We are so lucky to travel to the most beautiful parts of the world.

And we never underestimate the responsibility we have to preserve the wilderness for the future.

There is hardly a property anywhere that does not claim to care about the environment these days. But there is a difference between marketing and conservation and to help you choose the camps we consider our favorite shade of green we have picked the best camps for conservation in every country below.

Tanzania

What do you get when you mix the precision of Swiss analytics with French flair?

The bliss that is Chem Chem.

A property that does not only bring joy and travel wish fulfillment to the lucky visitors it receives but one that was meticulously created from nothing to serve the environment, the community and the wildlife.

It is sustainable future protection at its finest.

The delicate ecosystem of Tanzania is a leitmotif that runs through everything Chem Chem offers its guests, donors, and community. Ensuring an unbreakable connection to the pristine wilderness of Tarangire-Manyara.

Nicolas and Fabia have worked from the very beginning of Chem Chem to create an inclusive environment with communities always invited to the table when decisions needed to be made.

They made time to learn about the daily challenges herders face to protect their precious livestock from lions and other predators. The perceived threat from wildlife, in a place where the loss of a crop could be a matter of life and death, was carefully considered and respected.

Chem Chem supplies predator-proof bomas to protect livestock. It monitors lion movement, educates and persuades elephants to return to the reserve.

This Lion Sentinel program is ongoing.

The Chem Chem anti-poaching project focuses on the immediate need to protect targeted animals by supplying equipment, manpower, and training.

As the Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem now provides safe refuge for elephants it is currently home to the largest concentrations in Tanzania and the highest number of big tuskers in the country. Aerial patrols and training anti-poaching teams in state-of-the-art techniques are being planned.

The area is home to a number of culturally rich but under-resourced villages.

  • Chem Chem is committed to supporting local schools and providing transport for children who need to reach outlying areas. It also provides English courses for youth and women and a Marketplace and a Literacy course for women.

  • The Chem Chem soccer tournament is a famous exercise in community interaction and social involvement

  • Giving the chance to expand knowledge and skills to amplify opportunities to as many people as possible, Chem Chem aims to include all 10 villages across the WMA in their education and living conditions support.

  • The goal is to empower the Tarangire communities to take ownership of the process to preserve the land that they own.


Kenya

The Craig/Douglas family started a cattle ranch in Lewa Downs in 1922. Half a century later they were the first private ranch in Kenya to start hosting visitors.

Since 1972, the ranch has slowly transformed itself from farm to an internationally renowned not-for-profit wildlife conservancy.

Always leave room for wildlife
– Alec Douglas (Will Craig’s grandfather)

When David and Delia Craig retired in 1990 their son Will and his wife Emma took over the running of the family home which functions as a very unique and personal safari lodge.

Today the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy consists of 62,000 acres of conserved land filled with over 70 different animal and 350 bird species.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy provides a safe haven for a wide variety of wildlife and is particularly famous for its rhino and Grevy zebra programs. It is home to 12% of black rhino in Kenya and has the single largest population of Grevy Zebra in the world.

In the early eighties, the Craig’s were approached by their friend Anna Merz who was horrified by the sharp decline in Rhino (from 20,000 to a few hundred in 15 years). Anna wanted to build a rhino sanctuary and by 1986 the Craigs set aside 5,000 acres of land for the Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary.

Less than a decade later the entire ranch became a conservancy.

The Craig family always knew that local community support would be critical. They continue to have a number of initiatives such as micro-credit schemes, water projects, and education and healthcare projects that the LWC is involved with to aid community development. They also set up the Lewa Education Programme to assist with a great local education. It now sponsors 18 schools and a total of 6000 students.

It is little surprise that East Africa’s first Electric Safari Car has made its appearance at Lewa Wilderness. Opibus removed the diesel engine and fuel tanks from a standard Toyota Land Cruiser replacing them with an electric motor and battery packs.

This makes for entirely silent and completely unobtrusive game viewing.

Magic no?


South Africa

The oldest private game reserve in South Africa was formed in 1934. It is the birthplace of sustainable wildlife tourism in Southern Africa.

In the Sabi Sand Reserve, a new lodge is brand new out of the box.

And we are liking it a lot.

Reflecting the personal taste and style of owner Japie van Niekerk the concept and design is unique. From locally sourced linen to heated swimming pools in exclusive use luxurious bushveld houses Cheetah Plains offers an incredibly spoiling property.

