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This is the question we are asked most often by prospective travellers.

Africa's biggest enemy is the international media who represent all 46 Africa countries as a single entity and not as unique and individual countries with their own characteristics. This misrepresentation is actually due to lack of education on the part of the media.

It would come as a surprise to many people to find out that there are in fact areas that are worse off in more developed countries than in the "dangerous" African countries. No country can claim to be 100% safe, and so as with travel to any new or unknown destination, it is advisable to take certain standard security precautions. Visitors should take the same precautions as they would normally take in any other destination worldwide. Keep an eye on your purses, wallets, passports, money and cameras when walking in a crowd. Avoid walking in the cities at night and place valuables in your hotel safe. Choosing a knowledgeable operator such as "The Leading Independent Hotels of Southern Africa" as your specialist for Southern African is the best move you could make.

While at safari lodges and tented camps you are typically far removed from human settlement and crime in the camps is virtually non existent (we have never heard of it and have been traveling to the camps for years). We advise that valuables be locked away or kept under the supervision of the camp or lodge manager, or better yet, left at home if you are at all concerned.

We are extremely knowledgeable about the continent (having been born and lived here) and can therefore minimize any possible risks for our guests. Most of your travel time in Southern Africa is likely to be spent away from the large cities where crime is most prevalent. You will be visiting areas and regions that are remote and where crime is almost non existent. Even if your holiday involves spending time in the cities, having a company like ours able to choose the appropriate lodging, locations and simple security advice, you will find the cities we recommend are as safe as travel almost anywhere.

Finally, we simply do not recommend destinations that are not safe. This is why you will find that we do not recommend every country in Africa. We have lived in Africa, we know its cultures, and we know what is safe and what is not. In the same way we only recommend the finest safari camps, we also only recommend certain cities while away from "the bush".

Zimbabwe

What about Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe has recently been in the news and has received a large amount of negative press surrounding President Mugabe's decision to permit "re-distribution" of privately owned farms to the "war veterans". This process has been accomplished with its share of crime and violence, especially by those who were removed from their life-long farms. (For further discussion on Zimbabwe, please see Zim History). However, this violence has only occurred in and around the cities and farming areas, and then mostly in the central and southern portions of Zimbabwe.

Fortunately, the northern National Parks and reserves in Zimbabwe have not been affected and these amazing wildlife areas offer the best bargain in all of Africa in our opinion. The wildlife is outstanding - on a par even with Botswana, and these areas are remote from the heavily populated cities and surrounds where the crime is centered. These northern parks - Mana Pools, Matusadona, and Hwange offer great camps, superb guides, and amazing game viewing all at bargain prices. Many people take all of the bad press and decide to leave well enough alone rather than take a perceived risk.

We realize that there is now a travel advisory from the US State department and agree that this warning is possibly accurate for the farming areas and the cities. However, the northern parks are still havens of peace and tranquility, offering a superb Zimbabwe safari experience. The support by guests travelling to Zimbabwe will only help to keep the conservation efforts in this country going and to keep the poachers out. The bottom line is, Zimbabwe's northern parks and reserves are completely safe and offer fantastic safari deals.

As a final comment on Zimbabwe, we offer the following perspective from Maureen Vincent, who lives and works in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in the the travel industry, and offers her current views on Zimbabwe...

What's happening in Vic Falls and our Zimbabwe Safari Circuit: 29 January 2003
I have just read the travel warning published 1/27/03, by The United States Department of State. People are free to vacation where they feel most comfortable, but I hope my perspective, as a resident of Zimbabwe will help you and them to have a more balanced view, and to seriously consider what today is one of the best travel values and experiences in Africa.

I live in Victoria Falls, with my husband and young children. Our town revolves around tourism and has always been a haven of tranquility. The industry realizes the seriousness of this travel advisory. There is no doubt that our country is in a state of crisis. However, this really only affects the people living in the larger cities of Harare & Bulawayo as well as the farming areas. Life is going on as usual here... and as a resident of Vic Falls, I can personally assure you that Vic Falls is an area of peace. When I see the CNN reports, I wonder which country they are talking about! I feel safe here and I have never thought of taking my family out of Victoria Falls. The State Department Consular Information Sheet of 11/26/02 has in fact not been updated nor changed, and states:

"Victoria Falls is a major tourist destination and is considered relatively safe, but we urge visitors to use the same security precautions they would exercise in any urban area of the developing world."

Occupancies have fallen since Zimbabwe hit the news - but the positive side of life is that we are seeing service in the hotels and camps at levels which we have never seen before. This is the time to visit Victoria Falls and the National Parks of Zimbabwe. We have been able to maintain (and often improve) the quality and experience in the parks purely through our tourist traffic. Without tourists, our incredible National Parks will deteriorate... we need tourists to keep visiting our parks to ensure our wilderness areas are conserved.

Concerns have been expressed about food and gas shortages that sadly plague the country. As the tourism industry earns hard currency, the hotels and other tourism suppliers are able to import all the commodities they require to maintain a good operation. So the tourist definitely does not feel the pinch of food shortages, and the lack of fuel, as we are able to import all these products.

We recommend that our guests fly into Victoria Falls from Johannesburg. After enjoying all the varied and superb experiences Victoria Falls has to offer - we FLY our guests from camp to camp, all of which are within totally safe National Park areas far removed from any urban hotspots. Our guests do not venture into the cities or farming areas at all, so are completely safe. Wilderness Safaris has continued to operate successfully in Zimbabwe since the advent of the land re-distribution crisis. We absolutely will not operate any itinerary if we have the remotest concern of potential danger to our guests.