Augustas Kligys Katja Lachmann
  TIPS, TRICKS AND OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT AFRICA  
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SEARCH AFRICA:

ON THIS PAGE:
o The Cheapest Internet in Livingstone
o Cheap accommodation in Johannesburg
o Buying a car in South Africa
o Books about Africa
o Words in Swahili language (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, etc.)
The Cheapest Internet in Livingstone
In Livingstone town center the prices start from 10.000 Kvacha (2 USD) per hour. Some places charge even 20.000 Kvacha/hour. But if you will go to a small yellow building next to the main train station, here you will find "JK. C Secretarial & Hardware" office. They have only 1 computer, but if you will ask for internet, they will let you browse Internet from their PC for only 7.000 Kvacha (1.4 USD) per hour. This was the cheapest what I found.
by augustas, created: 23/07/2004 [zambia]
Cheap accommodation in Johannesburg
GEMINI Backpackers - recommended!
FREE Internet. Double room 160 rand, camping 45 rand. Free pickup from airport.
1 Van Gelder road, Crystal Gardens, Johannesburg, Cell: 082-574-4270; Tel: +27 11 882-6845; Guest phone: +27 11 443-5011
This is what they replied to my question about the public transport connection with JoBurg town:
"We don't offer free transfers to JHB. A transfer to park station will cost you R 70 for one person R 50 p/p if two people R 45 p/p if there are three people and R 40 if there are four people."
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IN AFRICA Backpackers Lodge
Contact Gertie/Bruce: Tel - +27 11 609 5874; Cell - +27 (0)82 445 7116; Guest - +27 11 452 3255
"We do have double rooms which is R160.00 per couple plus a free airport pick up and drop off. We do not offer camping as our place do not have the facilities. Although we have a lovely garden with a lapa and a swimming pool."
This is what they replied to my question about the public transport connection with JoBurg town:
"The problem is not getting to Joburg as there is transport available the problem is Jhb is not safe to wander around in.
We all do everything in malls. Joburg is long time no more a city to shop and look at windows. Our public transport system is not good at all as you can be a target for criminals. We do offer trsp to the malls or Apartheid museum at a minimum price.
If you are daring there is always the local trsp which is the minibus taxis that our local takes."

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Back in Africa
North of Johannesburg. Camping 45 rand, double room 185 rand, dorm 70 rand.
22 Campbell Road, Craigavon, Sandton; P O Box 10522, Fourways East 2055, Gauteng, South Africa; (+27 11) Tel: 465-4219;
Pick up from the airport 40-60 RAND pp.
Free pickups only during daylight hours & apply to stays of 2 consecutive nights or longer (3+ nights if camping).
They also sent me .doc attachment with more details about their services. So, you may write them an email, in case you need more info.
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THE BACKPACKERS RITZ
PO Box 412460, Craighall, 2024, South Africa; Phone ++27 11 325 7125
Dorm 80 rand, single 160 rand, double 240 rand, they offer free airport/station pick-up.
"Public transport to the city center is readily available and cheap in the mini bus taxis. However, we strongly advise you not to go down town as it is crime ridden and dangerous. The hostel is located close to 2 major shopping malls which will contain everything you require."
Ritz also can sent you a .doc file attachment with more details about their services.
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SLEEK HOSTEL
Double room 180 rand, single 90 rand, dorm 65 rand, camping 40 rand pp. It seems there is no free pick-up from the airport. Transport: 60-90 rand pp to/from airport, 40 rand pp to/from bus station.
tel: 00 27 11 787-8070; Dominique Vigliotti +27 82 809 8413; Brigitte Vigliotti +27 72 205 3759
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Diamond Diggers Lodge
180 rand double room. single 70 rand. Free approved airport shuttle.
LOCATION: The Lodge is a stone's throw away from many restaurants and Africa's greatest shopping hub at the Eastgate Centre. Kensington suburb.
Tel: +27 11 624 1676, Mobile: +27 83 477 8775; 083 415 1546
Physical address: 36 Doris street, Kensington, Johannesburg, South Africa
"We have a shuttle to transport you to Joburg center at R10 each way or there is a municipal bus that leaves from outside the lodge which you could take for around the same price."
by augustas, created: 20/07/2004 [south africa]
Buying a car in South Africa
information on buying a car in South Africa
(collected from 3rd-party personal experiences in 2002, so be aware of changes)

