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Answers To Your Questions On Safety In Zimbabwe Home » Answers To Your Questions On Safety In Zimbabwe (March 2007) Zimbabwe Safety Update - November 2007 From our Antelope Park Project Managers. Former volunteers Ben Deary, Jim Cowell and Katy Standish. With the ongoing problems in Zimbabwe and the continued bad press it receives overseas we feel it necessary to put prospective volunteers at rest by describing the reality of life atAntelope Park. Zimbabwes problems are purely economic caused by the sky-high inflation. Recent government attempts at price control have meant that shops are not selling food because they will make a loss at the government controlled prices and so all food is instead bought on the black market. This has led to the news items about food not being available in shops- this is true but the food is available elsewhere! Antelope Park has and will continue to be able to get hold of plentiful supplies. Fuel and other luxury imported items are also scarce due to lack of foreign exchange in Zimbabwe to import goods but Antelope Park regularly sends vehicles to neighbouring countries to secure fuel and other necessities. These are the major problems we have to deal with at the Park and they will in no way affect a volunteers stay. People should be aware that Zimbabwe has always been, and will remain, a very safe country to travel through. The people are very friendly and peace-loving and there has never been an incident of any concern with over 500 volunteers coming to the Park in the last 3 years. Antelope Park itself is situated 10 km outside of a very small and sleepy city, Gweru and is 100% safe. Some volunteers are concerned when they first land in Zimbabwe about their safety in the big cities of Bulawayo and Harare. This is understandable given the bad press Zimbabwereceives abroad but again we would like to stress that news reports are not accurate and most volunteers who do come here are amazed at the difference between the news reports and the reality of daily life within the country. Every volunteer who flies into Zimbabwe is met at the airport by our lodge managers in Harare or Bulawayo where they will stay overnight before their transfer to Antelope Park the next day on a luxury coach service and they are then met in Gweru by one of the project managers from the Park. We hope you are not put off by what you hear about Zimbabwe in overseas media reports. At Antelope Park the 3 project managers are all British or American and we feel safer everyday in Zimbabwe than in our home countries! From our Victoria Falls Project Managers With the ongoing problems in Zimbabwe and the continued bad press it receives overseas we feel it necessary to put prospective volunteers at rest by describing the reality of life inVictoria Falls. Zimbabwes problems are purely economic caused by the sky-high inflation. Recent government attempts at price control have meant that shops are not selling certain foods as they will make a loss at the government controlled prices and so a lot of food is instead bought on the black market or from local farmers. This has led to the news items about food not being available in shops- this is true in most cases but the food is available elsewhere! Hunters Lodge (the volunteer accommodation) and Masuwe (The lions centre) has and will continue to be able to get hold of plentiful supplies. Fuel and other luxury imported items are also scarce due to lack of foreign exchange in Zimbabwe to import goods but African Encounter regularly sends vehicles to neighbouring countries to secure fuel and other necessities. These are the major problems we have to deal with in Zimbabwe but will in no way affect a volunteers stay. People should be aware that Zimbabwe has always been, and will remain, a very safe country to travel through. The people are very friendly and peace-loving and there has never been an incident of any concern with any of our projects in Zimbabwe over the last three years that they have been running. Victoria Falls is a small tourist town with a very friendly vibe, all of our volunteers have said they feel extremely safe and welcomed into the community. The projects are based in and around the town itself and due to the nature of the work our volunteers develop friendships and meet a lot of local people as soon as they arrive in the town. The staff on all the projects make every effort to give incoming volunteers a warm welcome and ensure they feel relaxed and comfortable at all times. Some volunteers are concerned when they first land in Zimbabwe about their safety in the big cities of Bulawayo and Harare. This is understandable given the bad press Zimbabwereceives abroad but again we would like to stress that news reports are not accurate and most volunteers who do come here are amazed at the difference between the news reports and the reality of daily life within the country. Every volunteer who flies into Victoria Falls or Livingstone airports is met by one of the project managers and then transported back to the accommodation for a full introduction. We hope you are not put off by what you hear about Zimbabwe in overseas media reports. In Victoria Falls all of the Project Managers are from the Britain and we feel safer everyday inZimbabwe than we do back in the UK. Zimbabwe Safety Update - February 2007 A