You may need this some day!

24 hours before take-off and there’s a bit of nervous energy happening. It’s hard to relax when the flat is all packed up, most people have said their goodbyes, and the daunting list of preparations has finally (we hope) been ticked off. Time seems to be going slowly at the moment – we just want to be on the plane and going SOMEWHERE!

However, you too might decide to do something serendipitous like this some day. So here is our list of “Things to Remember When Planning to go to Africa for a Year” (not necessarily in this order … and some of the details may have been forgotten).

1.      Rent your house or find someone nice to mind it. We are lucky – we did both.

If you do rent, you should obtain landlord insurance and make sure you have a system for the payment of land and water rates. You also need a system for the payment of rent. Keep all receipts as you can “negative gear”. Give the tenants a list of preferred tradesmen just in case something goes wrong.

2.      Will you keep your car for a year or sell it? If you do decide to sell and save money on registration and insurance, try to give yourself at least 6 weeks to sell.

3.      Unfortunately there will still be other bills. Try to pay most of them automatically by direct payment. This works for most things including rates and mortgages.

4.      How do you take money overseas? The answer seems to be “don’t stress” and do what sounds best to you, because whatever you do there will always be fees and charges. If you want to use debit cards, make sure your financial institution knows that you are going overseas and LIST EVERY COUNTRY YOU WILL VISIT for them. We are taking some cash for stop-overs and also U.S. dollars to change into Kenyan shillings when we arrive. N.B. you cannot buy Kenyan Shillings in Australia.

For continuing expenses we will use our debit cards. The best method is to take a large amount out infrequently, as there are significant charges at the ATM.

With NETBANKING credit cards are also easy, as you can pay the monthly bill online.

5.      Obtain travel insurance, including medical. This can be quite expensive in a country like Kenya. You can reduce the cost by reducing the cover. Another option is that some credit cards offer free travel insurance if you spend over $1000 on travel expenses using their card. The Commonwealth Bank is doing this for us, but we had to upgrade to a PLATINUM card ($395 per year) to get 12 months coverage. You also need evidence of a flight out of your country and another one showing when you will return.

6.      Health insurance can be postponed for 12 months. You don’t have to pay for a year and you continue with the same benefits when you return (i.e. no waiting period).

7.      Visit your GP. Have a full check-up. Ask about malaria medication. Most GPs don’t know too much, especially in relation to Africa. However, get a prescription for TWO varieties, as it is possible to develop side effects after a month or so. Lariam (once per week) and Doxycycline (once per day) are the two most common. Seek quotes from chemists, as costs vary.

8.      Obtain your vaccinations. This is a little daunting because the full course costs around $700. You need yellow fever (and the card to go with it so that you will be allowed to get out of Africa!), typhoid, influenza, Hep A and B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio. You can also get rabies, however it is expensive and there is a very low chance of being infected. You need to start these visits (usually 3) at least 3 months before you leave. Most cities have medical practices that specialise in travel medicine.

9.      While you’re in the habit of supporting the medical profession also visit the dentist, skin clinic and optometrist. Catch any problem before you are 300 km away from help. N.B. Some malaria medication makes you more susceptible to sunburn.

10.  Oh yes, arrange 12 months leave from work. This is usually quite easy, but the resultant decrease in income is another matter. You will have to spend some time training your replacement.

11.  Pack up your worldly possessions and leave your house. We rented our house 6 months before leaving for Africa so that nasty job was out of the way early. Find someone really nice to look after your furniture (thanks again Aja and Michael), and perhaps seek out friends who can store “a few boxes” for you.

Storage will cost about $35-70 per week, depending upon the amount.

12.  Re-direct your mail. This is much easier than contacting everyone and changing your address officially. However, you again need someone nice who will agree to share their mail box (thanks again Doug and Cyndy). Mail re-direction costs $85 per year.

13.  Obtain visas and/or permits for the country of destination. Visas are usually quite easy but only last for 90 days. Residency permits are much better as they last for well over a year and you receive benefits within the country e.g. cheaper entry to national parks, and even cheaper motel accommodation. Unfortunately in Kenya, to obtain a residency permit you can only apply from Nairobi (once you get there). There is a lot of red tape and you need to convince them of your value to the country. It helps if you are a volunteer who is not being paid. No doubt there will be a blog about our efforts in regards to this!

14.  When you leave your house you will probably lose your email address (if it is linked to your phone account as ours was). This is a huge inconvenience. NOBODY keeps a record of all the people that communicate with you via email. Make sure that your new email is portable i.e. you can use it anywhere in the world (something like Hotmail or Outlook).

15.  Sometimes the most important can be left to last. Obtain flights! This can be difficult when staying for 12 months because airlines won’t book flights more than about 10 months in advance. One solution is to book a fare for two or three months before you really want to return home, but make sure that you can change the date without extra charges (Jetstar calls this a “flexifare” and it cost an extra $65 up front).

One good site for cheaper fares is  farecompare.com , but be prepared for stop-overs and multiple carriers.

16.  Organise how you will get from the airport to your place of residence. You will have lots of luggage so check out the cost of taxis. In many places they are very cheap, even when compared to buses or trains. Have you ever tried to carry three bags on a bus?

17.  About luggage. Most airlines will give you at least 22 kg. If you want to buy more it is best to do it before the day you fly (cheaper that way).

Apparently (we haven’t tried it) many airlines will give you a higher weight limit if you write to them and explain that you are going for missionary/humanitarian purposes.

18.  As mentioned, discontinue your land line and internet service. Mobiles are also difficult. If you want to keep your number for when you return, most telco’s provide a cheap plan that lasts at least 6 months but provides very little talk or internet time.

19.  Set up a blog so that all your friends and acquaintances can keep track of your adventures – if you remember to write on it.

20.  Lastly, not leastly, pray a lot and have the faith to believe that the Lord is always with his family, guiding and protecting at all times.

 

      Happy travels.