Looking for advice - traveling to Africa

Apologies in advance if this is the wrong place to post this...

I've been asked be photographer for a 2-week, short-term mission trip to Kenya during February 2015. Apart from taking two camera bodies, I'm looking for tips and advice from anyone and everyone who's gone on a trip like this. For instance, should I bring a battery pack along to recharge equipment if needed? Plan on taking a gob of memory cards and editing back home, or take the laptop and download/backup as I go? What type of bag or case for flying? Check or carry-on equipment?

You get the idea. I would LOVE to get as much feedback on this as possible, including links to good articles, etc.

Thank you very much in advance for any help

Are you staying in Nairobi or venturing to villages? Safari?
I live here and its a beautiful time of year to come. The rains have just stopped and everything is as green as it will be all year. Nairobi has a bit of a theft problem, so be careful carrying a DSLR around town ( not afraid, just careful).
Any hotel will have computer services, so all you need to bring is enough memory cards and a portable hard drive to transfer pictures nightly.
If you are doing a safari, I wouldn't ask for anything less than a 100-400mm. You can pass with a 70-200, but you'll wish you had the extra reach.

And always, Karibu Kenya

I will be going to Mbita, on the east side of Lake Victoria. Looked at the weather for February 2014 - looks like it was high 80s (Fahrenheit) there most of that month. Pretty warm by my standards, but not too bad.

Are you saying that February is when the rains stop and everything is green? Or right now (June)?

Sounds like we may have a couple nights in an area with actual hotels/electricity/int​ernet, but most nights will be in more remote areas.

Not sure if there will be any opportunities for safari or not.

Thanks for your time in responding

In February it's our summer, hot and dry. Rainy season comes from April to May, but this year it lasted too long, all the way till yesterday.
The Kenyan and Tanzanian people are very friendly, and lots of people speak English. I'm sure you will have a good time.
Our internet is horrible but it gets the job done. Life is simple here, you may enjoy not even looking at your phone all day.
Have fun.

I've never gone on to Africa but I do travel fairly frequently for photography (mostly weddings). Murphy's Law applies. Make sure everything you need to complete your job will fit in your carry on. You can't work if you check in your gear and the airline loses your bag.

I generally try to pack light when traveling but having said that, the laptop and a portable hard drive are a must for me. Upload to the laptop and then copy to the hard drive whenever you get a chance. You don't want to be in a position where something happens to the only copy you've got of your work.

Something else to consider since it sounds like you'll be without power at least some of the time is that you might want to look into one of the battery grips that also accept AAs. If you cant recharge that could be a life saver.

Aside from that have fun and take advantage of the amazing opportunity!

Thanks for the input dcnats; much appreciated