Hello AR folks!
My partner and I are planning a 10 day buffalo hunt in ZIM in early August of 2011. It is a first time over there for me and we're both excited! We are flying into JoBerg from NYC and then to Bulawayo, w/ a road trip to our base camp in the n/w. After our hunt we are to visit the Hwange NP and Vict. Falls before flying back to Joberg and NY.
I have learned so much from reading this site and knew this is the place to ask this question. What do you all do as far as money is concerned while over there traveling? Not trying to be nosy, just trying to get some answers, that's all! I've read about using Traveler's Cheques, US currency, going to their banks and exchanging money, etc. What is the best method to use as of now!
Thank you. We do appreciate your answers on this site. Best of luck in the field.
Brittman

December of 2008, Cape Buffalo hunt with CM Safaris. I took several thousand yankee dollars with me. USD is now the official currency of Zim I do believe. At any rate, you can buy a cold can of pop from street kids for a buck!

Rich

In Vic Falls you can use your credit card as the facilities there are all linked to RSA. You won't get a cash advance however. Otherwise take hard US$. ( Or maybe Euros with the way your economy is heading ).

Ask your PH. He will know what is acceptable and where.

Don't over tip and ruin it for the rest of us. US$1 is fine for minor services.

I wired most of the money to my PH's bank account before I left the states. Make sure you have confirmation before departure. I also took a few thousand for traveling, gratuity and incidentals.

You get some strange looks from the bank manager when you tell her that you want to wire several thousand dollars to an account in Africa. Really strange looks.

We carry cash for all incidentals as well as the final payments for the hunt.

Cash, I carry lots of 5's and 10's to pay off all the people rubbing they fingers together as they are checking stuff in the airports. Might keep your bags on the right plane.
Be sure and go to Club Bulawayo if you get the chance.

Sam

Since you've already booked your hunt this method may not be feasible, but I prefer to work through an American booking agent/outfitter, pay the deposit to him/her, then just prior to the hunt, send the agent an approximate total for the entire safari. After the hunt is over, the agent can disburse the funds, or give you a refund if you didn't get some of the species you were after.

That way, all the money is in the U.S., the funds are already in place, you don't have to carry large sums, exchange currency at poor rates, wonder if a traveler's check will be accepted, or use an ATM.

You would of course carry some cash in USDs for gratuities, local purchases, bribes, etc.

I usually wire some ahead of time and take the remainder in traveler's checks. Then some cash for incidentals, tips, etc. I like the traveler's checks because if something happens to them, you can report them as lost or stolen and not be out. With cash you're screwed, if you lose it or it's stolen.

Gentlemen,
Thank you all for your replies to my question - my partner and I really appreciate it!
We did contact our PH over there to see what he thinks, also. Any and all answers are welcome.
Thanks again! AR is an awesome website!!
NRA Life Bene. - NAHC Life - VFW (Vietnam era)
Brittman

Prepay your daily rates by wire in advance of the safari. You can include any transfer fees as well. Travelers Checques for trophy fees so you do not have to carry large amounts of cash. Cash for tips and incidentals. I would not recommend counting on credit cards while in Zimbabwe. I was there the whole month of Septmeber and travelled extensively around the country. Only a few of the larger hotels accepted credit cards and then with a significant surcharge. If you used a booking agent with a good longstanding relationship with the PH or safari company he can sometimes wire additional funds needed for trophy fees after the safari as well.

And, may I add, I don't believe that I would want to be using my credit cards in Africa at all, unless I absolutely had to. I have had my credit card number stolen twice while on different Safaris, resulting in the need to get two new credit cards upon return to the States and finding out that someone had used my credit cards.

pm sent

Did not realize that credit card theft was that much of a problem in Africa. That certainly is important information that will change my travel plans.

quote:

Originally posted by Edod:
Did not realize that credit card theft was that much of a problem in Africa. That certainly is important information that will change my travel plans.

Probably no more than anywhere else .

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
December of 2008, Cape Buffalo hunt with CM Safaris. I took several thousand yankee dollars with me. USD is now the official currency of Zim I do believe. At any rate, you can buy a cold can of pop from street kids for a buck!

Rich

Rich you got done. it wasnt Pop if you bought it from a street kid

Cash is fine, but like everyone said bring change in 1s, 5s, 10s and 20s. Most outfits will accept cash to settle bills.

Dont deal with and buy stuff from street vendors unless you are at recognised curio and momento centres. Trust me you are asking to either have your wallet knicked or get ripped off in some way.

ATMs are now operating in Zim so you can draw money with visa amex etc cards. Rates are no longer an issue as Zim operates in USD.

Final thing, if you have large amounts of cash with you, hand it over to the PH or Camp manager on arrival and agree on the amount.I am of course assuming you know and trust them. They know how to keep it safe and will be responsible for it.

Have a good hunt!!

Zim... thats exactly what we do! Keep my tip money and post hunt spending money and give the balance to Gordon as soon as we arrive Harare! Anything left over gets applied to next hunt.

Bryan.......now I know Gord can afford a few beers at our next braai

When are you out next?? Gather the September trip got cancelled

Credit card skimming is a big and growing industry here. When it comes to criminal activities, some of these fellas are friggen geniuses!

quote:

Originally posted by Scriptus:
Credit card skimming is a big and growing industry here.

What do you mean by credit card skimming?

I always use travelers checks to pay for the balance of the safari. Have your bank special order you some in $1,000 denomination. Saves alot of signing with $100 T/C's.

