The French Franc dies in early Feb but Euros are unlikely to be easily recognised on the desert streets yet. So what currency options are there for cash deals in the Sahara?

I'm leaving to Mauritania and Senegal in late December so I'm kind of apprehensive as well. I'm planning to take FF and USD and used them according to the demand.
Anybody have an opinion on what’s best ?

José

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Desert Crocodiles of Mauritania: http://cibio.up.pt/crocodilos/en

The mighty US Dollar goes a long way in the Sahara

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A.B.
www.ShortWheelbase.com

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A.B.
OasisPhoto.com – Images from the Magical Sahara.

My friend Philippe who lives in Nouakchott tell me that the Bank of Mauritania is ready to change Euros ( 238 UM for 1 Euro )I will check this point before leaving at the beginning of January

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Dear Richard,

It's Andy Hunt mailing from Bobo nin Burkina. Thanks for all you help and info regarding the trip. It took 34 days and 7000 kms to get to Bobo but al least one week was lost due to break down as well as waiting for 5 days in Nouakchoot for a visa fro my Slovene girlfiend, which by the way was pure hell!! Land Rover had some major cooling problems as well as electrical faults and short circuits with wires rubbing through and relays short circuiting. Very annoying and potentially very dangerous, had to empty both my fire extinguishers as we had 3 seperate fires. Not nice when you are in the middle of the desert 200 kmsw from anywhere and your lights go out and flames and smoke starts belowing from behind the dash board!!!!

Anyway back to your question, I asked many people and no ones anything about the Euro and no one cares. I would suggest that the French Franc is the king in West Africa as everyone knows that 1 FF = 100 CFA, peace of mind for them. The Euro will have a minute effect, if any, at street level the French Franc and the CFA will rule. Africa is nowhere near of ready for the Euro, the locals want hard currency or CFA's. It will takea long time before you can pay for a coke in Euro's.

By the way, the Petzel head torches are simply excellent and the best investment so far!

Cheers,

Andy Hunt
Bob Dioulasso

Hi Andy -
Glad you made it but sorry to hear about the problems.....
One thing the L'Rover didn't over design is the fuse box!
Look forward to hearing more details.

Thanks for the advice on the Euro.
I'm off to Algeria next week....
enjoy the rest of the trip

Richard

Dear Richard,

I have lost your mail address, so Iahev mailed you on the forum.
Please see below.
Cheers,

Andy

Dear Richard,

Thanks for your mail and very jealous that you are going to Algeria. Are you going with the Series Land Rover? I do not wish to interfer but I have heard repeatedly from people not to go to Algeria, even far in the South. I would love to come back to Europe via Niger, Algeria and Tunisia but I have decided not to, for safety reasons. I would be very interested to hear how things are. What are your dates and where will you be, if things are okay and I decide to drive back to Europe then maybe we could meet and travel in convoy. I could make it to Algeria! Just a thought.
Richard I also wanted to ask you how you shipped your vehicle back after the hassle in Niger. I am in 2 minds about selling my Land Rover as I simply do not know whether I can sell it to an African knowing he is going to destroy the machine and mercilessly drive ut it the ground. Every series vehcile and even newer Defenders are in such a sorry state!
I am thinking of shipping my vehcile (if my trip back does not materialise) from Bobo Dioulasso or to drive to Abidjan and to ship it back to Italy (Genoa). I am waiting for quotes from a freight forwarder here in Bobo but I know that the inland costs are huge but I am not so keep to drive to Abidjan as the place is getting rather sensitive at the moment and the border crossings with Burkina are getting notoriously bad. Abidjan is now the most dangerous town in West Africa! I forgot how you shipped your car back, I know that you used AGS but that they were expensive but I can't remember the route you took.

I would appreciate any help.

Kind regards,

Andy Hunt

Andy
Have you thought about shipping back from Accra? I have made some enquiries as we want to ship our 101 back in June. The cost for a 40 ft High Cube container is about £1400, less if the vehicle is picked up from Felixstowe. You would not need the High Cube so would be £100-£150 less. Try www.fredolsen.co.uk
By the way, we will be going to Ghana in March and were wondering about fuel. What has been the longest you have experienced between available fuel stops? and how did your fuel consumption compare with normal uk road use? Only the 101 is rather thirsty and I want to have sufficient fuel but don't want to be silly about it. We will be travelling the Western Sahara route and then either Mali or Guinea, Cote d"ivoire to Ghana.
Regards
Malcolm Woodruff

Probably a little late now, but I drove back from Accra-Togo-Benin-Niger-Algeria-Tunisia-UK without any difficulty back in August (took 5 weeks).

Ghana is very easy, okay (mostly bitumen) roads (apart from north-western corner entry point with Burkina), and fuel just about everywhere.

Sam.