In the Tswalu reserve, visitors now set off on safaris in smaller, more fuel-efficient off-road vehicles. — KRISTIN PALITZA/dpa
Big game is not the only game in town nowadays, if you’re heading out on safari in Africa.
Instead, tour operators are talking about “soft tourism”, as nobody wants to head out in dozens of vehicles that are jostling for a brief glimpse of a leopard.
Greater environmental awareness, flight shaming and climate fears have all harmed the reputation of safari mass tourism.
These days fans of animals in the wild don’t want to see them to their detriment. Indeed they’d prefer companies put some of their revenue back into conservation.
Younger safari guests in particular are asking a lot of questions before they book and are increasingly choosing operators based on ecological criteria, says Julie Cheetham, managing director of Weeva, a platform that supports tourism companies in sustainability.
South Africa is a pioneer in eco-safaris, Cheetham says. She sees a major shift in the way people think in the safari sector.
Many safari companies, keen to help guests enjoy nature without hurting what they have come to see, put money into environmental projects, combat poaching and look to offset emissions.
Eco-safaris are increasingly popular, where people stay in sustainable accommodation, meaning lodges made of sustainable materials, rather than colonial-style cement and brick buildings, Cheetham says.
Take the new Tswalu Loapi Camp in the Kalahari desert in northern South Africa, which is built mainly from local wood and canvas, stands on stilts, and has raised walkways. Small animals and reptiles can find shelter below. And the structure barely affects the soil, says Prince Ngomane, head of sustainability at the Tswalu Foundation.
The camp is powered by solar energy, and uses rainwater for showers. There are no plastic bottles or garbage bags, disposable packaging or plastic wrap.
For its lodges in Kruger National Park, Safari operator Singita did not even lay water pipes underground, but neatly hid them below raised walkways. — ROSS COUPER/Singita/dpa
The restaurant offers seasonal cuisine using ingredients from local suppliers whenever possible. Safari operator Singita takes a similar approach with the lodges it runs in Kruger National Park. It did not even lay water pipes underground for Singita Lebombo and Singita Sweni lodges, but neatly hid them below raised walkways.
“The thinking behind it is that the camp could be removed tomorrow and you’d have no idea that once something was there,” says Andrea Ferry, Singita’s sustainability coordinator.
She says Singita does not import building materials or furniture from abroad, that come with a high carbon price tag.
Many eco-safari operators now work out the energy and water consumption of each guest and invest in climate projects to compensate.
Options range from reforestation to climate-friendly stoves for impoverished communities – and they also offer guests the chance to offset the carbon emissions of their flights.
That focus has helped Tswalu, a 114,000ha reserve, become a carbon-positive protected area that offsets more than it emits.
Tswalu is part of The Long Run initiative founded by German entrepreneur Jochen Zeitz, an alliance of dozens of resorts actively committed to sustainability and conservation.
The reserve sequesters 13.5 tons of carbon per year, says sustainability manager Ngomane. “We use only about a quarter of what we offset. The rest remains as a carbon positive reserve.”
Other eco-providers, including Singita, also promise guests a carbon-neutral stay, or document their focus on sustainability. Some eco lodges list the carbon footprint of individual dishes, for example, says Cheetham.
Electric mobility also has its place in this green new world. Solar-powered luxury lodge Cheetah Plains in South Africa’s Kruger Park uses evehicles that recharge their batteries with solar energy.
That saves a lot of exhaust gas, says marketing manager Peter Dros, as each safari vehicle in the private reserve covers around 32,000km a year.
Even better, e-cars are quiet, so guests are better able to hear the sounds of birds and wildlife, Dros says. Like Tswalu, Cheetah Plains also has a negative carbon footprint. Anyone who spends three nights here automatically offsets their international flight, he adds.
Many other lodges are testing eterrain vehicles, but edriving presents some challenges, as safaris can involve further distances than batteries can cover.
There aren’t many charging stations in the middle of the savannah, says Cheetham. Plus, dust and sand can be a problem for electric motors. Tswalu started out by buying four smaller conventional safari vehicles, which at least consume less fuel.
Other options are going on foot, horseback or bicycle – all options people want, says Cheetham. Guests, no longer protected by a vehicle, instead rely all the more on experienced rangers who carry loaded rifles, just in case of an emergency.
Solar energy for electricity and shady walkways for small animals are among the environmental innovations at the Tswalu Loapi Camp in the Kalahari desert.
That means the travellers feel more as though they are part of nature, not just observers. “A walking safari gives you a totally different perspective of the wilderness. Suddenly, you are right in the middle,” says Ngomane.
The industry used to focus far more on profits. Suppliers exploited nature without a thought for the long-term consequences.
It is the tourists who are driving the change, as for many, climate is the key factor when it comes to making a booking, says Cheetham.
The Londolozi lodge in the northeastern Sabi Sands reserve reinvests a fixed percentage of its annual revenue in conservation. Each guest indirectly pays for the protection of six rhinos, helps send eight children to school and trains one adult, for each night they stay, the website says.
Tswalu is a prime example of ecosafaris. In 2021, the reserve’s owners spent 86% of their total investment on conservation, habitat rehabilitation and anti-poaching.
Tswalu is also home to a climate change research project involving scientists from universities across South Africa.
Lepogo Lodge in South Africa’s Limpopo Province goes a step further as a not-for-profit company that plows 100% of its profits back into conservation, it says.
Named after the Sotho word for cheetah, Lepogo focuses on reintroducing and protecting cheetahs. In also runs conservation projects for endangered roan antelope, white and black rhino, and Cape buffalo.
“Because a safari product is essentially nature, it makes complete sense that they are the frontrunners in conservation,” says Ferry. – KRISTIN PALITZA/dpa