The architecture is state-of-the-art, the game viewing happens in totally silent, private electric game viewing vehicles and you have a designated field guide, private chef gym, and spa therapists.

Japie dreamt of sharing an unforgettable corner of Africa in surroundings that were designed and appointed by lauded African Designers and artists. It is a private sanctuary in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve sharing 31 miles (50 km) of the boundary in the south-west corner of The Kruger National Park.

The game viewing is extraordinary. The Sabi River and the Sand river cross Sabi Sand and this has resulted in an abundance of leopard, lion, rhino, elephant, buffalo, cheetah, zebra, giraffe, hyena and a wide variety of antelope and other species.

To date 330 trees, 45 fish, 30 amphibia, 110 reptiles, 500 bird and 145 mammal species have been noted in Sabi Sand. A number of endangered species have also made the reserve their home, and visitors to the area are often given a rare glimpse of Honey Badgers, Ground Hornbills, and Wild Dogs.

Cheetah Plains is involved in environmental management such as alien plant control, combating erosion, monitoring wildlife, anti-poaching and fire control. It is clear that they are passionate about conservation, community upliftment, eco-friendly initiatives, and sourcing products produce and infrastructure locally, while still maintaining the highest possible standards.

They contribute to the creation of jobs and the promotion of South Africa’s exceptional craftsmanship, world-class design, and quality manufacturing.

Japie van Niekerk has a habit of putting his money where his conservation heart is.

And we find that quite irresistible in Safari property.


Namibia

Once upon a time, the Skeleton Coast stretched along all the shores of Namibia. Today it is only the stretch between the Kunene and Ugab River that goes by this name. The reserve declared there in 1971 is tasked with protecting almost a third of all of Namibia’s coastline.

It is vast and forbidding, with treacherous weather, rough surf, and shifting shores. And yet…
Life flourishes here. Elephants, lions, brown hyenas, birds and other desert-adapted wildlife call this place home.

And now, between the Hoarusib and Hoanib rivers in the Skeleton Coast National Park, and only 45 km from Möwe Bay you will also find Shipwreck Lodge.

Along the sand dunes, ten cabins, built to resemble the skeletons of the shipwrecks the coast is famous for, are spread out to make the most of the spectacular Atlantic Ocean views.

Fall asleep to a wood fire… wake up to a very light footprint with eco-friendly solar powered amenities.

In 1998 the first four communal conservancies were established as a model for economic survival and growth within this unsympathetic rural setting.

This resulted ultimately in increasing wildlife numbers, income, and employment.

Shipwreck Lodge is partnered with the Puros Conservancy (est. May 2000) and the Sesfontein Conservancy (est. July 2003), predominantly made up of Ovahimba and Herero people. This gives Shipwreck Lodge the opportunity to recruit lodge staff from these conservancies and assist in sustaining multiple households. They have also purchased 4×4 vehicles to assist the conservancies in their wildlife and environmental management efforts.

The Conservancies (self-governing, democratic entities run by members with fixed boundaries) are paid a monthly fee based on turnover giving them a vested interest in the overall success of the lodge.

Shipwreck Lodge affords you a chance to explore this impossibly remote and rugged slice of African Wilderness in sublime comfort.


Botswana

In April of 2017, Natural Selection opened Sable Alley in the Khwai Concession, in a private wildlife reserve, on the border of Moremi Game Reserve.

Sable Alley is a testament to the success of the hunting ban.

Khwai was formerly a hunting concession and Natural Selection has worked hard to transform the area through spending a full year tracking wildlife and habituating animals to the vehicles. Wildlife sightings swiftly turned around within two or three years following the hunting ban. Now it is possible to see over 50 species in a single game drive from leopard, an abundance of elephants, herds of buffalo, lion, cheetah and wild dog to baboons, sable and roan antelope. And the lodge offers morning, afternoon and night drives.

Marvelous vistas over the lagoon and flood plains can be enjoyed from ten spacious twin and two family tents- all solar powered. And you will have world-class game viewing without leaving camp.

You may also opt for one of the Khway Skybeds to spend a night overlooking a waterhole.

The Camp is partnered with the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust to investigate the leopard population and the partnership is supported by a percentage of turnover.


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