Botswana fly-in safari vacation

Planet

Our ground operators have been working in Botswana for many years and understand the need to ensure that they give back to the local communities and leave as small an impact on the environment as possible.

Each of the lodges you stay in actively ensure that they offer an eco-friendly experience to help maintain the habitat that both they and the wildlife around them rely on. The latest solar panel technology is installed in each of the lodges as waste is recycled where possible. This means that all glass, plastic tin and paper products are separated and delivered to a collection depot in Maun where they are sent for recycling.

Driving is a key part of any safari so they ensure that all their used engine oil is collected by Champs Botswana where it is either recycled or responsibly disposed of, helping to minimise the impact of the vehicles on the environment. By choosing a fly-in safari and flying into the various camps you considerably shorten the amount of driving needed and time spent traveling, allowing guests more time in the wilderness. Spare seats and extra hold space are used by the camps to transport their staff and freight – ensuring no extra vehicles are unnecessarily sent through the park.

Park fees, which are covered in the price you pay, go to the individual national parks you are visiting to help ensure that they are maintained and conservation practices are developed.

Our ground agents and camps only employ local, skilled guides who know the areas well and are able to sympathetically show guests around without disturbing the wildlife. The camps also help to continue traditional ways of life – for example by employing traditional ‘mokoro’ canoe polers to take guests down the waterways in the Okavango Delta – a practice that has been a way of life for many years.

People

The lodges you stay at very involved with the local community. For example, Chobe Lodge have adopted a school for children with special needs in the nearby town of Kachikau. They have supported this school since 2013 and send equipment and food to help it.

They also have a community development initiative in place where youth from the Chobe Youth Council are chosen by the lodge to go on a three month internship programme where they are given an overall experience of the hotel. They are given a schedule to follow and are exposed to each department of the hotel, they are mentored and guided by the existing employees.

Since June 2006 to date (132) youngsters have been through the programme and 39.5% of them have been employed permanently by the hotel. This project allows youngsters to obtain a skill, a certificate and a reference letter and takes them away from crime and off the streets. The lodge’s request that employees go every two weeks on a clean-up campaign of an allocated stretch of road within the parks, and assist regularly with keeping the river frontage free of litter.

All of the lodges hire local guides for the various activities they offer. For example the morning and evening game drives are conducted by knowledgeable guides from a jeep. However the camps also offer guided bush walks where guests will have a chance to explore the wilderness on foot, accompanied by a local guide who will share their knowledge and love of the area and help guests to minimise their impact on the environment they are exploring.