Conservation Safaris in Africa

How you contribute

‘Every dollar we, and our guests, pay to governments and communities contributes to the conservation economy,’ notes Vince Shacks, Wilderness Group Head of Impact. ‘These payments give economic value to wildlife, support rural livelihoods, and help make conservation a viable, long-term solution – while allowing us to share some of the most extraordinary places on Earth with our guests.’

Children in the Wilderness

Over 20 years ago we founded Children in the Wilderness (CITW), a programme offering environmental education, leadership development and life skills training, to children from remote villages neighbouring our areas of operation. To date, CITW has enriched the lives of thousands of children in 10 countries, inspiring the next generation of environmentalists.

The Wilderness Trust

The Wilderness Trust is an independent entity created to extend our reach and capacity to support deserving conservation initiatives. This partnership has driven projects in wildlife research, conservation education, human-wildlife coexistence, and anti-poaching. The Trust also supports students and schools via grants and bursaries, with our CITW programme as one of its beneficiaries.

Lycaon pictus

African wild dogs

Through the conservation of wildlife corridors, we help protect Botswana’s 1,000+ Endangered wild dogs. The Wilderness Trust also supports The Mara Predator Conservation Programme in Kenya, which protects vulnerable predator populations like wild dogs through human wildlife coexistence initiatives, and empowering local communities to become environmental stewards.

Rhinocerotidae

Rhinos

Our presence in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park helps protect the area’s endangered white rhino population, and we work closely with the Rwandan Development Board to assist in anti-poaching initiatives. Three thousand kilometres south-west of Akagera, we also work with Namibia’s Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) in Namibia to help protect the world’s last free-roaming black rhino population.

Panthera leo

Lions

In partnership with Botswana non-profit, CLAWS Conservancy (Communities Living Among Wildlife Sustainably), Wilderness provides a logistical and physical presence, as well as monitoring and additional collaring where needed to help protect lions in the north-eastern Delta, as well as promote human-wildlife coexistence in the Okavango Community Trust areas neighbouring Wilderness Vumbura Plains.

Parahyaena brunnea

Brown hyena

To see a brown hyaena is truly special. As secretive, solitary scavengers mostly active at night, the only signs they leave behind for the morning light, are footprints. Researcher Emsie Vervey has spent many years discovering this species based out of Wilderness Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp in Namibia.

Conservation education

At Wilderness Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, you can learn all about the rare brown hyena, as well as desert-adapted elephant and lions, from our dedicated on-site researchers who have been tracking and monitoring the local wildlife for years.

Tree planting

At Wilderness Bisate and Bisate Reserve, you can plant a native sapling during your stay and contribute to our ever-expanding reforestation work in Rwanda. On a back-of-house tour at Wilderness Toka Leya, you can also participate in the camp’s tree-planting project, which has helped rehabilitate formerly degraded land into a lush riverine woodland once more.

Philanthropy

Many of our loyal guests have become donors to the Wilderness Trust to aid us in our mission to protect and expand the world’s wilderness. Others have made direct donations to specific Impact projects that resonate with them.

Namibia

Our work in Namibia includes supporting vital research on desert-adapted species, monitoring Critically Endangered black rhino in partnership with the Save the Rhino Trust, restoring degraded ecosystems, and partnering with far-flung rural communities to improve access to essential services like healthcare and education.

Rwanda

Reforestation, community upliftment and partnerships, and upskilling Rwandan safari guides reflect our purpose in Rwanda. All is made possible through collaboration with our dedicated local partners.

Zambia

We’ve pioneered conservation tourism in Zambia since 2005, helping to protect the biodiversity of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park near Victoria Falls, and Kafue National Park’s spectacular Busanga Plains. Our year-round presence in the Busanga Plains provides logistical and financial support towards managing the country’s largest and most diverse national park, and local anti-poaching activities.

Zimbabwe

Wilderness is proud to have directly supported the Scorpion Anti-Poaching Unit (SAPU) since 2012, working in partnership with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. SAPU’s operations remove fewer and fewer snares each year – testament to an improvement in local economies, effective educational efforts, and a successful partnership with the communities bordering the park.

Tanzania

We work with the Tanzania National Parks Authority in the Serengeti and Monduli districts, through its Ujirani Mwema outreach initiative, to drive positive change in human-wildlife coexistence in local communities bordering protected areas. As part of this effort, CITW conducts monthly conservation workshops in collaboration with schools and neighbouring villages.

Kenya

Wilderness currently works with numerous partners across Kenya, in the Masai Mara and Great Rift Valley regions. We’re involved in a wide range of community and conservation projects – from predator and pangolin, elephant and raptor conservation, to several Maa community initiatives – promoting coexistence for people and wildlife.

Choosing camps

Our impact-related activities differ from camp to camp, so be sure to let your Travel Designer know what kind of conservation work you’re interested in. They will help you select the perfect place to see our impact in action.

Combining experiences

Our camps offer a variety of activities in the wild, from game drives and boating to helicopter flips, and sleeping under the stars. Each adventure offers a chance to witness conservation in action. Let us know what your dream safari looks like and we’ll curate an itinerary that touches on all of your interests.