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Shower in your clothes & don't dry yourself.
When going on a drive, drench your towel and wrap it around your neck.
If you need aircon, stay at home and watch on telly, otherwise let the breeze cool the towel down.
Buy a supply of fruit juice sachets & wipe your face & neck before eating. You can deal with sticky later.
Take a spray bottle and spray your face with water.

I shall be doing the above in 2 weeks in Kgalagadi.....

We ha d scorcher of a week with temps 47 to 50C, at the end of October at LFTC Mapungubwe.
A wet towel works like magic. With normal tap water. At first I did not want to look silly, but did, before spontaneous combustion happened. And wow it works very well. Around the neck or shoulders or over the head with shades, can look funky . When the heat did not break at night, we even slept under wet towels . After reading here I’m going to get myself an attractive flannel.

When out game-viewing in the car, we grin and bear it. Try to find some shade when stopping at sightings (easier in the north ). Shady spots near water is especially rewarding - there is usually a cool(-ish) breeze coming off the water, and if the windows are wide open it can be refreshing to just sit there for half-an-hour and see what comes visiting.

Worst hours of the day (approximately 11:00 to 14:30 or so, we make sure to be in the camp, bungalow's windows and curtains closed, and aircon going full blast (so that we can face the heat again in a few hours time ) - but never aircon while out driving.... Also cold shower at this time of day.

I'll have to try the wet towel / flannel thing next time (only a short few weeks from now )
Excuse an ignoramus - but is flannel sort of like a baby's receiving blanket? It's not a fabric I customarily wear or use....And which works better, a towel or flannel?

You may know them as face towels?

Just small pieces of towelling material, usually about 20cm square. At that size it's easy to wring out the excess water.

Having grown up in the then-called Zululand with extreme temperatures and humidity, TEA really helps you cool down, not cold drinks and ice cream! Stay clear of coffee.

Giraffee
A yellow towel would look good with your YR too

Matthys. Canary yellow with a pair of those huge ultra big sun glasses. and the yr.
i thought flannel is what they make winter pajamas from. flennie?

I'll keep an eye out for you next time I am in a park, Giraffee

Flannel=flennie (pajamas) but Google says

Quote:

it was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton or synthetic fibre.

One of the anomolies of different languages

face cloth, face flannel
n
Brit. a small piece of cloth used to wash the face and hands US equivalent washcloth


from here

I have heard about sleeping under wet towels or sheets....but wonder what damage it does to the mattress.

The hotter the better Jump in the pool with a t-shirt on and walk back to the campsite without drying off. We also use a desk fan on low at night when we sleep just to stir the air a bit. Oh yes and dont forget the well chilled beers.

Looking silly is the LAST thing you think of in 45+ giraffee.

The silly ones are those trying to look 'cool'.

I absolutely LOVE Kruger in summer. There is something about the heat that is very special to me. We were in Lower Sabie a few years ago during a heat wave with temps going up to 48 degrees. We slept in the safari tents and I will never forget waking up after a nap and I actually couldn't see straight it was so hot. I saw 2 of everything... Not from beer, promise.

The worst I ever experienced was at Letaba.

When we arrived at camp from Shingwedzi the information board at Letaba said that the temperature at 08:00 was 40 degrees. I was pitching my tent at noon. Took a cold shower every ten minutes in my clothes and did not dry myself.

Two days later the rains started which produced severe flooding in the south of the park.

50 degrees C at Skuks 2009 what bliss