Tawanda Kanhema, a 37-year-old Zimbabwean traveled all the way back from the US to Zimbabwe to highlight the beautiful parts of his home country. While many of us might know Zimbabwe for their cricket team, Kanhema’s efforts will allow everyone to experience Zimbabwe’s magic in Street View and who knows one day might inspire them to visit the place.
Kanhema, a graduate of the University of California, Berkley, undertook this journey to show different parts of Zimbabwe that are not so popular. His hard work saw him cover over 500 miles in just 2 weeks. He was able to cover many places including the malls, Christmas pass, and the Great Zimbabwe monument.
In his interview for CNET, he revealed that the journey cost him around $5000 and was entirely self-financed. However, Google and Insta360 provided the Insta360 Pro 2 through the camera loan program. He revealed that his camera gear consisted of Insta360 Pro 2 and a GoPro Fusion. The reason for using the Insta360 Pro 2 was that it was a Street View ready camera, so he could upload the footage right away while you need to have scripts if you want to use GoPro. Insta360 Pro was used to shoot 12k and 8k video while the GoPro was limited to 6k stills and 5.7k video.
Kanhema also covered the Zambezi river which he particularly liked. To cover the river, Kanhema had to mount the camera to the bow of a speedboat. He was able to capture the sunset, wildlife and the exquisiteness of the river.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the story is the effort, how one man went all in to honor his country. He talked about how the camera limited him a speed of just 37 miles and how he drove for 8 hours every day for 10 straight days. His passion for his country is remarkable.
Pakistan is filled with beautiful landmarks and there are a lot of people who have the skill to put Pakistan on a global platform. All that is required is the courage and persistence, let’s hope that Kanhema’s efforts inspire Pakistanis to do something similar for their country.
