Five Minutes With Nono

Five Minutes With...

Please tell us about yourself

I grew up outside the national park in a small town called Dete, where I was born and bred. I did my primary education at Saint Francis Xavier Primary School and my secondary education at Marist Brothers High School right there in Dete. From there, I went on to study tourism and hospitality management, which is a four-year programme, in the Midlands—Gweru to be specific—atMidlandsStateUniversity.AfterthatIventuredinto the safari industry and I started off with Wilderness Safaris. I worked basically in all their camps, starting in Mana Pools National Park at Ruckomechi and then I came to their Hwange National Park camps. From there I joined African Bush Camps and I was managing Somalisa Expeditions. It was from there that I then joined Verney’s Camp under Machaba Safaris.

How long have you been working in this Industry?

Basically, six years now.

Why did you start working for Machaba Safaris?

Number one, it’s the way they take care of their staff. Each of the staff has his/her own house and only share the bathroom. They are welcome to bring in couples; for example, we’ve got two chefs with their wives here, a waiter with his wife here and most of all I can bring my daughter here in the bush and she is only a year and six months old. So that’s a plus for Machaba Safaris that they put theiremployeesfirstbeforeanythingelse.

What is it like being a camp manager?

It’s challenging and fun at the same time, though it’s not always an easyroad.Sometimesthelogisticsaredifficulttoputeverything in order; you get some guests that come here expecting something andtheyfindsomethingdifferent.So,wetrytoconvincethem untiltheyfinditacomfortableandmemorablestayforthem. Those are just the basic challenges I get, otherwise I enjoy meeting people and learning about different cultures from different places.

NONGQABUTHO ‘NONO’ NGWENYA