OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 2019121haultrucks,andthe thoroughlyannoyingmoney changers
andtouts.
Theseruralbordercrossingsoftenhavea feelingofcom-
munity,whereresidentsgobackandforthonfootbetween
countries regularly,andforeigners,whilea rare sight,are a
welcomeandfriendlydistractiontothedailyrhythmsoflife.
Thecaveatis thatyouneedtobemorecomprehensively
preparedforruralbordercrossingsintermsofinformation,
documents,and,especially,money.Those aggressive money
changershoundingyouatbusybordercrossings?Well,you
maymisstheirserviceswhenyouneedtopayforanunex-
pected“council fee,”and you’ve gotshillings—but not the
rightkind.Somevisaservicesarenotavailableat remotebor-
derseither.Talktoyourfellowoverlanders,andfindoutwhat
youneedaheadoftime.
Beawarethatofficialsat thesebordersmaybebored.We
spentlongerthannecessaryata tinybordercrossinginMo-
zambiquewhenthecustomsofficialmadeusfilloutthesame
paperwork twice because I transposedthe date (usingthe
American-stylemonthanddayratherthantheAfrican-style
dayandmonth).Withnoonewaitinginline behind us, we
wereclearlythemorning’s entertainment.
THEFOLDER
TheFolderis a commontoolusedbyoverlandersallover
theworld,butwedon’ttalkaboutit indepth,andweshould.
Forus,it is a blueplasticaccordionstuffedwithallthedocu-
ments,photocopies,localcurrency,andotherparaphernalia
weneedtomakea successfulbordercrossing.Itis a simple
butpowerfulthing.
With your documents organized into easily identified
categories,TheFolderis yourguidefromdesktodesk,and
stationtostationatyourbordercrossing.I memorizewhich
pocketsinthefoldercontainwhichthings:pocketsforpass-
portsandcopiesofpassports,envelopesfullofexactchange
forvisa fees,and immunizationcertifications forimmigra-
tion;pocketsforvehicleownershipdocuments,TIPsorCar-
netdePassages,andvehicleinsuranceforcustoms.Whena
documentis demanded,I don’tevenneedtothink.I reflexive-
ly reachintoTheFolderandproduceit—thefirsttime,every
time,withmultiplecopies,stampedandcertified,inreserve.
Borderofficialsappreciatethisefficiencyandwillrewardyou
forit.
The Folder also acts as a deterrent against scammers.
Whencarriedprominentlyunderyourarm,orwavedinthe
face ofa particularly aggressive hawker,it’s a physicalsign
thatyouareserious,andthatyouknowwhatyouaredoing,
evenif youdon’t.Witha confidentwalkanda willingnessto
ask forhelpfromuniformedcustomsand immigrationof-
ficials,TheFolderwillbeyour guide.
PUTAWAYDISTRACTIONS
It maycomeasnosurprise,buttheconfusionofa border
crossingdemandsyourfullattention.Bepreparedaheadof
time to deal with its complexities by doing your research, and
PUBLISHER’SNOTEBordercrossingsare a wonderfulcomponent
of overlandtravel,but shouldbe treatedwiththe respecttheyde-
serve.We suggestyou obtaindetailedfeedbackfrommultiplequali-
fied sourcesand referto websiteslike WikiOverlandfor the latest
information. Talkwith fellow travelers thathave recently crossed
the border,and avoidadvicefromthosewho havenot experienced
bootson the ground at that particularcrossing.The suggestions
containedin this articleare not all-encompassingor definitive,so be
sureto practicegoodjudgment and focused situational awareness
during any border crossing.thenfocusintentlyonyouronetask:movingfromthecoun-
tryyouareintothenextone.
Wehaveoftenseentravelers,traders,truckers,andborder
officialsalikedistractedbytheirphones,andevenbytheusual
televisionboltedonthewalloftheimmigrationoffice,which
can drag downthe borderprocess intoa standstill.Forget
thephotographsandtheInstagramposts—theycanwait.The
moredistractedyouare,themorelikelyyouwillbescammed,
ormaybeyouwillfillouta formincorrectlyandhavetostart
over.Theborderis allbusiness,and even if nobody else is
treatingit thatway,youshould.SHAREYOURKNOWLEDGE
TheiOverlanderappforiOSandAndroidhashelpedus
immenselyonourtravelsinAfrica,aswellastheFacebook
pagesforOverlandingAfricaandOverlandSphere.Thisgoes
doubleforthepersonalblogs,Facebookfeeds,andInstagram
accounts of themanytravelers on thiscontinent like Dan
Grec,WhitefellaWalkabout,andFearlessonFourWheels.
Since differentcountries’immigration and visa policies
change constantly, and even separate borders in the same
countryoftenhavedifferentfeesandprocesses,whenyouget
newknowledgeabouta bordercrossing,passit along.Some
ofthatknowledgeis informal,sokeepyourearsopen.Atthe
bordercrossingfromUgandatoRwandaI mentionedabove,
a localatthebureaudechangetoldmethattocrossonthe
particularSundayweweretherewas“agoodthing,”because
“Thursday and Saturdayare themarketdays,and thewait
is hoursandhourslong.”That’sthekindoffortunatelyac -
quired,location-specificknowledgetosharewithyourfellow
travelers.
Thetakeawayfromthisdiscussionaboutbordercrossings
is that it is anongoingdiscussion,andwewillneedto rely
moreandmoreontheinformationweshareamongourselves.
But,asPatrickfromtheKenyaRevenueAuthorityshowed
us,thatinformationdoesnothingwithouta littlebitofhu-
manity thrownintothemix.He trustedmeto fillout my
formscorrectly,andI trustedhimtostampusandourvehicle
outandalongthewaytoUgandaona ChristmasEve,when
I’mcertainhewouldhaveratherbeenwithhisfamily.A smile
and a handshake do more than you might imagine.