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Victoria Falls tourism execs in 35 days charity cycling trip

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BY STAFF REPORTER

Mike Davis of Shearwater and Mike Johnson of the Bayethe Collection have embarked on a rare cycling trip covering 3 000 km between Victoria Falls and Cape Town to raise about 20 000 Pounds for educational charity.

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The two started the journey nine days ago from Victoria Falls and expect to reach Cape Town after 35 days and to have raised 20 000 Pounds to be used for educating vulnerable children in Victoria Falls.

Mike Davis is Shearwater chief executive officer while Mike Johnson is co-owner of Bayethe Collection.

They have named their initiative 2MadMikes on Bikes.

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“Mike Davis and Mike Johnson are currently cycling on a 3 000 km journey between Victoria Falls and Cape Town to raise 20 000 Pound to fund education for children in need within Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe community,” they posted on an Instagram page.

They said they covered 750 km from Victoria Falls to Rundu in Namibia in the first week, raising over 6 000 Pounds.

The duo said the trip is a mid-life crisis thing traversing parts of four countries.

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Their story 

“We are Mike Davis and Mike Johnson, two slightly overweight, mid-life crisis-afflicted individuals known more for our hedonistic lifestyles than for our feats of endurance. 

But we have thrown ourselves into a “New Year; new me” mentality and undertaken a “Grand Cycle Tour” from

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Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe to Cape Town, South Africa.

“Leaving on 1st February 2023 from our homes in Victoria Falls, our epic cycle tour will take us 35 days, through four countries and over a distance of approximately 3 000 km to the finish line in the Fair Cape,” they said.

They said with the help of the local school system, council wards and communities, they had identified children who are unable to afford school fees.

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Annual school fees for an ordinary child is about US$150, the duo said.

“We would appreciate as much or as little as you are able to donate and for every US$150 we raise, you will be sending a child to school for a year. It might be small but it is a fundamental step to helping children change their prospects by breaking the no-education; no-employment cycle.” they added.

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Renowned conservationist Alan Elliott passes away at 86

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The conservation world is mourning the loss of Alan Elliott, a pioneering conservationist and tourism operator who passed away this morning around 2AM at Materdei Hospital in Bulawayo.

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Elliott, affectionately known as “Mandebele,” was 86 years old.

Photo by Charlene Hewat

Elliott’s contributions to conservation and tourism in Zimbabwe are immeasurable. He was one of the first people to bring tourism to Hwange, Zimbabwe’s largest national park, and founded Touch the Wild, a tourism operation that hosted numerous celebrities, including the Queen and Prince Philip.

We then contacted Charlene Hewat, a close associate of Elliott’s Presidential Elephant Research Trust (PERT), to explain further about his conservation work. Hewat described Elliott as an extraordinary conservationist who dedicated his life to protecting elephants. “Alan’s legacy is imprinted on the wild landscapes he loved so dearly and protected so fiercely,” Hewat said in a Facebook post.

In an interview, Hewat elaborated on Elliott’s work, highlighting his efforts to protect elephants in Hwange. “He went and got a decree from President (Robert) Mugabe to protect the presidential elephants, and he received that decree, and they agreed that they would not shoot any elephants within the Dete Hwange area,” Hewat explained.

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Elliott’s passing has sent shockwaves throughout the conservation community, with many paying tribute to his remarkable legacy. “He’s a legend. Everybody knows him,” Hewat said. “He was an MP in Hwange, spoke fluent Ndebele, and knew a lot of the ministers. He’s just an amazing man, a legend for Zimbabwe.”

As a testament to his enduring legacy, Elliott had asked Hewat to carry on his work with the Presidential Elephant Research Trust. “It was his vision to promote young Zimbabwean researchers, and that’s something that I share and think we can take forward for the country and for the youth,” Hewat said.

 

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UPDATE: ZimParks rangers injured in elephant attack receiving medical treatment

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BY STAFF REPORTER

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks) spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo has provided an update on the condition of two rangers who were injured earlier this week by elephants in the Sengwa, Chirisa Safari area.

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The rangers, who were investigating a reported case of a snared buffalo, encountered a herd of elephants with calves that charged at them.

According to the update, one of the rangers has undergone treatment for his left arm and is currently in a stable condition.

The other ranger had a successful abdominal operation and is currently receiving surgery for his broken left arm and left leg.

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The incident highlights the dangers faced by wildlife rangers in Zimbabwe. In a similar incident in March 2025, a Zimparks ranger was killed by an elephant in Kariba during a routine patrol in the Gatche-gatche area.

The authority has encouraged people to minimize movements at night to reduce the risk of human-wildlife conflicts.

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Zimbabwe on track for 6% growth as economy recovers from drought

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BY REUTERS

Zimbabwe is on track to achieve a forecasted 6% economic growth in 2025 helped by good agricultural output and strong commodity prices, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said on Thursday.

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The Southern African country’s economy has shown signs of recovery in the first half of the year following a severe drought and currency turbulence in 2024 that pushed GDP growth down to 2%.

“Given the positive economic developments during the period January to June, we are confident that the projected economic growth of 6% alluded to in the 2025 National Budget is achievable,” Ncube told parliament in a mid-year budget review.

“All sectors of the economy are expected to record positive growth in 2025, mainly on account of a favourable agriculture season, improved electricity generation, stable exchange rate and inflation rate,” he said.

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He did not give an update on the budget deficit, which was seen at 0.4% of gross domestic product in 2025 during the budget forecast last November.

Zimbabwe’s fiscal position remains under strain from grain imports, drought relief spending and the public sector wage bill. While the government has collected more revenue than in the same period last year, analysts say containing the deficit may prove difficult without new fiscal measures.

The local currency, the ZiG, launched in April 2024 to replace the Zimbabwe dollar, has largely remained stable against the U.S. dollar but is still overshadowed by widespread use of the dollar in everyday transactions.

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Ncube reiterated the government’s commitment to the gold-backed unit and said the currency had benefited from tight monetary and fiscal policies.

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