Kitty & Personal Spending

Overview

On many of our tours, though not all of them, you will be requested to pay a kitty, sometimes also known as a local payment that goes into a communal fund to pay for campsite fees, food, and game park entrance fees. Those tours that do not have a kitty are usually the shorter tours within one country where prices are more fixed and can be included in the tour cost. The tour leader manages the kitty and it covers all the local expenses the tour encounters on a day to day basis for all the passengers and crew. The kitty is paid to the tour leader at the pre-departure meeting or on the morning of departure. In almost all cases it must be paid in US$ cash – this is the easiest currency to change for local currency in Africa and the tour leader has no method of accepting your kitty by travellers cheques or credit cards. It’s best to buy US$ from your own country before leaving home, as US$ cash is hard to obtain in Africa, and in some regions there is the danger of being given counterfeits. Since prices and exchange rates fluctuate, the local payment is not fixed. The local payments given on our itineraries will give you an idea of the amounts required, but are subject to change.

Food

The cost of food comes out of the communal kitty or local payment. A ‘bulk buy’ is usually bought out of the kitty at the beginning of the tour by the tour leader or safari cook. This consists of dry goods, tinned food, condiments, etc. During the tour the kitty will cover the cost of buying fresh food and every couple of days the passengers will help the tour leader or safari cook with shopping. Bartering in Africa’s colourful markets is a fun experience. The tour leader will budget depending on what items are available at a reasonable price in each country. For example in Tanzania cheese is more expensive that meat, and in Namibia where fresh produce is scarce, vegetables are more expensive than meat. It is for this reason that vegetarians do not get a discount in the kitty. Sometimes on long driving days, breakfast can be as early as 5 am and dinner as late as 9 pm with lunch sometime in between. For these occasions you may want to stock up on a few snacks for during the day so allow extra spending money for this. In some of the towns and cities there is the option of sampling some fine restaurants and there are some fabulous spots to try some game meat or local food, especially in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Swakopmund, Victoria Falls, and Nairobi. Restaurant meals are not paid for out of the kitty, so add a few meals out into your personal spending money. If there is money left over in the kitty this generally goes towards meals out in restaurants and you will be given some money to put towards the cost of your meal.

Camping

The kitty covers all camping fees and the occasional entry fee for the vehicle. At some campsites there is also permanent accommodation in the way of huts, double rooms, or dorms. If these are available you can upgrade, sleep in a comfy bed for the night, have a night off from pitching your tent – you just need to pay the difference between the camping price and the cost of the accommodation. Occasionally if there is no permanent campsite nearby or it’s too late to continue, vehicles pull off the side of the road and bush camp. Consequently the kitty saves a bit of money on camping fees that could perhaps go towards a restaurant meal at a later stage of the trip.

National Parks

The kitty also covers the cost of the entry fees into national parks and game reserves included on the itinerary for all the passengers, crew and the vehicle. The reason for this is most fees are paid for locally in US$ cash so it makes sense for these fees to be included in the kitty that is made up from US$ cash.

Other costs

The kitty also covers the cost of gas, charcoal, firewood, incidentals like paraffin to light the fire and washing up liquid, the odd occasion when there is the need to pay for water, and any careless breakages of equipment.

Kitty acting as a money lender / bureau de change

Sometimes the kitty acts as a money lender or bureau de change but do not rely on this and always consult with your tour leader. There may be the odd occasion when you run out of local currency for your personal spending and the tour leader may agree to lend you money from the kitty until you are next able to change money. In the same vein, the kitty may run low of local currency and the tour leader may ask the passengers if they have spare local currency. If you have changed up more than you need in any particular country always ask your tour leader if the kitty needs the excess and the tour leader can reimburse you with cash to the same value in the next country. In a nutshell, the kitty can lend money if it has too much, or buy currency from the group when the kitty is short. You can also do these negotiations with your fellow passengers. This little bit of wheeling and dealing helps everyone out and ensures that both the passengers and the kitty are not left with too much useless currency when leaving each country.

And the beers?

Beers, alcoholic drinks, sodas, bottled water etc. do NOT come out of the kitty, only fresh drinking water that is carried on the vehicle. Most vehicles have fridges or cool boxes on board and ice is generally available everywhere though limited in East Africa. Beer is cheap and excellent throughout Africa, and it’s a good idea to run a separate beer kitty amongst the beer drinkers if you want to have a cold one at the end of the day. This is not the job of the crew, they have enough to do, but they will point you in the right direction to buy beer. Remember that in East Africa beer is sold in reusable bottles, much more eco-friendly than in southern Africa where everything is thrown away. You’ll need to pay a deposit for a full crate of beer, which you swap when empty for a full one, and get your money back when you return it. Brands change between different countries so remember to return the crates before you leave each one. An empty crate of Tanzanian beer bottles is worthless in Malawi.

