Botswana wildlife adventure

Planet

On this and every tour to Botswana we place significant importance on ensuring that the wildlife and environment of this spectacular country is conserved and supported. Botswana is steadily becoming one of the world's leading ecotourism destinations and we strive to do all we can to help this to continue. One of the ways in which we can do this is to ensure that all travellers have been fully briefed in regards to travelling in an environmentally responsible way. Your pre-departure information for this trip will include advice on how you can reduce your carbon footprint, including advice on responsible use of water, a most precious commodity throughout the areas we will visit, and appropriate waste disposal.

We also ensure that all of the lodges and accommodations we use on this trip have appropriate “green” credentials and have policies in place for environmentally friendly operations. For example the owners of the Chobe Game Lodge, which will be your first stop on this exciting tour, have worked tirelessly over the last 2 decades to transform the lodge into an eco-tourism property, culminating in it being awarded the highest Ecotourism Level recognised in Botswana. Groundbreaking eco-tourism practices are in place here including the use of Africa’s first ever CO2 emission free silent electric fleet of 4X4 game-viewers & safari boats. They also boast the most advanced biogas plant of any lodge in Botswana, where over 100 kg of biodegradable waste is processed each day. Likewise, the eco-friendly credentials of Little Kwara, Lagoon Camp and Nxai Pan Camp are also impeccable, with comprehensive use of eco friendly power, hot water generation and waste water treatment, and extensive policies in place for minimising the footprint of your wildlife experience.

As a company we firmly believe that environmental responsibility starts at home (and the work place of course). We encourage recycling of waste as a company and as individuals. Where possible for business use we use public transport. We are also heavily involved with a project to recycle used or damaged binoculars, which are then sent to conservation projects across the world.

One of the most important and exciting elements of your trip to Botswana will be the numerous wildlife encounters that you can expect to experience. From big cats and numerous predators, to massive herds of elephants you will be witnessing these remarkable animals in their natural habitats and we place a huge importance on ensuring that these fascinating and beautiful creatures and their homes are protected. All of the game viewing activities you will be participating in are operated by local companies who are passionate about ensuring the ongoing survival of the country’s unique wildlife, and we are firm believers in the concept of opening up the eyes of people across the world to the ongoing fight to conserve the habitats of the country’s wildlife, which in turn will help to garner even greater support for the charities and initiatives in place. We actively encourage investment in these schemes in our pre-departure information and our locally based ground handlers recommend appropriate ways in which you can help the people of Botswana to preserve the elements that make this country so unique.

We support many wildlife organisations worldwide and further to this the ground handlers that we use for this trip are 100% committed to ensuring the ongoing protection of wildlife by supporting charities such as the Maun Animal Welfare Society which provides free veterinary treatment to low income individuals in Northern Botswana. In turn this vital service assists in preventing the spread of disease from domestic animals to the world famous Botswana wildlife population.

The pre-departure briefing on this tour will also include information on respecting the wildlife which you will encounter, including keeping a safe distance and ensuring not to encroach upon their habitats or do anything which may put the animal under any stress or danger. In most game reserves tourists are not permitted to leave their game vehicles, this is for the safety of both the tourists and the wildlife, and our local partners will ensure that the strict measures in place to conserve the habitats of this wildlife are stringently enforced.

People

Tourism in Botswana is an exceptionally important revenue stream and we take every step necessary to ensure that the tours we provide create a 100% positive impact on the communities of the regions we visit. As a company we believe in promoting tourism as a sustainable natural resource with the power to conserve, protect and improve lives, and this is particularly relevant on our Botswana itineraries.

The providers that we use for this tour are passionate about protecting the communities, wildlife and landscapes of this remarkable country. Committed to creating and upholding transparent and honest relationships with local communities and suppliers, they work tirelessly to ensure continued revenue streams for local communities and only hire local people. With established in-house training programs, mentoring systems and ongoing training our agents provide career opportunities that without the tourism aspect would not be possible. We use a local ground handler so that not only do they hold intimate knowledge of the regions and how to protect them, but also so that as much of the revenue created as possible is filtered straight through to the local communities.

Our ground handler partners are continually investing in social responsibility initiatives and support numerous local initiatives including community buses, ongoing investment in local schools and working with the Travel for Impact organisation. On top of this they also have fantastic initiatives in place for promoting the importance of keeping women in the workplace and provide funds to numerous charities including Women Against Rape (WAR) and Bana Ba Letsatsi which operates a rehabilitation centre that offers a place of safety for the terrifying number of orphaned and vulnerable children in Maun.

We are committed to ensuring that on all of our tours we only use lodges and hotels that have a proven track record of treating staff well and fairly. This is evident in all of the accommodations we use, where staff are happy and well cared for, including the Chobe Game Lodge where they have fantastic community support initiatives and staff wellness programmes. The lodge has a share profit scheme where each member of staff receives a share dividend at the end of every financial year, a youth trainee development programme, and are passionate about promoting the empowerment of women, with over 65% of the work force being female and boasting the only all-female guiding team in Africa. Little Kwara, Lagoon Camp and Nxai Pan Camp are 100% citizen-owned and pride themselves on creating long-term careers, and not just temporary jobs, for their fully local work force.

Solely using local agencies and providers means we have up to date local information and can therefore provide the most relevant information in our pre-departure literature. This includes information on on-going initiatives and community efforts that we actively encourage our customers to become involved in, including schemes to provide school children with equipment, information on cultural etiquette and advice on how to engage with and help the local communities. We offer first-hand advice on creating meaningful and respectful relationships between tourists and residents and suggest local areas and communities to visit gaining cultural insights along the way, along with advice on where to buy souvenirs (to ensure the proceeds are going directly to the vendors), where to eat & where to drink.

As a company we are proud of our principle based values which our community can always depend on. We support several home and overseas charities, organisations and campaigns including AfriCat, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), Save the Albatross, South Georgia Habitat Restoration Project, Wader Trust, Wildlife SOS India and sponsorship of individual and underprivileged children in many countries. We are committed to ethically working with overseas partners who employ and support local communities and local guides who know and love their region like no other, delighted to share knowledge and are dedicated to looking after our valued passengers.