recent barrage of media attention for Zimbabwe has opened the floodgates for queries about how safe it is to visit Zimbabwe. We have compiled quotes and official reports from our project managers and volunteers on the ground in Zimbabwe to give you peace of mind about coming to join us as a volunteer in Zimbabwe. Official Feedback From Our Zimbabwe Project Managers, Ben Deary And Jim Cowell At Antelope Park. "One of the common concerns volunteers have prior to visiting Zimbabwe is the political stability of the country and safety for travelers visiting here. What our volunteers find when they arrive in Zimbabwe is that some of the information that they were given regarding safety in Zimbabwe is either untrue or exaggerated. Antelope Park itself is set on privately own land where the owners of the park also reside. There is no need to leave the park should a volunteer not want to during their placement, but volunteers regularly take trips to the nearby town to buy gifts etc or just to have a look around. Victoria Falls and Hwange National Park have also been without political incident in the past and we feel that this will certainly remain the case. We ourselves have been volunteers here on several occasions and before our first visits to Zimbabwe we also had concerns for our safety. But as other volunteers find out, the current situation is nowhere near as bad as reported. Almost all experienced travelers will tell you that Zimbabwe is one of the safest countries in the world to visit. We have had literally hundreds of volunteers come to Zimbabwe in the last 4 years and have never experienced any kind of problem related to the country's political status. All volunteers are collected directly from whichever airport they arrive at and are looked after and supervised until they are transferred to their project. Here are some direct quotes from past volunteer feedback forms when asked about safety concerns they might have had before coming to Zimbabwe: Q: I Wondered If I Would Be In A Safe Place This was only because of the way it always is on the news. Antelope Park is an amazing place in the middle of nowhere in its own little world (Greg Veness, UK) Q: I Wondered About The Political Unrest Though this was not an issue at all (Yvonne Conabeer, UK)   Bethany Foote joined us on our Elephant Research and Conservation Project in Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park in November 2007, and here is some of her feedback: Q: Did you have any concerns before traveling to Zimbabwe? Can you suggest anything more that we could have done to ease these concerns? A: Current news at home regarding the situation in Zimbabwe is not reflective of how it really is here and I think perhaps volunteers need to be reassured that you are very removed from any sort of trouble here and will only really be affected by a lack of supplies and the occasional power cut but nothing more serious than that. Q: Did we provide you with enough information on arrival for you to feel confident in your new environment and role as a volunteer? A: Always felt confident and safe with all the staff that we worked with and really trusted that we were looked after well and well informed. Q: What were some of the highlights of your placement with us? A: Helping to build houses in the village for people who were unable to build themselves or didnt have family around to help out. This was incredibly rewarding and its great to know that there is something standing in Dete that I had a hand in building. Camping in the national park was also really great fun and seeing a caracal on our night drive in the park was very special. Q: At any stage during your time on the program did you feel unsafe? A: Not once - I always felt looked after and trusted that all the people we worked with would look after us in any situation as they were well trained and experienced. Q: How has living in Africa for this period influenced your perspectives and outlook on life? A: Has made me real appreciate what we have and can live without. Miombo (Hwange project base) is such a quiet and relaxing place... It is a beautiful country and will definitely want to return to see more of it. Q: Could you please explain your true feelings and thoughts about this Program? What do you think you gained from your volunteer experience? A: I think I gained a great deal from both the project and by just being in Africa. I saw such an abundance of wildlife that you can only dream about seeing back in England. All the people we came in contact with were so warm and giving even though they live in very difficult times. All the staff at Miombo were fantastic and made the experience what is was and I cant imagine the place without any one of them. The program itself is very worthwhile and gives volunteers the opportunity to see such a different way of living and appreciating life. Everything we do whilst on the program is so worthwhile and has taught me a lot about Africa and the wildlife. More information on Safety on Zimbabwe? You can read more on safety in Africa and Zimbabwe. Our FAQ's page also has lots of useful information about safety in Zimbabwe with African Impact. Please also note that you are welcome to call our project managers or request to speak with volunteers themselves by calling +263 54 253385.       print this page | bookmark this page (CTRL-D) | send to a friend back to top