Bye Bye Zimbabwe
January 1, 2007
Today was a sad day.
I have mentioned the sad state of affairs in Zimbabwe; let me elaborate. The official exchange rate is 250 Zim Dollars for 1 U.S. Dollar. This rate has been set by His Excellency, the president and it can only be changed by him. In the meantime, Zim Dollars are printed with an expiration date and suffer from 1,000% inflation per year. Since every other major currency is more stable than that, the street value of the American Dollar is actually 2,000 to 1.
If you go to the ATM and withdraw $100 (US) you get Z$25,000. If you take a one hundred dollar bill and trade it on the street, you’ll get Z$200,000. The problem is that everything is priced according to the street value so if you got cash from the bank, you’re getting royally ripped off. To further complicate matters, many places forbid foreigners from spending Zim$. VISA is virtually unheard of, but that’s probably a good thing because you’d get charged at the bank rate for all purchases. The bottom line is this; if you’re planning on traveling to Zimbabwe anytime soon, you must plan on bringing all the money you plan on spending while you’re there. If you keep your trip short, you may only need $1,000 or so in cash.
We made two trips into Botswana in order to replenish our cash. At six to $1 the Pula is one of the strongest currencies in Africa and certainly the strongest in southern Africa. Unfortunately, the cash machine controls how much one can withdraw at a time. As a result, we arrived at Sikumi Tree Lodge with limited funds. Everything had been paid for in advance except drinks. Knowing that they would not accept VISA, we drank very little; juice for Z, occasional Cokes, and a few beers on New Years.
New Years Eve was fabulous, by the way. The power went out just before the dancers came on so the staff lit candles. The dancing was amazing, the food divine. Zachary had succeeded in befriending everyone on the staff so he danced and danced. A man named Kosim was particularly fond of the little man and the two of them had a wonderful time together.
Okay, back to the story; our bar bill came to Z$28,000. This translates to a street value of $14. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to pay with Zim$ and the official conversion came to almost $120! A close look at the bill revealed that Cokes cost Z$1,500. When converted at the street rate that equals 75 cents, but when converted “officially” it equals $6.
Carrie and Anna handled the negotiations; they argued that the prices were outrageous and if they were planning on charging us in foreign currency they should have given us the prices that way. They should also have duel rate schedules for foreigners and nationals. We ended up giving them the equivalent of $50. Kosim would not even look them in the eye as they left. We were very sad that such a great experience had to end on such a low note. Edward agreed with us and said he felt that the prices for beverages were way too high.
We drove away with heavy hearts, though we were all anxious to get out of the country. Tonight we rest in Pandamataga, Botswana.
MJR
Today was a sad day.
I have mentioned the sad state of affairs in Zimbabwe; let me elaborate. The official exchange rate is 250 Zim Dollars for 1 U.S. Dollar. This rate has been set by His Excellency, the president and it can only be changed by him. In the meantime, Zim Dollars are printed with an expiration date and suffer from 1,000% inflation per year. Since every other major currency is more stable than that, the street value of the American Dollar is actually 2,000 to 1.
If you go to the ATM and withdraw $100 (US) you get Z$25,000. If you take a one hundred dollar bill and trade it on the street, you’ll get Z$200,000. The problem is that everything is priced according to the street value so if you got cash from the bank, you’re getting royally ripped off. To further complicate matters, many places forbid foreigners from spending Zim$. VISA is virtually unheard of, but that’s probably a good thing because you’d get charged at the bank rate for all purchases. The bottom line is this; if you’re planning on traveling to Zimbabwe anytime soon, you must plan on bringing all the money you plan on spending while you’re there. If you keep your trip short, you may only need $1,000 or so in cash.
We made two trips into Botswana in order to replenish our cash. At six to $1 the Pula is one of the strongest currencies in Africa and certainly the strongest in southern Africa. Unfortunately, the cash machine controls how much one can withdraw at a time. As a result, we arrived at Sikumi Tree Lodge with limited funds. Everything had been paid for in advance except drinks. Knowing that they would not accept VISA, we drank very little; juice for Z, occasional Cokes, and a few beers on New Years.
New Years Eve was fabulous, by the way. The power went out just before the dancers came on so the staff lit candles. The dancing was amazing, the food divine. Zachary had succeeded in befriending everyone on the staff so he danced and danced. A man named Kosim was particularly fond of the little man and the two of them had a wonderful time together.
Okay, back to the story; our bar bill came to Z$28,000. This translates to a street value of $14. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to pay with Zim$ and the official conversion came to almost $120! A close look at the bill revealed that Cokes cost Z$1,500. When converted at the street rate that equals 75 cents, but when converted “officially” it equals $6.
Carrie and Anna handled the negotiations; they argued that the prices were outrageous and if they were planning on charging us in foreign currency they should have given us the prices that way. They should also have duel rate schedules for foreigners and nationals. We ended up giving them the equivalent of $50. Kosim would not even look them in the eye as they left. We were very sad that such a great experience had to end on such a low note. Edward agreed with us and said he felt that the prices for beverages were way too high.
We drove away with heavy hearts, though we were all anxious to get out of the country. Tonight we rest in Pandamataga, Botswana.
MJR
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 8:02 PM
1 Comments:
Mark & Carrie...
Sounds like a CRAZEE raft trip! All observations very interesting, and in addition to sad, sounds frustrating.
I'm seriously looking at planning a trip to southern Africa...probably South Africa and Botswana...within the next two years. Your insight here and experiences will be helpful...but if there's any other words of wisdom or recommendations to be made...sure wouldn't mind hearing about them! :)
Happy New Year!
Heather Stewart
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