Footprints. Everywhere I travel, I look for the footprints of women, and I follow them until I see the path more clearly. It always leads to a circle of women and in these circles I see women sharing stories, women laughing, women dancing, women healing, and women standing for other women. I see the footprints of women lifting up their communities.

There is no place I see this more clearly than in Zimbabwe.

I landed in Zimbabwe for the first time in November 2008 and my footprints led me back there 27 more times. I’ll return November 20-27, 2022 for my 28th time to host the 9th Service & Safari Retreat  based at Imire Sable Lodge at Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation.

One of the extraordinary women I’ve met in Zimbabwe through following the footprints is Judy Travers. Like animal conservationists Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall, Judy is dedicated to being a caretaker of the animals of Zimbabwe.

“We are so blessed to be living alongside our wildlife and living as a herd with the elephants, where we are able to learn from these magnificent beasts by understanding them,” said Judy. “We are so privileged to share their energies, their sensitivity, their incredible intelligence, their ability to learn and receive instruction, and their humor. Their incredible protectiveness toward their family is in their everyday footprints.”

Judy’s home is set on Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation, an 11,000-acre game park in eastern Zimbabwe. The idea of our footprints sharing the earth with each other is why Judy is a passionate caretaker of all animals, but especially the endangered rhinos and elephants.

“I have been so blessed to have been given this chance in life to love and share my life with animals,” said Judy. “Somehow living so close to nature balances my soul.”

The Service & Safari retreat based at Imire Sable Lodge is a week of service within the local community and unique experiences with the animals focused on supporting the local anti-poaching programs. Since 2013, over 50 guests have joined me on these transformational retreats. During two of our retreats, our group was able to see two new baby rhinos that were born at Imire’s acclaimed breeding program, led by Judy’s son, Reilly Travers.

Part of your retreat fee goes towards supporting a local project benefiting the community. The retreats have provided uniforms and school fees for hundreds of children and bikes to children who walked as many as 10km to school. We’ve built housing at a local clinic so nurses could stay onsight and we’ve created a mother and baby center to make childbirth safer. The retreats provided a 10-station computer lab in a solar-powered library in the middle of the bush! For the first time ever, locals have access to computers and the internet, something that helps connect them for business, education, and research.

The Service & Safari retreat is the trip of a lifetime — and you just may find you are called to do it more than once.  Where will your footprints lead you next?

Love from Betsy

On this retreat, you’ll explore:

• Daily game drives, including fabulous lunches within the conservation park
• Three Qoya classes to get your grounded and connected to Mother Africa
•  Hikes to a sacred caves and mountaintop rituals
• Being part of the local community through a visit to the school, women’s circle, and other projects supported through the Service & Safari Retreats
• Three nourishing daily meals, afternoon tea, and sundowners.
• The secrets of the land and Mother Africa
• Daily encounters with the rhinos and ellies 
• Unplugging from technology (limited WIFI is available) so you can plug into the gifts of nature
• A visit to the Zimbabwe Elephant Nursery
• A bountiful Thanksgiving dinner and gratitude celebration in Zimbabwe

“During the Service & Safari Retreat, we stayed at Imire Conservation and met the ellies, rhinos, and the incredible people that have dedicated their lives to caring for them. These animals have all been rescued and given the chance to live their lives as peacefully and freely as possible. There are only about 400,000 African elephants left. Over 140,000 have been killed in less than a decade. Only about 5,000 Black Rhinos are left: a 96 percent decline over 20 years. Having spent time with these animals at Imire was nothing short of a miracle to us. 
— Becca, 2018 Retreat

“From working with endangered rhinos to playing with bubbles at a local school, I would do it all over a thousand times and suggest others do the same. Being welcomed with open arms not only showed me how inherently angry and aggressive our culture is, but how appreciative and happy others are.” 
— Sophie, 2013 & 2018 retreats 

Betsy Murphy is a writer and storyteller who leads transformational retreats all over the world—each one is unique and life enhancing.

Whether staying at a private chateau in France, floating over a sacred river in a bamboo pod for a writing class in Bali, picnics in stunning Cape Town wine country, or waking up to walks with rhinos and ellies in Zimbabwe, Betsy’s retreats are considered once-in-a-lifetime journeys that many people return to do again.

“Betsy has a presence as powerful as any human I have ever met but the impactful part of how she has chosen to use it. She is changing what it means to be – and how it is to be – a woman in the world.”
— Collen La Sota