Overview
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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.
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Food
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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
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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
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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.
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Other costs
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| 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
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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?
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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.
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Personal spending money
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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$25 per day for few
curios, postcards, drinks, tips etc. is probably the
minimum.
Party animals or big eaters may need more, and if you
intend to furnish your home completely with African
curios this also has to be taken into consideration.
Whilst on tour it is also difficult for the tour leader
to advise you on how much money to change in each destination
as he or she has no idea on how much you are likely
to spend, though they can give you some idea on what
there is to spend your money on. |
Greenbacks
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The greenback or US$ 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;
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On East Africa trips bring half your
spending money in US$ and half in travellers cheques
- credit cards are of little use. |
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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. |
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For South Africa trips only, travellers
cheques and credit cards are fine and there are ATMs
everywhere. |
What will I spend
my money on?
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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.
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African beer - East Africa US$3, Malawi
US$0.75, southern Africa US$1-2 |
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Malawi chair US$20-40 (depending on
how big) |
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Wooden giraffe US$15-50 (depending
on how tall), though 3 times the price if bought in
an upmarket Cape Town souvenir shop. |
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Restaurant meal with drinks East Africa
US$10 |
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Restaurant meal with drinks Southern
Africa US$15 |
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Bottle of water US$1 |
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Pack of cigarettes US$2-3 |
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Soft drink US$0.50-1.50 |
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Soft drink US$0.50-1.50 |
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½ hr internet access US$3-6 |
Optional Adventure
activities
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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:
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Not everyone can afford to do them
all. |
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Not everyone wants to do them all.
(No point in throwing you out of a plane if you can’t
bear heights!) |
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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!
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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.
Here are a few examples of what’s out there but
the full list is exhaustible. The optional activities
specific to each tour are listed with the tour itinerary.
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| Click here
to view Adventure Activities rates |
Changing
money in Africa
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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: |
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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! |
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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. |
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Most banks, particularly
in East Africa will want to see the proof of purchase
receipt before cashing your travellers cheques. |
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A lot of places will
want to see your passport, even when cashing US$ cash. |
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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! |
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Local currency coins
cannot be changed so use them all up, keep them as souvenirs
or give them away! |
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