Tanzania family camping safari

Planet

Some of our time is spent in the Selous Game reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a rich and diverse eco system with over 750,000 mammals.

We employ local tour operator. Employing local guides and operators means that not only will we have the best and most knowledgeable people for the job, but we are also supporting the local economy. Additionally we can gain a real insight into Tanzanian culture by spending time with these guides. We treat every person associated with this trip with equal respect and expect clients to do the same.
When fly camping, we employ responsible and environmentally friendly campsite procedures on which your expedition leader will brief you before you depart. By camping we have an absolute minimum impact on the environment. We take only photographs and great experiences and leave only laughter and happy memories.

To greatly reduce our impact on the environment there will be a maximum of ten team members and the itinerary is a one-off so will not be repeated. This helps to minimise the damage associated with large scale tourism. The Selous Game Reserve is run chiefly by the income tourism brings, without the money we give to the reserve, it may not be possible for them to continue preserving and protecting the wildlife – some of which is endangered. The majority of transportation is by public transport and on foot, one of the best and most unobtrusive ways to view wildlife. You will be issued with instructions as to how you can help to preserve the environment and we hope that you will follow our advice to help make a difference

People

The Selous reserve authorities have understood that to avoid conflicts with locals, who naturally want to hunt in the region, they must involve the villagers and allow them to gain from the conservation process. Consequently a Community Wildlife Management Programme has been established whereby villagers agree to create wildlife management areas on their land in return for a sustainable hunting quota. The system has proved its worth with over 50 villages participating.

Our hiring policy is driven by discovering diligent, hard-working people from the local community to work within our camps. On hiring, we train them to the highest standard and this new skill-set empowers them and offers them a new scope of employment as well offering them a steady salary and excellent medical benefits.

Buying supplies from the local community not only helps the camp lower the carbon footprint but also gives a steady trade to the growers and merchants. In Selous, we sponsored a farming project by buying them seeds, equipment, pumps and pipes so they could grow vegetables for the camps in Selous Game Reserve.

Many believe the real change in Africa will come through education and to support this Selous Safari Company had initiated several education programmes.

In Mloko, our community in Selous, we sponsored teachers with increased salaries and training. The majority of education in Tanzania is expensive, approximately $400 per year, and leads to high numbers of drop outs. For this reason at Jongomero we have raised funds to sponsor over 20 secondary school children and still financially support several 12 – 15 year olds to receive an education.