* money
Used cars probably cannot be paid by credit card, so you have to check your plastic cards on their limits for getting cash (for credit cards there is most probably a different limit for getting cash than for paying directly with the card). ATMs in S.A. have a limit of 1000 to 1500 Rand per day (less than 200 Euro), maybe different for European ec-/maestro-cards (there are reports of 5000 Rand per day). You can get cash at a bank counter up to the limit of the credit card, but not at every bank (e.g. and not on the weekend (the bank will call the office of the credit card company to verify the limit).
Important: If you want to change back a larger amount of Rand into Euro (e.g. after selling the car again), the bank has to demand a proof of how the money came into the country. So keep all the receipts you got when you fetched the cash in the beginning as well as the receipts from the dealer for buying and selling the car. You also need these proofs when you take larger amounts of cash out of the country, which you likely will have to do as you can get Personal Traveller Cheques (e.g. in Euros) from S.A. banks only if you have a S.A. bank account, which is very hard to get for foreigners.


* price, purchase, contract etc.
- “Mead and McGrouther” holds the up-to-date prices of used car models in S.A. as a reference and argument for the negotiations.
- Make sure both addresses (if necessary passport number for foreigners), the price in Rand and the motor number of the car are correctly entered in the contract and it is signed by both parties.
- Don’t only look at the car from the outside but make a longer test drive, look under the engine hood (even laypersons can see lots of things there!).
- There are dealers that might offer a buy-back-deal which might be an option if you will have little time to sell the car (e.g. http://www.driveafrica.co.za - just came across the site, but don’t know yet if all that’s stated there is true)
- price examples from 2002:
--> Fiat Uno, no A.C., from 1996, good technical and optical conditions: R19.000 (loss with buy-back-deal about R1.000 per month)
--> Nissan Sabre, 1995, alarm, 4 doors, A.C., good conditions: R27.000


* registration documents and road worthy certificate (RWC)
If you can ask the dealer of the car or another local to come along to the licensing office, this would be a good idea.
At the licensing office you need:
- a registration form you have to fill out there to have a car registered on your name, along with your original passport and a picture
- a resident’s address in South Africa (the tickets for speeding etc. will be sent there, if they are not paid on the spot)
--> you get a registration document
- the original certificate-of-ownership-document (including kind of “CV” for the car with all previous owners)
--> the licensing office has the car in the computer and will print out a new certificate of ownership replacing the old one
- a roadworthy certificate (RWC): a RWC not older than 6 months is sufficient, if it is older you will have to get a new one (which will cost money, and most likely something will be found that has to be repaired for more money). Some people say that for old cars you need connections to a mechanic who does the test, so looking for a car with a RWC not older than 6 months is a lot better.
--> At the licensing office you will get a new RWC (a circular piece of paper to be glued from the inside on the wind shield).
Once you have a RWC, you can use the car for ages...


* insurance
Insurance is not compulsory. Large (cheaper) insurance companies do not have offices, so the call-center has to accept your credit card (e.g. Nova Risk Partners Ltd, http://www.novariskpartners.com). The price depends on the resident’s address.
One strange thing: theoretically, on longer trips you have to inform the company about your new residence every day... but South Africans do travel, too, don’t they?!
Important: The standard insurance expires if you leave the country.


* driving license
The police will want to see an English-written document, so you should have an international driving license.


* AA, repairs, “Technical Inspection Agency”
- Membership in the AA, the automobile association of S.A., is not expensive and probably a good idea, concerning safety, old cars and old roads in some places.
- repairs are generally quite cheap
- The Technical Inspection Agency is called COR. There are private garages which are allowed to make the COR certificate (ca. R100). The examination is quite superficial. You get a document which you have to take to some office to get a sticker for the wind shield (ca. R10), on which the date for the next examination is stated.
by Ralf Olleck, created: 28/06/2004 [south africa]
Books about Africa

