Even though Butch is Imvelo’s managing director, he still spends as much time as he can in the bush. Butch’s career started as a ranger for the then Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management. He completed a BSc in Zoology and Botany at Rhodes University before moving on to work for Zimbabwe’s Forestry Commission. As provincial wildlife officer, Butch was responsible for the wildlife that roamed within 1.8 million acres of indigenous forest. He soon realized that the local peoples’ support was critical to the well-being of the estate, and began to develop programs that would both engage the people and benefit the natural ecosystems. He finally left the Forestry Commission to develop these initiatives through tourism. Butch’s lifelong passion for Hwange—its wildlife and communities—formed the foundation of what Imvelo Safari Lodges is today.

Zondo is the unsung hero of Imvelo, making things happen by motivating people in meetings at local, provincial, and central government levels. “My passion is achieving rural development by developing the human resources - that has been the focus of my work all my life,” he says. With GCSE passed by private study, and a diploma from the School of Social Work at the University of Zimbabwe, he was appointed project coordinator for a donor-funded program in health, water, and sanitation in Manicaland Province. Four years later he was attached to Hwange District Council by the Zimbabwe Trust, a non-profit developing natural resource management. For five years he trained executives and rural communities in this ground-breaking conservation initiative, while also completing another diploma in Supervisory Management. In 1996 he joined Butch in the private sector, creating the forerunner of Imvelo Safari Lodges.

With his unassuming manner, guests readily warm to Harris – he is a great communicator (and speaks five languages to prove it) and has an encyclopedic knowledge of African wildlife, vegetation, and ecosystems. “Guides are the true ambassadors of our country,” he says. Harris started work as a boat crewman for a circuit of lodges in the Lake Kariba area, and worked his way up to guide for the same group for nearly a decade. He later spent almost the same period guiding and managing a beach lodge in north Mozambique before returning home. “I love the variety of Hwange, and the fantastic walking areas,” he says. “It’s really wild and I like very wild places.”

Cuan hails from Durban on the east coast of South Africa. As a youngster, he was super keen on becoming a game ranger to protect the natural environment and wildlife. After completing school, he went on to Saasveld College down in the Cape and studied Nature Conservation. Since then, he’s been in the travel and tourism industry for almost 20 years, working in various fields, including managing a lodge in Zambia, a professional bird and wildlife guide touring all over Africa and Asia, and more recently as a travel specialist for a destination management operator in South Africa. With his keen understanding of the safari industry and appreciation of the guest experience, Cuan helps build many more memories like that for our valued visitors.

Hannah is our project manager for CRCI and our wide variety of other community and conservation programs, bringing many years of experience in the environmental sciences, sustainability, and education fields. She joined Imvelo in 2019 after five years with Cambridge University managing programs in natural capital management and entrepreneurship. Her experience includes hands-on field missions as well as research and academic programs, working in diverse cultural and ecological environments including Peru and Madagascar, before finding her footing in Zimbabwe. “CRCI combines the whole spectrum of conservation, community development, and project management – it’s a great challenge, but seeing the step-by-step progress is tremendously rewarding,” says Hannah. She holds an MSc in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security from the University of East Anglia and a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Sciences from the University of Southampton.

Vusa grew up in Ngamo village near Imvelo’s Bomani and Camelthorn Lodges adjacent to Hwange National Park. As a boy looking after the family’s cattle, he dealt firsthand with the threat posed by elephant and lion from the park. Today, that same dangerous big game represents his livelihood, bringing visitors from around the world. Armed with a diploma in travel and tourism, he was first employed by Imvelo as a trainee guide and a year later he wrote the intermediate guides exam set by national parks. Thus began ten years of dedication before he passed the intense written and practical examinations for Zimbabwe’s Professional Guides licence – he is the first from his community to achieve this qualification. As a local lad, he brings a special touch and remarkable insights when taking guests around his home area, and he has become a role model for the next generation.