We’re thrilled by this update from Great Plains – starting in Zimbabwe, one of the most magical safari destinations in the world. Today, travellers wanting to come to Zimbabwe have a new safari option, one where flying is now made easy, and Great Plainsconnect to collaborative camps.

Great Plains’ partner in Tembo Plains, Blessing Munyenyiwa, is also invested in Verney’s Camp in Hwange, so linking these two safari camps in a flying package makes sense.

Zimbabwe’s popularity is rising now, with more and more people calling ourselves and Great Plains about something new, fresh, and exciting from a wildlife destination. It is an often overlooked destination but an almost secret hideaway where uncrowded wildlife sightings are not just for the returning safari goer but also for the first-timer.

The perfect combination Great Plains now offer is Victoria Falls with Mpala Jena, the Zambezi Valley staying at Tembo Plains and now Hwange, including Verney’s Camp in Great Plains’ combined flying packages as seen below.

The Great Plains team will be spending quite a lot of time in Zimbabwe this year, moving wildlife and getting involved in conservation and community projects – as well this our MD Rose will be in Zimbabwe in May, heading to Singita Pamushana, Great Plains Tembo Plains and Molori Mashuma – so this is definitely the place to book your Zimbabwe safari.

Now, much has been said about International Women’s Day, and it is a delight to hear from Great Plains founder Beverly Joubert regarding some of the amazing women who are part of the Great Plains family.

“It is, of course, designed to commemorate the achievements of women worldwide so far. But it is also for advocating gender equality. Our efforts via the Great Plains Foundation and inside Great Plains Conservation are all about this: creating level playing fields and nurturing those who perhaps have not been as advantaged in the past. When we started hiring Female Rangers, as you will hear in the video, so many people in their villages and towns thought it was ridiculous as they were the ‘weaker’ gender. As it turns out, they are quite robust, performing bush tasks and holding their own against the odds. Thank you for being so supportive.

The entire Women-led Beading Business in the Maasai Mara, our Botswana Solar Mamas program (empowering women to develop their own small solar panel business), and other female initiatives give so many in our circle of touch that second chance we so enjoy providing, but we are constantly aware of being fair.

Finally, how could we forget that March 3rd was World Wildlife Day. To combat modern day city living we often need some kind of tether to Nature, to wildlife, to the purity of the planet so we don’t get lost, so we can ground ourselves.

Leonardo Di Vinci said, ‘Nature is the source of all true knowledge’, and Shakespeare said, ‘The earth has music for those who will listen.’ Any journey through literature everywhere in the world points to the same thing: that wild things, wild places, Nature, and the environment give us much more than we can possibly imagine. World Wildlife Day beautifully highlights some of the more endangered species, many of which are being successfully protected by the Great Plains team and their amazing conservation efforts.