Lesotho and South Africa self drive tour

Environment
We follow comprehensive responsible tourism guidelines and as a sign of commitment in saving the environment we received our Carbon Neutral Status. We use accommodations that are dedicated to staff and local communities as well as the conservation of the areas in which they develop. We stay in these accommodations to assist in the growth of sustainable tourism. In this tour we have selected, where applicable, community owned or FTTSA accredited accommodation.

On this tour you add positively to the environment by paying conservation fees at the National Parks and by spending more than one night at accommodations to reduce your footprint. To help you reduce your carbon offset even more we calculate the total kilometres you have been driving. We encourage you to offset your CO2 emissions locally via Food & Trees For Africa.

Community
We are following the Empowerment B-BBEE guidelines, rated as a level 4 contributor. Our liaised, non profit 'Trust' organisation works towards awareness creation and sharing of knowledge, culture and passion. Visitors exchange skills and knowledge with the locals, help support the set up of vibrant tourist stops and community development projects. The assistance and participation, visits and feedback of visitors and volunteers creates sustenance and boosts the local economy, in turn generating direct income and employment opportunities. Together with local NGO’s and organisations, cooperation is sought for further development of the Trust, providing a network for volunteers and visitors to South Africa eventually hoping to start a helpdesk for sustainable and responsible holidays. One of the Trust's missions is to utilise all aspects of responsible tourism as a sustainable development tool for the people of southern Africa.

On this tour we work with local operators for our meet & greets, transfers and excursions and most accommodations are community owned. One of these accommodation is Bulungula Lodge, where you stay on days 11 and 12. Bulungula helped the community start a number of 100% community-owned and run businesses including horse riding, canoeing, fishing, guiding, baking, sewing, cooking, wood-carving and environmental protection projects. These have created jobs and income for 33 families over and above those employed directly at the lodge.

Obviously many of these businesses are still in their infancy and are not always as professional as you would find in the big cities - no-one in our village had any experience of tourism prior to 2004. But everyone puts their heart and soul into their new venture and as a result there is a unique, fresh edge to these activities. Besides this the lodge has run a range of fantastic HIV awareness programs and voluntary counselling and testing days in partnership with our local Madwaleni Hospital. They are soon to embark on their most ambitious project: rehabilitating the local mud school which collapsed recently. Local operators we support in this tour are Fair-trade in Tourism accredited. By participating on their township tours you can experience the diversity of townships and enjoy unbeatable African hospitality.