpack. Even when I'm not using budget airline, I still pack very light.

Here's the example of how I packed for my 18 days South Africa trip last spring.

We were taking SIA from Penang to Cape Town via Singapore and Johannesburg, it was a very long flight so I wear something very comfortable so that I can sleep well in the plane. I paired my bra-top with a workout pants, and make this outfit modest by adding a denim jacket. The pants is comfortable enough to be my pajamas during the 18 days, and not a fashion disaster to wear on the plane.

The outfit I wear on the plane 

To prepare for the weather, I brought a set of Heattech long sleeve T-shirt and leggings, a pair of glove, a pair of fleece socks, a light pocketable parka as rain coat and 2 scarfs for any weather. Do note that this pocketable parka not only water repellent, it resists wind chill too. It worked wonder when I was waiting for sunset at the top of Signal Hill.

For sightseeing, I brought a pair of jeans, a pair of leggings and a pair of shorts. The shorts was added because I knew beaches in Cape Town are irresistible.

As usual, I always bring Airism because they are light to pack, quick dry (a. I sweat a lot, b. I need to wash these often), and they release body heat quickly to keep me dry and comfort.  I can use them as inner wear or as normal t-shirt. For this trip, I packed 2, wore one (Airism bra-top).

I bring also one over-sized t-shirt, a blouse, a long sleeve knitwear and a linen shirt. I can match them with the Airism as inner wear, or wear them as it is. 

For in-house comfort clothing, I bring an old t-shirts, a shorts, a set of pajamas (a long sleeve t shirt and a long pants), and wore a work out pants on board. I can mix these as of when necessary.

The only mistake that I made was, I brought my swim suit and a cover up, hoping that the weather is warm enough for me to swim. WRONG! These 2 stayed in my backpack for the 18 days!

All that I stated above, I categorized them using compression bags from Daiso.

This is how compact my 18 days clothing look like

When I put them into my backpack, they taken up less than half of the space. Once the necessary clothing are in, I can then start to pack my toiletries, a novel, and my drawing materials.

See also my Detail Itinerary: 南非十六天十六夜行程