Money matters while you overland

Ready cash is always an issue when you plan an overland trip: how much should you take with you, in which currencies and how do you handle money on a day-to-day basis while you overland?

During our seven month overland trip in 2015, we found that the US Dollar is a universal and safe funding backup  – not that it is accepted on the street everywhere however.  We had enough US Dollars secreted in various places in our vehicle for emergencies only. We took 1500 for our trip and returned with about half as we only used this when all else failed. We learnt that one should not take large denomination notes like 100’s as they are difficult to change. Also, that one should not accept dirty or decrepit USD notes as change as they are difficult to pass on, especially at border posts, where we mostly needed our dollars, for buying visas and paying fees.

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Destination Danakil book and DVD

Through keeping a record of our seven months overland journey from Cape Town to the hottest place on earth, the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia, we hoped to inspire fellow travellers to do similar overland trips. It is not necessarily easy, but we found, as have many other overlanders, that the most difficult part is making the decision to go!

Many people followed our trip during 2015 through the Tracks4Africa blog and requested that we publish the trip in book form. Destination Danakil does not only cover the trip, but also gives insight to a host of essential details to anyone wishing to make this sort of journey. These include visa advice, access to funds along the way, full statistics of the costs of the trip as well as choice of vehicle and kitting it out from scratch. Along with the book we made a two hour DVD which really makes the trip come alive. Continue reading Destination Danakil book and DVD