More money lessons

Everything financial had been working so smoothly for us all through Malawi (despite its' scarcity of ATMs), Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, that we forgot that replenishing our funds was not always straightforward. Rumour had it that there were only two ATM locations in Ethiopia (in Addis and Gonder) and none in the whole of Sudan, which has had sanctions imposed so that VISA and Mastercard didn't work anywhere. We neglected to get more US dollars in Nairobi (which are always useful for changing money in the unofficial market), and when we got to the Ethiopian border we somehow managed to change too much of our US dollars into Ethiopian Birr. It was only when we reached Addis, hoping to draw more money from the ATM and change it to US dollars in preparation for Sudan that we found out how scarce the greenback is in these parts. I had a kafkaesque encounter at the bank and forex where I was told that there was only US$150 available per person, but only when showing and airline ticket leaving the country. When I told them that I had arrived and intended to leave by car I was firmly assured that this was not possible, no-one arrives by car into Ethiopia. Luckily the very pragmatic sales manager of our hotel used his contacts to procure us US$1000 for a fair rate and even got the guy to come to the hotel so that we could safely make the transaction.

Stuart changing money at the bag shop

Rumours were correct and the only other ATM was in Gonder. Having stocked up with US dollars in Addis, we were more concerned with acquiring Sudanese Pounds at this point as we were on our way to the border. When Stuart visited the bank on the Ethiopian side of the border (money changers were strangely missing from this otherwise busy border crossing) he was referred to the bag shop across the road where a guy changed our excess Birr into a few Sudanese Pounds. This was enough to get us through our custom expenses and to pay for the toll on the Khartoum road, but not enough to pay for the Nile hotel in Wad Madani, even after we had bargained them down from 90 to 60 SP. We had read that it was possible to change money in the souq at the goldsmith shops, so we took a walk in the mild evening air. It was easy to find the souq, although at 6pm not much was happening yet. Some non-verbal communication with a Quran-reading goldsmith later and we were sent to see Ahmed round the corner. Ahmed had a future as an extra in a Harrison ford adventure movie, sitting fat as Jabba the Hutt in front of his safe, counting thick wedges of various currencies. In front of him a desk laden with ledgers and receipts, flanked by hangers-on, he shook our hand and was happy to do business. In between handing out rubber-banded chunks of cash he offered us a reasonable rate, but before we could complete our transaction with this unofficial banker the communal dinner arrived and we were urged to take part. A huge metal bowl of foul (a mix of pita bread, tomatoes, cucumber and cooked beans with lots of spice) was placed on a table and everyone tucked in - right hand only. We were then served cool clear water in bashed metal mugs and, finally, our very own chunk of cash.

Now, in Khartoum, we realised what a good idea it was to equip ourselves with plenty of cold hard cash, as we have met two groups of overlanders going south that have to hurry to Ethiopia because they are running low on money. I hope the cyclists make it to Gonder before they are broke.

Money money money

We still haven't found the best way to acquire local currency and US dollars (the usually accepted currency North of Namibia). Our requirement is to have enough local currency to keep us going for camping, food shopping and the occasional meal out, Internet access and laundry while not having too much left over at the border crossing so as not to be at the mercy of the unofficial money changers. We have no problem finding ATMs, even small villages along the Okavango in Botswana have them. Petrol stations only take cash, so they always have an ATM attached, but they only give us local currency and only with some cards (it turns out that New Zealand's ASB cash cards are universally accepted while I have had no luck so far getting cash from my UK HSBC account - go Kiwis!). The other fun fact we found was that Lloyd's TSB insists on putting a block on our card every time we use it in a new African country (which is every few weeks) and we have to call them to unblock the card. We tried to give them an itinerary, but in the immortal words of Little Britain: 'Computer says No'. We love ASB for that reason and the fact that we can just email Jennifer at the bank to sort things out for us. Thanks, Jennifer! The problems with getting US dollars - our emergency currency and increasingly the preferred local payment method - can be manifold: 1) In Cape Town we got Rand from the cash machine but weren't allowed to change it into US dollars as we had no proof where the Rand had come from. Lesson learnt: Make sure you keep your ATM receipts when you withdraw cash for exchange, so you can show the bank you are not a money launderer. 2) When we tried to get dollars in Swakopmund (a fairly normal tourist destination in Namibia, which is a pretty well-visited country), the banks needed anything from 24 hours to 2 weeks notice to get US dollars. All exchange transactions go via Windhoek, a half day's drive away, so any money exchanged gets sent there every day. One bank managed to scrape together some dollars for us by holding back their day's takings, a unique event, it seems. Lesson learnt: Get cash in the capital when you can or try the banks early in the morning so they can hold currency for you as it comes in. 3) In Shakawe, nothing more than a spot on the map in North West Botswana - which surprisingly hosted a Barclays branch - the teller was so slow to process our money exchange that Stuart had time to fill in the satisfaction questionnaire twice (Was your teller knowledgeable? Did you receive prompt service? Was your wait in line reasonable? Did your teller treat you with courtesy and professionalism? No to all, twice). The rate we got for Namibian dollars and South African Rand was completely different, which came as a surprise, as the two currencies are officially linked. Lesson learnt: If you can, spend your money before you leave the country. Exchange local currency only, rather than the last country's, as the rates are guess work. 4) In Lusaka we had learnt all our lessons and were still caught out when we tried to exchange US$2000. It turns out that each country has different limits on the foreign currency it is allowed to sell, and in Zambia that's US$1000 only. There are also limits on the cash available on a credit card, and the transaction (times two, as both Stuart and I exchanged $1000 each) took forever, the paperwork was all done by hand as a grumbly queue formed behind us. Lesson learnt: Leave lots of extra time to get through bank bureaucracy. It's easier to cross some African borders than to get Kwachas changed into US dollars.