Southern Africa tour, Kruger and the kingdoms

Environment
Nature & Wildlife Protection: This trip affords countless opportunities to contribute to wildlife conservation by visiting famous national parks where some of the world’s most incredible natural attractions can be found. National parks and private reserves protect the world’s last remaining large tracts of natural forest, wildlife refuge and the planet’s biodiversity. Visiting national parks is an important way to contribute to conservation because entrance fees are the core method of funding many parks, from maintenance to security and protection from poaching. Visitors help the parks to pay staff and keep the park protected.

We will visit Kruger National Park, an area of nearly 2 million hectares, established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld (low-lying bush land). We visit Kruger National Park not only because it is unrivalled in the diversity of its life forms but also because it is a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and policies. It is home to over 145 species of mammals, and 507 species of birds, many of which cannot be found elsewhere, meaning without this park, these hundreds of species of animals could be lost forever.

In Swaziland we explore the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, the Manyeleti Game Reserve, Umfolozi Game Reserve and the St. Lucia Marine Reserve. Today the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park stands as a beacon to the efforts for conservation in South Africa. This trip gives you the chance to show your support for these efforts in conservation that are essential for preserving the planet’s natural heritage long into the future.

Low Impact Accommodation: The accommodation used on a trip can make the difference between local people receiving many benefits or none at all. It can also mean huge impacts or minimal impacts on the environment. On this trip we camp, at designated campsites in national parks and outside towns, and we also stay in thatched huts, bungalows, and small hotels. Camping is a very low-impact style of accommodation because the structures are temporary! Camping means little to no electricity consumption, low water consumption and definitely no energy sucking air conditioning! Camping in Africa is truly an adventure. You will be able to get off the beaten track to get a first-hand experience of the beautiful wilderness and nature. Just remember we will be taking everything with us that we brought to the area, and using reusable items so as to create little to no waste.

Community
Supporting the Local Culture & Economy: In addition to the wealth of opportunities to discover wildlife and nature in the several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries visited on this trip, optional activities that allow you to interact with the locals and really experience the culture are a good way (and a fun way) to make your trip have a positive impact in Southern Africa. Activities that take you to homes, markets, restaurants, and villages are vital to the local peoples’ ability to truly benefit from tourism. People in rural communities, especially in developing countries, often lack access to the economy due to their location, lack of funds, or ability to market their products. Visitors offer them the chance to supplement their income whether it’s simply by buying handicrafts, staying overnight in someone’s home, eating a meal at a family-owned restaurant, this trip makes contributing to the local economy part of the adventure. Here are some optional activities that can be incorporated into this trip for some real cultural immersion and learning experiences:

•Soweto – Soweto, neighboring Johannesberg, is the home of many great South Africans. You will find the house of former President Nelson Mandela and Nobel Peace Price winner Desmond Tutu's house in one street. Visit the 'shanty town' part of Soweto where people struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet. This is still a raw suburban life that did not change much in their way of life over the past years. After your tour go sit in a local bar 'shebeen ' for a sip of traditional mquombothi or ingudu.

•Visit a local village - Stop at the Massingir village in Mozambique and get shown around the village and learn more about how they live, grow their food, experience their culture.

•Fishing at St. Lucia - Enjoy a day out fishing in the waters of the Indian Ocean. Bring your catch home and either have it prepared by the restaurant or prepare it yourself. The left over fish can be donated to the local community.

•Umphakatze Experience (visit a cultural village) – Visit with the local Chief of this village from where she will take you on a tour and reveal to you the true Swazi culture.

Visit our Community Project: On many of our trips we offer the opportunity to visit one of the local projects we support through our non-profit foundation. Travellers can donate to any one of our projects through our “dollar-a-day” program, or at the end of a trip, but also have the chance to take part in the activities with our partners while in the area! On this trip we will be nearby one of our projects, the Shelati Pre-School where you can visit the children or volunteer for the day, and see the difference the school is making for this community.

Shelati Pre-school The Shalati Pre-School is located in the Mnisi community, near Kruger National Park and the Manyeleti Game Reserve. Over 50 children, under the age of 8, attend the pre-school. In the South African community of Shalati there are many single parent families and a vast number of orphaned children, often cared for by their grandparents. This is due in part to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Many children do not begin school until the age of eight, and receive no formal education and limited support during their early formative years. The Shalati Pre-School aims to provide children with the opportunity to begin their education, and become involved in organized activities. Donations to the Shalati Pre-School will help develop the school and it’s grounds, as well as provide more children with an opportunity to learn and play.

As a Tour operator
This company has operated on responsible tourism values since its inception. From an environmental perspective, our initiatives extend from our company offices to our tours. A local green energy provider powers our head office and stores; we encourage cleaner transportation methods for staff; and purchase all supplies from a local green business supplier. Our office is as paperless as possible and our brochures use 100% PEFC certified sustainable paper. We offset emissions from all corporate flights and our marine vessel, and encourage our travelers to do so by providing an online platform through Sustainable Travel International.

Supporting communties is and always has been at the heart of our tours. We provide business opportunities to local people by employing local guides and tour operators. The majority of accommodation used on our tours are small-scale, locally-owned hotels. Our tours mainly use public transportation wherever possible and are small in size to keep our impact on fragile sites and communities as minimal as possible. We monitor the sustainability of our tours through traveller evaluations in order to allow for continuous improvement. We support the local economy and business initiatives by visiting locally-owned shops, restaurants, and markets on our tours.

Many tours incorporate community projects as a way of supplementing community income and supporting community development projects. In 2003 we founded a non-profit organization as a way for our travellers and our company to give back to the people and places we visit. We develop community projects around the world in the areas of health, education, small business development and environmental conservation. Funds are raised through traveller donations and fundraising. The company pays all administration fees which means that 100% of each individual donation goes directly to the community projects. Each year, we continue to support and develop new partnerships with more community projects and community-based tourism initiatives worldwide, in Latin America, Asia and Africa. On most tours, including this one, you have the option to visit a project as part of your trip.

Tour leaders provide travellers with information about local environmental issues in their respective regions, and provide suggestions of how we can best protect the local environment and culture. To reduce the amount of waste created on tours, tour leaders also encourage travellers to use refillable water bottles instead of disposable plastic, cotton tote bags, reusable batteries, etc. We also include destination-specific information in our guidebooks, which are provided to each traveller including information particular to the local culture and environment and tips on how to be a responsible traveller.