A sustainable safari vacation
Overseas travel is a wonderful experience, but it can be hard to reconcile the pleasures of travel with the guilt you might feel at the environmental impact of your travel choices. In this blog, we’ll take a look at how you can travel to Africa whilst minimizing your ecological footprint, and enjoy a guilt-free sustainable safari.
Travel light
The international or long-haul flights you take to and from Africa inevitably result in significant emissions. In fact, flights are easily the most damaging aspect of your trip in terms of the impact on the environment.
If you live on a different continent, air travel is the only viable option for reaching Africa. However, you can limit your carbon footprint by taking advantage of carbon offset schemes that let you contribute to carbon credit or tree planting initiatives as part of the price of your ticket.
When traveling between destinations in Africa (especially if they are within the same region or country), going by vehicle or boat rather than by light aircraft or helicopter can also help you reduce the carbon emissions caused by your journey. Plus, it will give you more opportunities to see the landscapes and wildlife up close, the perfect way to experience a sustainable safari.
Stay green on a sustainable safari
By definition, African safari lodges and luxury camps tend to be in remote, pristine wilderness areas. This places a particular onus on the owners to consider how they operate a sustainable safari experience. We’re pleased to report that most safari companies now take the environmental impact of what they do extremely seriously.
This begins quite literally on the drawing board, with new lodges being constructed from organic, locally available materials in such a way that these materials can be removed and repurposed at the end of the property’s lifespan. As a result, sites can very quickly return to nature afterwards.
Being careful with resources
Offering a luxury safari experience is no longer incompatible with a sustainable safari green philosophy. Innovations such as solar power, re-usable water bottles and rainwater harvesting are ensuring that even the most opulent camps and lodges don’t have to negatively affect their surroundings. Today’s safari operators focus on reducing how much power and water they use, and on how much waste they generate.
Some of our favorite sustainable safari methods include the introduction of electric safari vehicles (recharged using solar energy, naturally) and using grey water to irrigate organic vegetable gardens that provide fresh seasonal ingredients for the kitchens. To browse our sustainable safari itineraries click here.
Giving back
As well as reducing the potentially negative impact of your African vacation, you can find ways to give back during your time in Africa. Many safari operators run empowerment and upliftment programs in their local communities, as well as supporting wildlife conservation and anti-poaching initiatives. During your sustainable safari, you can join researchers as they radio-track rare species, help out at a nursery growing indigenous plants for reforestation, or even teach a lesson at a local primary school.
In all these ways, you can ensure that your African safari is sustainable and not only creates lifelong memories, but helps to leave the planet in a slightly better state than you found it. To learn more about how you and your family can enjoy a sustainable safari, have a look at your two stunning itineraries Purest of Zambia or Great Plains Conservation or contact Journey Beyond today.