Cape Town to Vic Falls vacation in Southern Africa

Planet

Accommodation & Meals:
Most nights on this trip will be spent in fully service camps, whilst the remainder will be in guesthouses and small hotels. By mainly camping, we reduce our energy consumption and negative effect on the environment. These sites, often being based within or nearby National Parks, are extremely conscious of litter disposal and try to use gas fires instead of limited wood resources. All breakfasts, 10 lunches and 12 dinners are provided and your local guide and chef will use fresh, locally sourced ingredients where possible. We can arrange for meals out together or recommend restaurants nearby as a means of encouraging local investment and celebration of African cuisine.

Wildlife:
We do a number of activities focused on wildlife and we actively ensure that our guides are well informed and able to convey environmental knowledge to clients. Etosha National Park, for example, is home to a great variety and number of game. There are waterholes next to the excellent campsites, and it is not uncommon for us to spend all night watching a gala performance of animals: wildebeest, zebra, impala, springbok, kudu, elephant, giraffe, lion and even rhino are all common sights. Our entrance fees to Etosha and other places like this on our itinerary, are a vital contribution to park maintenance, conservation activities, community projects, and employment of local people.

UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

People

Local Craft & Culture:
Throughout the tour, there are opportunities to appreciate Southern African culture and to purchase traditional, handmade crafts. One of the best places to do this might be at the end of the tour when we visit the big craft center at the entrance to Victoria Falls, or at the Twyfelfontein engravings. Here a variety of shop owners come to sell their painted wooden trinkets, instruments and jewellery etc. We encourage clients to support local businesses like this as a way of boosting the economy of local communities. We are also aware that some items sold are made with illegal or environmentally damaging products and so leaders are careful to give a warning in a briefing about things like ivory and large items made from local hardwood.

Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.