Wilderness 2024: A year of growth and impact

Guided by our impact pillars – Educate, Empower, and Protect – our efforts this year built upon what is already a magnitude of conservation and developments projects across Africa. New and exciting initiatives, such as the Wilderness Ngamo Livestock Farm and Vocational Centre in Zimbabwe, will further amplify this powerful force for change.

Children in the Wilderness, the flagship programme within our Educate pillar, has grown from strength to strength this year through its expansion into East Africa. With this new addition, the programme is now operational in nine different African countries – a truly remarkable feat.

At a time when biodiversity is under threat and species are disappearing at an unprecedented rate, we were thrilled to discover a new one this year – a bullfrog! Found at Wilderness Mombo, this species has been named the Beytell’s bullfrog (Pyxicephalus beytelli) in honour of the late Ben Beytell. This marks the most significant frog discovery in 104 years!

We marked the first anniversary of Wilderness Usawa, our mobile operation in the Serengeti, and reflected on what has been a successful year-and-a-half since our launch in Tanzania.

This year, we had the privilege of revitalising Wilderness Tubu Tree and Little Tubu camps. Located in Botswana’s wildlife-rich Jao Reserve, these iconic safari camps have been thoughtfully redesigned to offer guests an enhanced, intimate bush experience amidst one of Africa's most pristine wilderness areas.

One of our proudest moments this year was the complete overhaul of Wilderness Desert Rhino Camp in the Palmwag Concession of Namibia.  Once a field station dedicated to protecting black rhinos, it is now a thriving 21-year community conservancy partnership that offers an exclusive desert sanctuary where guests can track these Critically Endangered animals on foot.  We couldn’t be happier with how this reimagined camp has turned out, and are extremely proud of what it stands for – a compelling story of conservation and community.

After much anticipation, we opened the one-of-a-kind Wilderness Mokete, offering a unique experience in the remote wilds of Botswana's Mababe. From a remarkable cheetah and wild dog encounter, to lions hunting giraffe, the sightings here have already thrilled those who have visited and anyone following along on our social channels. We are sure there will be much more excitement to come from this epic new safari destination.

One of our standout moments this year was the opening of Wilderness Bisate Reserve, the brand-new sister camp to multi-award-winning Wilderness Bisate – and now the grandest way to see the gorillas. Opened in October 2024, Bisate Reserve was a build of monumental proportions, reflecting the high level of luxury it provides. With no detail overlooked in its design, it stands out as one of the finest luxury lodges in Rwanda for gorilla trekking. A lodge truly reserved for connoisseurs of conservation.

 As 2024 unfolded, it became clear that Southern Africa was facing one of its most severe droughts in decades, due to a significant lack of rainfall. Millions of people are currently facing food insecurity. As custodians of many of the affected wilderness areas, we recognise our responsibility to support our partner communities in this time of crisis. In an ongoing campaign through the southern hemisphere summer, we are distributing thousands of emergency food parcels to our partner communities across Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana, having started in October. Learn more about this effort below.

In November of this year, we proudly launched the new website for the Wilderness Trust, our non-profit organisation dedicated to raising and distributing funds for conservation and development in Africa. With this new platform, we have increased donors' accessibility to our impact projects, and provided a transparent, end-to-end contribution process. 

Alongside the launch of the new Wilderness Trust website, we are thrilled to announce the launch of the inaugural Wilderness Impact Challenge, an innovative initiative aimed at advancing wildlife conservation and rural development. With a USD100,000 prize to help bring the winning idea to life, this inspiring challenge builds on Wilderness' long-standing commitment to conserving Africa’s rich biodiversity, while addressing the urgent need for creative solutions to human-wildlife conflict.