We are on the final countdown to departure — we fly to South Africa on Friday morning — and today I collected some South African currency we ordered from our Bank. In other countries we use a Travelex Cash Passport. You preload currency onto a debit card and you can use it to pay by Eftpos or to withdraw cash at ATMs. We have used the Cash Passport with great success in England, the Netherlands, Japan and the USA. But the Cash Passport unfortunately does not take South African currency: the Rand.
So we ordered some notes to take with us. The current exchange rate — the price at which we can exchange Australian Dollars (AUD) for South African Rand (ZAR) — is roughly 1 to 10. 1 AUD buys 10 ZAR. This means each Rand is worth about 10 cents in Australia. So:
- AUD$2 buys you ZAR$20
- AUD$10 buys you ZAR$100
- AUD$20 buys you ZAR$200
South African currency is lovely and colourful like Australian currency. On one side of each note there is a portrait of President Nelson Mandela. On the other side of each note there is a picture of a South African animal, such as an elephant (20 Rand) and cheetah (200 Rand). Like Australian money, South African notes have a number of security features: watermarks and metal strips.
In this You Tube video diary (after finally coaxing her onto camera), Louisa explains the difference between Australian money and South African money and things! Please follow this link:
Posted with Blogsy
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