Personal spending money

All potential overland passengers ask us how much personal spending money to take to Africa. It is difficult to estimate how much you will spend on tour as this depends largely on your personal preferences - smoking, drinking, shopping, snacks etc. For the average person around US$25 per day for few curios, postcards, drinks, tips etc. is probably the minimum. Party animals or big eaters may need more, and if you intend to furnish your home completely with African curios this also has to be taken into consideration. Whilst on tour it is also difficult for the tour leader to advise you on how much money to change in each destination as he or she has no idea on how much you are likely to spend, though they can give you some idea on what there is to spend your money on.

Greenbacks
The greenback or US$ dollar is an international currency. Remember it’s up to you to pay for visas so you’ll need to add the cost of these into your budget and most are paid in US$ cash. Visa information specific to each country is included in the destination guide. Also check if the departure tax at the airport you are flying out from is included in the cost of your ticket. If not you will also need US$ cash to pay for this, and don’t forget US$ for the kitty or local payment that is given to the tour leader at the start of your tour, if relevant to your tour. Many of the optional activities available on tour are paid for in US$ cash too. In many countries changing US$ for the local currency is often the only or the best option, and you can often change US$ outside of banking hours, or use them to purchase souvenirs. Under each country in the destination guide are full details on what US$ cash you’ll need for what. A mixture of denominations of US$ bills is the best, and ensure that they are all post-1996 - older notes will not be accepted. Always purchase US$ cash before coming to Africa. Because of this we recommend the following;
•	On East Africa trips bring half your spending money in US$ and half in travellers cheques - credit cards are of little use.
•	On trips in southern Africa that go beyond South Africa and Namibia, bring at least 1/3 of your spending money in US$, some travellers cheques and a credit card.
•	For South Africa trips only, travellers cheques and credit cards are fine and there are ATMs everywhere.

What will I spend my money on?
Here is a very rough guide to some common items though remember prices regularly go up and down and vary from country to country, and often they depend on your bargaining skills.
•	African beer - East Africa US$3, Malawi US$0.75, southern Africa US$1-2
•	Malawi chair US$20-40 (depending on how big)
•	Wooden giraffe US$15-50 (depending on how tall), though 3 times the price if bought in an upmarket Cape Town souvenir shop.
•	Restaurant meal with drinks East Africa US$10
•	Restaurant meal with drinks Southern Africa US$15
•	Bottle of water US$1
•	Pack of cigarettes US$2-3
•	Soft drink US$0.50-1.50
•	Soft drink US$0.50-1.50
•	½ hr internet access US$3-6

Optional Adventure activities
Africa has a great many adventure activities to try and these optional experiences are carefully and strategically selected to enhance your trip and give you an adrenaline rush when you need one! These are selected for their value for money, enjoyment factor and feedback from previous overland clients. Optional activities are not included in the tour price for three simple reasons:
•	Not everyone can afford to do them all.
•	Not everyone wants to do them all. (No point in throwing you out of a plane if you can’t bear heights!)
•	We leave the running and safety of these specialised activities to the people who do them best. We take you there and then let the professionals take care of you in pursuit of your thrills and spills!
When assessing how much personal spending money to take also include the many optional adventure activities that are on offer whilst on tour. You can make a rough selection before going to Africa, but remember that people often get to Africa and change their mind - for example there are those that thought they would never have the courage to bungee jump but once standing on the lip of the bungee platform there’s no stopping them. Decide what you think you want to do but budget for a couple of extras too. And always take more money than you think you’ll need. There’s nothing worse than getting all the way to the tranquil edge of the Okavango Delta and not being able to afford to go on the excursion into the delta, or watching the mighty rapids of the Zambezi and not being able to raft them. If it means staying home longer to save a little extra cash for your big trip to Africa, then at least you’ll be able to enjoy all what’s on offer. The optional activities specific to each tour are listed with the tour itinerary.

Changing money in Africa
In Eastern and Southern Africa US$ cash, GBP sterling, US$ and GBP sterling travellers cheques, visa card and Automatic Teller machine (ATM) cards may be used. However knowing the best places to use each of these or indeed which form to use most often and where and when can be extremely confusing. Under the destination guide for each country you’ll find information about changing money and costs specific to that country. Changing money varies considerably from country to country but as a rule of thumb southern Africa is credit card friendly whereas East Africa is most definitely not. Here are a few general tips:
•	In southern Africa there are big scams currently operating involving ATM use. Local people will have stories about machines malfunctioning and offer to assist you. NEVER enter your pin number with anyone present!
•	East African ATMs tend to swallow foreign cards at random, so if you have to use an ATM, try to do it during bank business hours so that you can get your card back should it be eaten.
•	Most banks, particularly in East Africa will want to see the proof of purchase receipt before cashing your travellers cheques.
•	A lot of places will want to see your passport, even when cashing US$ cash.
•	Ask the other people on your tour to see if together you are able to help each other. For example if someone is cashing US$ notes and you are able to cash your travellers cheques or use your ATM card then take the US$ cash from fellow passengers and give them the equivalent local currency that they would have received from cashing that money. You get your US$ cash a lot cheaper and easier!
•	Local currency coins cannot be changed so use them all up, keep them as souvenirs or give them away!