I am going buffalo hunting in Zimbabwe in May. Landing in Harare. Are there any problems with bringing U.S dollars into Zimbabwe? Anything else I might like to know about with customs? Thanks.

Roger

No. They will ask you how much you have. You will not be allowed to leave with more than you came with.

When I went last year, I declared the amount I had, about $9,000 as I recall. I was taken to a room where it was counted. I was nervous.

When I left, I was asked how much I had. I responded that I had a lot less than I came with. They laughed and I went on my way.

Some have been stopped on their exit and had their money counted. Some have even had their money seized.

Other things?

As I recall it is $30 for a visa. Have the papers filled out in advance.

Customs is a bit annoying. Having the papers filled out in advance makes it easier.

Just remember to relax. This is Africa. Things move slowly there.

Larry the papers for taking in a rifle in zim and VISA application, can I find them online ?

Yea. Good question. I would like to get the paperwork downloaded now before I leave if that is possible.

quote:

Some have even had their money seized.

Larry, for leaving with more than they brought in? What was the story?

I assume they give you a receipt of the money counted.

My guess is that they did not declare what they had going in.

There was definitely a form that they used to document the money brought in.

quote:

Originally posted by A.Dahlgren:
Larry the papers for taking in a rifle in zim and VISA application, can I find them online ?

I have picked them up on prior trips, at least the VISA. my booking agent has always been able to give me the gun forms.

Thanks, Larry. You da man!!!

We had all the customs forms filled out and ready, waited in line, when we got to the counter everyone left. One nice lady showed up eventually and then didn't like our forms so we had to redo them in triplicate with the one's she provided. She was polite about the whole deal but the Harare airport is definitely a cluster f%&k in my estimation. We where just happy to be there and get our guns, they brought them out right when we headed up to fill out the lost luggage forms, on top of that the guy wanted some money for himself and his boss. Be ready to hurry up and wait like Larry said.

On my last trip, my luggage was lost. So was the luggage of some others. There was a European woman who was, well , being a real bitch. I walked up to her and said, " I can tell you have never been here before." She started on me. I just laughed. Then I said to her, " See how well that works here."

The next day, guess who breezed through and guess who got stuck. I looked at her and told her maybe she would figure it out one day.

Just relax. It will all get gone.

There is an old guy who does help get things done. I will see if I can find his contact info.

Make sure that you have exact change for the $30 Visa charge. They will never have change even if the previous 20 people in line paid in $1 bills.

I was too tired to get upset, there where some other foreigner's throwing a fit, it didn't get them anywhere. There was a nice old man at the baggage claim helping people. Gary Duckworth was stuck outside giving us hand signals, and doing backflips, he didn't want to be on the roads after dark. Like Larry said, be prepared to take it slow.

I'm flying into Bulawayo next month.My PH has requested that I pay some of my trophy fees in cash so I won't be leaving with it. Would you declare it on arrival?

I declared my cash in Bulawayo this past October, they did not count it. I did have a pocket full of one and five dollar bills for tip money, though.

If bringing a rifle, WATCH them fill in the dates on your gun permit. Make sure that it is dated at least as long as you'll be there.

When I went in 2012, the lady who filled mine out asked "how many days are you hunting?" I told her TEN. Without my knowing it, she dated the permit for ten days. Well, I was there a day before and a day after.

When I went to fly out (Vic Falls Airport) they checked me in no problem. In the terminal, I was approached by two officials, who took me into a room and told me I was in Zim with an expired gun permit. They threatened to call the police, etc. It was pretty damn scary. Fortunately for me, I had my cash in multiple pockets, and I convinced them that about 18 bucks was all that I had. They grudgingly accepted it, and told me they would fix the problem.

My feeling was that they had a scam going with the lady who filled out the permit. I was just glad to get out of there. Rifle made it home fine, which was a pleasant surprise.

I would declare all cash period. I had almost 10K cash and they never counted it going in? I went last July. They really eyeballed my ammo.

I'm guessing it's all a luck of the draw as to which agent you get. The odds are worse than Las Vegas.

I am hunting 2 times in zim in July - one at the start and once at the end.

In between I have 3 week gap - I am leaving the country and will come back.

I am really getting tired of having to deal with this crap to hunt in zim.

Mike

I took in about $9k USD last Sept and wrote the correct amount down on the form. I went through Bulawayo and didn't have any problems. I agree you should have exact change for the entry fee. Zim was using USD as their main currency when I was there, so you might want to have some smaller bills for buying lunch or snacks. Also, if you occasionally tip for small services, I recommend having $1.00 bills handy.

Have fun and good luck. Somewhere out there is a 50" buffalo just waiting for a lucky hunter.

BH63

Be very careful with your cash, it's like honey in a field full of bees. Not even hunting camp is safe. Far better to wire funds.