Zimbabwe
, Victoria Falls 
Nicole
This Is What High-End Travel Looks Like:
Three nights. Two-bedroom tent. Everything you’d expect from a luxury safari lodge—and then some.
Big M was our guide. He read it perfectly from the start: three colleagues, pure friend energy, ready for adventure. No weird assumptions, no stiffness. Just ease.
He was determined to find things for us. One afternoon, someone spotted a leopard in the park. Big M came knocking on our door—we weren’t even planning to go out—and grabbed us. We found that leopard twice.
But here’s the moment: we wanted to dance to Taylor Swift. (And these are guys from Zim! ) Not easy in the middle of the Zambezi. Big M made it happen. Land Rover in the rain, a bar in town, the four of us dancing under the lights. Business trip. Pure joy. Opalite all the way. Most wholesome adventure I’ve had in years.
Other people can talk about the beautiful furnishings and the cold beer when you want it. This is relational hospitality at its finest.
PS: don’t be scared of being in a place where you cannot go out at night alone for wildlife safety reasons. They know what they’re doing and the sounds are glorious. Yeah, seeing a leopard and a lion in the same day from meters away will fire your fight or flight response. So do jumping jacks bedside and fall asleep to the sounds of the crickets. And the hippos.
Three nights. Two-bedroom tent. Everything you’d expect from a luxury safari lodge—and then some.
Big M was our guide. He read it perfectly from the start: three colleagues, pure friend energy, ready for adventure. No weird assumptions, no stiffness. Just ease.
He was determined to find things for us. One afternoon, someone spotted a leopard in the park. Big M came knocking on our door—we weren’t even planning to go out—and grabbed us. We found that leopard twice.
But here’s the moment: we wanted to dance to Taylor Swift. (And these are guys from Zim! ) Not easy in the middle of the Zambezi. Big M made it happen. Land Rover in the rain, a bar in town, the four of us dancing under the lights. Business trip. Pure joy. Opalite all the way. Most wholesome adventure I’ve had in years.
Other people can talk about the beautiful furnishings and the cold beer when you want it. This is relational hospitality at its finest.
PS: don’t be scared of being in a place where you cannot go out at night alone for wildlife safety reasons. They know what they’re doing and the sounds are glorious. Yeah, seeing a leopard and a lion in the same day from meters away will fire your fight or flight response. So do jumping jacks bedside and fall asleep to the sounds of the crickets. And the hippos.
