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.
