Southern Tanzania safari holiday
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
Our wilderness camps are seasonal camps – i.e. we remove the entire camp when the peak seasons are over to allow minimum impact on the area. With just 6 tents in each camp we minimise the number of visitors we take on safari – most of our safaris are tailor made for 2-4 people with some small groups to a maximum of 12 people.
Water is an obvious scarce resource in the bush so we encourage bucket shower use and explain ways to minimise water use in the bush at our camps. Our cooks are trained to minimise waste and wherever possible we use natural products and minimise use of packaged goods. Our guides are trained by one of the directors of the company, who is a professional safari guide, in all aspects of respect for the environment, flora and fauna and safari ‘etiquette’ including respecting the space of the animals, off road driving and ‘leave nothing but footsteps’ principles.
A key aspect for the future of the environment is education of the local communities as to potential benefits from the wildlife areas, in Ruaha we support the Ruaha Conservation Fund which has built an Environment Centre at Idodi secondary school and organises visits for school children and teachers to Ruaha. Every bednight at our Ruaha camp includes a direct contribution to RCF. In Rungwe, Lake Niassa, Uluguru Mountains and Usambara Mountains we work with local community tourism initiatives to help develop an understanding of environmental issues. We also work with Tanzania Forest Conservation Group with marketing of the less well known forest reserves of the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania as potential tourist destinations.
In 2009 we will be moving away from paper company brochures and introduce an e-brochure, accessable online. Our office in Dar es Salaam uses energy saving light bulbs, fans not air conditioning, printed material is kept to essential use only and paper is recycled .
Community
Starting in Dar es Salaam, a half day visit takes you to the Bibi Jann Day Care Centre. This is an inspiring example of how every little bit helps and the grass roots support for this primary school has changed the lives of many orphaned children and their grandmothers who exuberantly share their life experiences. Visitors bring old toys, clothes, books, school equipment and often end up sponsoring a bibi. We also campaign locally for donations whether financial or toys, etc. The developments at the school have all happened via sponsorship.
The Rungwe region has established a community tourism project and local guides show you the best hiking routes, places of local interest, tea estates and welcome you to their villages to experience daily life far from the madding crowds. Fees directly benefit several projects in the Rungwe district. The trip is organised by a Dar es Salaam based tour operator with Tanzanian guides and all accommodation used is small scale and Tanzanian operated.