I read some books about Africa and would like to recommend a few of them when preparing going to Africa. Unfortunately, all of them are in German, but I will try to translate title thus maybe you can find it in English or another language, too.
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Sieben Jahre im Sattel: Durchgedreht - Weltanschauung auf Rädern (German)
Le Chant des Roues (French)
Seven years on bike: Crazy - View of world on wheels (English - free & direct translation by Katja)
Author: Claude Marthaler
Publisher: Reise Know-How Verlag
Year: 2002
ISBN: 2-88086-277-9

Claude was traveling seven years around the world and all by bicycle. When coming to Africa he traveled from Cape Town through South Africa, up to Botswana, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, DR Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Morocco. The trip through Africa last about 1,5-2 years.
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Afrika - Das letzte Abenteuer - Die Geschichte eines Safariführers (German)
Dangerous Beauty. Life and Death in Africa: True Stories From a Safari Guide (American)
Author: Mark Ross
Publisher: Argon Verlag, Berlin and Verlag Hyperion/Talk Miramax Books, New York
Year: 2002 (in Germany), 2001 (in US and Canada)
ISBN: 3-596-15596-7

Mark Ross is a guy living for many years in Kenya working as a Safari guide. It is a personal history how he became Safari guide including stories about his life, his love to Kenya, animals and difficulties he had to face especially during his life in Kenya. It is a fantastic book not only when you want to learn about wild animals but what else you might face when living in Africa.
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more books soon

by Katja, created: 26/06/2004 [botswana, burkina faso, cameroon, central african republic, gambia, guinea, guinea-bissau, kenya, malawi, mali, mauritania, morocco, mozambique, niger, nigeria, senegal, south africa, tanzania, uganda, zambia, zimbabwe]
Words in Swahili language (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, etc.)
Hello. Hi. Jambo?/Habari Zako/ Mambo?
My name is John Ninaitwa John / Mimi Ninaitwa John / Jina Langu Ni John
What is your name? Wewe Unaitwa Nani? / Unaitwa Nani? / Jina Lako Ni Nani?
Where are you going? Unakwenda wapi?
Are you going to Arusha? Unakwenda Arusha?
Are you going direction ...? Unaelekea upande ... / Unaelekea mahali gani?
Where is the road direction ...? Ipi ni barabara ya kuelekea ....?
I am going to ... Ninakwenda ...
No money Hakuna pesa / Sina pesa (in Tanzania: Sina hela)
Gas station Kituo cha mafuta / Kituo cha gesi
Traveler (hitchhiker, backpacker) Msafiri
Where to go Niende wapi / Kwenda wapi
Where to get off Nitelemke wapi or kituo ninapotelemka
Where is the city center Wapi ni mjini?
OK, fine etc. Sawa / Safi / Poa / Sawasawa
I am tired Nimechoka ("sana" = very much, therefore nimechoka sana = I am very tired)
Go away! Ondoka / Kwenda uko [Very rude], use "nenda zako" - go your way.
Stop the car! Tafadhali (=please), simamisha gari!
Pretty woman Mwanamke mzuri / Msichana mzuri
Mwanamke mrembo (but this means that the woman is married so take care). You can use "msichana mrembo",  i.e. prety girl/lady. Most kenyan ladies like this.
I do not know Mimi sijui / Sijui
Internet cafe internet cafe / Huduma za mtandao za kisasa
Toilet Choo
Entrance Sehemu ya kuingilia / Kuingia
Exit Sehemu ya kutokea / Kutoka
City Mji
Country Nchi
Yes Ndiyo
No Hapana
And Na
You Wewe

Funny phrases in Swahili (slang):
This depends with age and area of usage. Teenage people like a lot of these. But widely by many people are:
Sauti nyororo --- Good and beautiful voice.
Kiboko yao --- Beautiful lady.
Diambo --- Fight/war.
Koinange street --- pesently used and very hot word. It means a street where you go for prostitutes. This place even ministers go to collect women. It was in the newspaper so people are aware of it.
I am broke --- meaning i do not have money.
Are you fresh (in english) and Uko freshi? (in swahili) --- meaning you do not have AIDS virus.
Niko sware --- meaning i am ok (refering to AIDS)

by aloyce, onyango, updated: 22/05/2004, created: 13/05/2004 [burundi, central african republic, comoros, congo, congo (zaire), kenya, madagascar, malawi, mozambique, rwanda, south africa, tanzania, uganda, zambia]
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