So much has happened in the past 12 months that I had to Google to confirm that this time last year, Zim was still on Europe & the UK’s no-travel list due to Omicron.
The 2022 season thus started slowly with many of our 2019 guests still unsure as to if they could finally get on a plane. As things panned out, travel was indeed possible and most of you roll-over bookers finally got here. We were thrilled to meet the so many of you whom we felt we had gotten to know very well, having travelled a long road of bookings, cancellations, re-bookings and re-cancellations together.
Then there were the more spur-of-the moment type guests who hopped on a plane at short notice and just trusted that Zim would produce the goods, you know who you are! I can’t be sure if Zim was what you were expecting but I know She did not disappoint you.
I have been thinking recently of what influences our guests to want to visit little old Zimbabwe. Obviously, the wilderness and wildlife are a huge draw-card. I have so much faith in these that I will take our wilderness as world-beating and rather want to focus on a more intangible aspect that was the subject of many a dinner-table conversation at the end of our guests’ 2022 trips: Zim’s “Feel” and the “Zim Way”.
Many guests choose Zim as a destination on the vague recommendation of someone else who went there, without knowing exactly what to expect. There is very little reliable info on the Internet and it’s hard to get your head around our Financial Situation whilst planning from the real world, (where numbers have to add up!) Google Maps travel time estimates are also, frankly, useless here, making Itinerary Planning very difficult from afar. Add to that the fact that bookings are generally done manually and often in-person and driving Zimbabwe can all seem a bit daunting from the first world. Yet, people who have visited Zim always recommend it to others, why?
Our country might not be as organized or technologically advanced as many others, but that means we rely more on people and relationships to get things done. Zimbos are gregarious, helpful, friendly and humorous, this is the “Zim Way”. This is a country where people still have conversations with each other in-person, rather than walk around with their heads in their cellphones wearing out-sized earphones and a blank facial expression (we can’t afford the airtime!). Guests who come to explore Zim get to detach from the tyranny of the internet and thus interact with people along the way and pick up the “Zim way” of doing things. It always works out well.
We wouldn’t have it any other way, we embrace Zim’s challenges as they result in the “Zim way” and are thus part of Zim’s charm. Come with the right approach and Zim will embrace you and help you have the adventure of a lifetime. We help you manage all the critical issues such as Itinerary Planning, Bookings & Logistics, we then set you free to wander our beautiful and friendly country. You will come back mentally refreshed and more optimistic about life than ever- that is guaranteed, we have absolute faith in that.
We look forward to letting Zim show more guests the Zim way of doing things in the year ahead. This is what we live to do and we love it
Dear Ant,
You are a true ambassador of your/our country!!! And we can’t agree more with everything you have written!
Thank you!
Wishing you a fantastic 2023!
Take care and warm regards,
Marian and Herman
Thanks Marian & Herman, it was great to meet you both this season. Keep well till we meet again. Kimd Regards Ant Bown for the Manapools.com Team