Gentlemen,
Once again, thank you all for your great advice concerning taking money to Africa for a safari. You guys are the BEST! My partner and I are learning a lot and hopefully will be ready in late July.
We do plan to attend the DSC Convention in TX in early Jan. and hope to meet many of you hunters there.
Once again, thank you for your replies and keep them coming! Best of luck in the field.
Brittman

dla69, card skimming is a stunt whereby the victims cash or credit card is read by a device, the information gleaned is saved and then used to manufacture a second card. The device is small enough to be fixed on an auto-teller. A camera is fixed above the key board in order to read the pin. Pretty much the same thing occurs at retail outlets. You have to be wide awake or lose your cash. A real case of; if you snooze, you loose!!

Guess I'm just old school, but I carry all the cash I need to pay PH, tips, expenses, etc. in US dollars in my pants pocket, cargo pants with button flap. Benjis plus plenty of small stuff. Never had to carry more than $20,000 US. It does tend to keep you alert.

The Benjis have gotten me out of a few scrapes, esp. in places like Kyrgystan.

quote:

Originally posted by Labman:
I always use travelers checks to pay for the balance of the safari. Have your bank special order you some in $1,000 denomination. Saves alot of signing with $100 T/C's.

I just this week tried to order $1,000 Am Express checks, and they said... sorry. Only $100 denominations.

VISA no longer does Travelers Checks at all.

I've had my bank tellers tell me that there is no such thing as a $1,000 travelers check. I told them to check with whomever orders the T/C's and they got them in for me. It took a few days to get them. They were American Express T/c's.

quote:

Originally posted by Rub Line:
I wired most of the money to my PH's bank account before I left the states. Make sure you have confirmation before departure. I also took a few thousand for traveling, gratuity and incidentals.

You get some strange looks from the bank manager when you tell her that you want to wire several thousand dollars to an account in Africa. Really strange looks.

i did exactly the same for a Zim buff 2 months ago. worked fine. BE SURE and carry at least $400-500 in small bills as you can't easily get change for $100 bill. without smaller bills you are forced to give a $100 or a $200 tip to trackers, staff etc. when a $150 is more appropriate.

as an aside, my cash, wallet, and passport went out with me every day in my pants pocket( gotta love those cargo pants and their large pockets).. this has worked for me through 9 safaris and i am a firm believer in not changing something that works.

I might ad that my wallet goes with me every day with some cash in it, but the bulk of my cash and T/C's ride with me in a money belt. The belt is worn on top of my undies and under my shirt/pants. All the buckles on the money belt are made of plastic, so there is no problems going through security at the airports wearing the belt.

Is it the consensus that money and passport should go with you every day on the actual hunt or just when traveling and sightseeing? Will be in Zimbabwe if it makes a difference.

Any suggestions for specific money belts or are they all fairly similar?

I have said it before, but it bears repeating: any money you wire to anyone is with the risk they aren't going to go BK. If they do, you are an unsecured creditor. This is why I think travel insurance is a good buy; just make sure that the insurance provider covers financial default of the operator and/or booking agent.

A lot of folks lost money when the booking agency run by Russell Seele and Cy Angeloz went bust. It is one reason to book with the large well known operators/booking agents, but unless you can peer into their books, you never know.

There are long standing companies every day that go BK.

quote:

Originally posted by Edod:
Is it the consensus that money and passport should go with you every day on the actual hunt or just when traveling and sightseeing? Will be in Zimbabwe if it makes a difference.

Any suggestions for specific money belts or are they all fairly similar?

I use my metal gun case as a room safe and lock my wallet and passport in it while I am out hunting. If the gun case lock gets broken off, or the gun case gets stolen then the PH and camp manager have a little work to do.

That's what I do with my TuffPak. I also carry a cable lock that I attach to the TuffPak main carry handle and then secure it to something that is not movable. If thieves then go to that many lengths to get to your wallet, passport and cash, you have a major problem with the PH and his security at your camp, and like Muletrain said, they: "have a little work to do." Never leave anything in your regular checked bags, even if locked, as splitting the zippers, stealing your stuff, and re-moving the self healing zippers back and forth to "seal" the bags is about a three to ten second process. And you will never know that it's gone until you unlock it and discover the missing items.

Whenever I am anywhere out of the USA my money and passport are with me AT ALL TIMES... period. I put my passport in a small ziplock bag to protect it from moisture (i.e. rain and sweat)and my money stays in my wallet.

I guess I need to re-phrase that a little... my money stays in my wallet until the safari is over !

Sounds like good advice from all. Thank you.

Ankle wallets are a good defense against dips. You can stick your passport and a few hundreds in there. It's a real pain if you lose your passport.

in the for what it is worth column --- on more than one occasion i have been requested to not bring or plan on paying with travelers checks -- seems that cold hard cash is vastly preferred for payment -- the reasons for which are pretty obvious if you stop and think about it.

That said -- I wire as much as I can to the appropriate locations -- vastly easier that carrying too much green.

I do not bring my wallet overseas, I don't need all that stuff with me.

I bring a business card case with a couple of credit cards, my insurance card, driver's license and Medijet card in it. I carry my passport and a money belt pouch and use my hard case for a safe in camp.

quote:

Originally posted by Fjold:
I do not bring my wallet overseas, I don't need all that stuff with me.

I bring a business card case with a couple of credit cards, my insurance card, driver's license and Medijet card in it. I carry my passport and a money nelt pouch and use my hard case for a safe in camp.

Ditto.

Wire transfers before and after for trophy fees. Cash for incidentals and staff/ph tips. NO credit cards. NO travelers checks. Give cash to outfitter to store in safe if in established camp or use Tuffpack as bush safe.

Gentlemen,
Outstanding advice - please keep them coming! Thank you all for contributing your knowledge of 'Money in Africa'.
Brittman