Graham Simmonds – Zambezi Travel Shop Manager

Graham was born in the capital of Zimbabwe, Harare, but grew up in Mauritius, where he completed his primary and secondary education. He then moved to South Africa where he acquired a degree at the University of Cape Town, majoring in Labour, Organisational Psychology and Human Resource Management. This was followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Tourism Management.

He began working at Wilderness in 2009, an opportunity which enabled him to explore remote wilderness areas and eventually paved the way for an adventurous and eye-opening career spanning some ten years. Between 2009 and 2014 he worked at Vumbura Plains and Duba Plains before settling at Mombo in the Food and Beverage department. One of Graham’s biggest achievements was his appointment to the General Manager position at Mombo, Wilderness Safaris’ world-renowned Premier camp situated in Botswana’s extraordinary Okavango Delta.

Originally a bookworm by nature, in the bush Graham found himself in a world of long hours and fixing lots of little, and big, things. However, his self-discipline and love for nature made it easy for him to quickly learn how to become a jack of all trades, giving his guests life-changing experiences while ensuring seamless operational support in the background.

Soon the natural surroundings began to feel more like home to Graham and the early mornings, late nights and sometimes even 24-hour shifts were all worth it, because Graham was able to experience long and uninterrupted moments in Botswana’s wonder-filled Okavango Delta. Graham treasures this experience dearly, saying, “Fun, hard work and meeting amazing people in both front- and back-of-house scenarios made these easily the best days of my life”.

Afterwards, he received the opportunity to explore the mighty Zambezi region. Based in Victoria Falls, he currently heads up the Wilderness  Travel Shop. “I love my position as it tests my sales skills while still permitting me to visit our camps and engage with extraordinary people regularly. I have always wanted to return to the country of my birth, where I never really lived but spent many wonderful holidays. The people, culture and wildlife are remarkable”, says Graham.

“During my time at Wilderness I have hosted Presidents, Princes and Princesses, as well as guests who have saved up all their life just to visit Africa once. I can assure you that every one of those guests is just as special as the other. I have also had the opportunity to travel abroad to the United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland and India, proudly wearing my Wilderness  uniform and advocating for our core purpose of biodiversity conservation”, concludes Graham.

Graham recently hosted a Zimbabwe webinar as part of our "virtual safari" series. watch the video here: