We operate camps and safaris in Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Seychelles and are run by a group of likeminded wildlife enthusiasts who came together to build a successful safari business, delivering a unique experience for guests, fair returns for shareholders and stakeholders, while ensuring that southern Africa’s pristine wilderness areas remain sustainably protected.

Our wildlife, marine and cultural safaris in remote and pristine wilderness destinations are specialised, educational, explorative, and fun. Camps and services are safe, authentic and insightful of guests’ needs.

The private concessions that we manage offer some of Africa’s most impressive and untouched wildlife experiences. We are privileged to operate on nearly three million hectares (seven million acres) of southern Africa’s best wildlife and wilderness reserves. The idea of space to breathe – the wilderness experience – becomes clear when we consider that Wilderness provides almost 4 000 hectares (9 800 acres) of private land per bed – or 7 500 hectares (18 500 acres) per room. This privacy and space is what makes our operation unique and special.

Recognising that conservation is as much about people as about the environment, we have pursued important goals through our Children in the Wilderness programme, as well as through the Wilderness Safaris Wildlife Trust, which have helped change the face of nature-based tourism in southern Africa.

Children in the Wilderness is a non-profit organisation that aims to restore a sense of hope, ambition and the possibility of a bright and productive future to southern African youth. This is achieved by hosting disadvantaged children for a week at a time in a safe and natural environment where nature becomes the teacher and healer.

Wilderness Safaris Wildlife Trust supports a wide variety of projects in southern Africa, within the categories of wildlife management, research and education. These projects address the needs of existing wildlife populations, seek solutions to save endangered species and provide education and training for local people and their communities.

believes that its single most important achievement to date is to have built a sustainable business model that does not compromise environmental principles and which provides jobs, training, skills, careers, adjusted horizons, hope and a realistic alternative to less sustainable development.

As a conservation organisation and a nature tourism operator, we believe that responsible ecotourism is the most effective and practical means to ensure the viability and sustainability of African conservation in the modern era. We are serious about what we do and believe in our vision of contributing meaningfully to conservation. We view our role in conservation in Africa as:

• Ensuring sustainable conservation of carbon sinks and biodiversity through the creation of viable ecotourism businesses either within formally protected areas or on community- or privatelyowned land without formal protection.
• Ensuring that ecotourism remains the chosen alternative in an economic sense to less sustainable industries such as mining, agriculture, farming, hydroelectric schemes and others that irrevocably damage biodiversity, wilderness and ecosystem processes.
• Creating a profitable, ethical and responsible business that others can imitate and implement in regions where we are not active or cannot make a difference ourselves.

We understand this role as that of building sustainable conservation economies.

In order to most effectively coordinate our conservation activities, we have separated out three key elements of our environmental and conservation strategy. These three elements together are a cohesive and coordinated approach to achieving a meaningful and sustainable conservation model twinned with the financial viability provided by a responsible ecotourism business:

Operational Sustainability

The management of our frontand back-of-house operations in the most sustainable and environmentally sensitive way possible, through the use of minimum standards, measurement, efficiencies, renewable energy technologies and education of our staff and guests to ensure the lowest possible carbon footprint.

Caring for, educating and empowering people

People are at the heart of our business. Looking back we are thankful that the people who have joined us on this journey truly believe in what we are doing. We understand that our people are in every aspect the vital link between our guests, our partners and the wilderness.

By engaging with our rural community partners in an honest, mutually beneficial and dignified way, this ensures sustainability beyond the lifespan and aegis of our organisation, and delivers a meaningful and life-changing share of the proceeds of responsible ecotourism to all stakeholders.

Our commitment to our people is to invest in their health and development. Our HIV programme is unique in the tourism industry. We also offer extensive training and have influential social outreach projects such as the Children in the Wilderness programme.

Biological Diversity

The measurement and understanding of our biodiversity footprint and its management, and where relevant the enhancement of indigenous species richness through reintroductions, research projects – in short, the fulfilling of our obligations as custodians of 3 million hectares of wild areas in southern Africa.

It is with these three strategic pillars that the Wilderness business model of generating profits through the development of sustainable conservation economies aims to take the business to new heights.

Botswana’s wild areas – the Okavango Delta, Linyanti and Selinda Reserves and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve – are considered the spiritual ‘soul’ of Wilderness Safaris, representing as it does our history, our roots and much of our inspiration.

The importance of visitors and tourism to the sustainability of Botswana’s magnificent wildlife and conservation areas cannot be overstated. Approximately 60% of all the people who live in northern Botswana are employed in some aspect of the wildlife and tourism industry, an industry which is now the second largest contributor to the GDP of the country. The presence of camps such as our own and the protection afforded by the concessions in which we operate, has had a spectacular impact on the sustainable conservation of all the animals and plants that live here. A case in point: white and black rhino, poached to extinction in Botswana some time ago have, thanks to a joint project between the Botswana government and Wilderness Safaris, been returned to their integral place in the hierarchy of wild Botswana.

By far the most important facet of our conservation-based activities is the sustainable protection and security of the land we operate on, but there are also other initiatives on which we focus our attention: research, monitoring and re-establishment of priority species being a few. To this end, five permanent staff members fulfil the function of Conservation and Environment Officers for Wilderness Safaris in Botswana.

As a result and in recognition of the fact that in the Selinda and Linyanti Concessions Wilderness Safaris is responsible for one of the two highest-density elephant concentrations in the country, we have facilitated and partially funded two MSc studies examining vegetation impact and are currently hosting a PhD and further MSc researcher examining additional elements of this puzzle.

Without the cooperation, support and understanding of local communities that adjoin concession areas, national parks and reserves, conservation would have a far more limited chance of success. Since 1983 Wilderness Safaris has led the field in terms of recognising that the involvement of communities in conservation and tourism is not only ethically right, but also presents its own set of opportunities, both for the sustainability of conservation and also its expansion into areas previously not available or considered for the purpose.

In Botswana we are particularly proud of our partnership with the Okavango Community Trust (OCT) in the Kwedi Concession where we operate Vumbura Plains and Little Vumbura camps. The 90 000ha concession is leased from the OCT which represents approximately 5 000 people in five key villages on the border of this conservation area; members of this community make up the bulk of the staff employed by Wilderness Safaris. Benefits to the community are not limited to employment, a lease fee and a share of revenue, but in fact extend to a variety of social services such as HIV/ AIDS counselling and a number of projects around local crafts which have been put in place to mutually benefit the community and the camps.

Ecotourism needs welltrained staff to ensure that the environment comes first. Our Kaparota training camp deals with management training, guide training and general staff training; mediums range from dedicated courses for previously unemployed members of the community with no tourism experience, to specialised departmental workshops for existing staff, to the two-year management training programme which includes placement in Wilderness Safaris camps. A total of 800 people are employed in Wilderness Safaris camps in Botswana, more than 90% of which are from local communities.

Children in the Wilderness programme has youngsters from all over Botswana, particularly from communities neighbouring conservation areas, hosted in functioning guest camps (which are closed to paying guests for this period) where they stay for a week at a time and receive both social and environmental education. More than 100 children are hosted in these camps each year with follow-up visits in the communities and villages on the Delta’s edge during the course of the year. A member of staff dedicated to Children in the Wilderness is permanently employed at the Wilderness Safaris office in Maun, while the entire staff compliment gets involved every year as volunteers in the CITW program.

Wilderness Safaris operates several private concessions in Botswana where our guests are able to have exclusive experiences and safaris. The many varied activities on offer include game drives and night drives by vehicle as well as wildlife viewing by boat and dugout canoe (mokoro) which are ideal ways to see the water areas. Walks (at the discretion of the camp manager) are unsurpassed for being in touch with nature. Hides offer a great way to enjoy wildlife viewing and birding, especially during those midday siesta hours.

In order to host our guests, and therefore ensure the sustainable protection of the wilderness areas in which we operate, we have built a selection of small intimate safari camps across southern Africa. Of paramount importance to us is that our camps cause as little impact on the environment as possible. This is relevant not only during the building process, but also during dayto- day operating and takes into account all elements of environmental impact, from the visual and aural implications, to effects on soil, the water table, vegetation, game movement, and so on.

Wilderness Safaris camps are divided into three types guiding your safari experience: Premier, Classic and Safari Adventure Company, a company within the Wilderness Group that came about as the result of partnerships between Wilderness Safaris and various local communities in southern Africa’s prime wildlife and wilderness areas.

Premier Wilderness Camps

This is the highest level of camps in our portfolio and comprises our most elegant and stylised accommodation. These camps combine luxury, superbly designed architecture with the warm comforts of home and personal service. Each Premier Camp has its own individual style, as well as additional features such as salas for a soothing midday siesta. Each unit has an ensuite bathroom, with an outdoor shower ‘under the stars.’ For those who want to keep active, some have gyms, and all offer in-room massage therapy.

Classic Wilderness Camps

Many of the Classic Wilderness camps’ tents are raised off the ground with interconnecting walkways. All tents have ensuite bathrooms and most have outdoor showers to complement the experience.

Safari Adventure Company Camps

The Safari Adventure Company brand was born out of a need for an authentic backto- basics experience that is aimed at everyone from nature enthusiasts to young-at-heart travellers and families. The camps are slightly larger than those of Wilderness Safaris, consisting of smaller yet comfortable en-suite canvas and thatch tents with rustic finishes. The emphasis in each camp though is on its communal area, a convivial place to relax and enjoy good food and excellent company, the outcome being an active, involved and vibrant safari experience.