We are often asked some legitimately straight-forward questions from prospective visitors about current situation in Zim. I suppose about the most common are:
- ” Is it Safe to Visit Zimbabwe?”
- ” How do I Get Fuel in Zimbabwe?”
- “Will there be Food in The Shops?”
- “How Long are the Fuel Queues in Zim Right Now?”
To attempt to directly answer any of these questions would be to wade into the swamp of misunderstanding, personal opinion and plain bad maths that is Social Media. My previous post on these topics lead to a debate with a Californian about the price of fuel I had bought myself that morning in Harare). So, no, I am not going to even try and answer these questions directly.
What I am going to do is to make 4 Statements about Zim which I Challenge anyone in Harare (or California) to disprove:
- “My aged relative regularly drives around Harare after 10:00 pm without fear” -given her eyesight and need for speed, it is other road-users who should be wary!
- “There are Daily Traffic Jams in Harare at Rush Hour” – there must be fuel somewhere!
- “You can buy something called “Flaxseed oil at Spar “ -what do you even cook with that?
- “You can fill up at certain fuel stations in Harare with no queue at all. “ Yes, you heard it, no queue!
Yes, for every problem, there is a Zimbabwean with a solution. It might take some on-the-ground expertise but it can, and is being done and trust me, no Zimbo is going to over-pay! If there were no solutions, the aged relative would be barricaded in her home eating canned tuna whilst tumbleweed rolled through the deserted Harare streets…..(Fellow road-users tell me this is not the case).
Running assisted Self-Drive trips as we do, we have to be constantly on our toes for the best solutions to Zim’s ongoing challenges, but the one thing we don’t have to worry about is releasing our guests into the Zim community. Without fail our guests come back amazed with the ZIM WILDERNESS but they are also always blown away by how nice and helpful the ZIM PEOPLE were along the way.
It’s got me thinking, perhaps these things are related? Perhaps it is precisely the challenges that help keep Zim the unspoiled destination that it is?
- Maybe low visitor numbers help keep Mana, Chitake and Kariba uncrowded wilderness?
- Perhaps when people constantly face adversity, they learn resilience, resourcefulness and kindness?
- Perhaps poverty need not necessarily lead to violent crime?
- Perhaps there is a fuel and catering solution for your trip?
Perhaps you should’t worry too much about the challenges of visiting Zim and just do it?
Contact Us for more info, (or, if you want, wait another few years for things to “Normalise”!!!).
