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You’ve booked your safari in the Kruger. Now what? We share some practical hints and tips to ensure you get the most out of your self-drive safari experience in the Kruger.

Driving on unfamiliar roads in a foreign country can be a daunting thought, but just following these simple guidelines will help to make your driving experience a more pleasant and relaxed one.

• We recommend driving during daylight hours when it is easier to navigate unfamiliar roads. Some South African rural roads may not have street lighting and its therefore particularly important to take note of potholes and wild animals, especially when navigating roads in the Kruger.
• Take note of gate opening and closing times allowing adequate travelling time to avoid arriving at your entry gate after closing time.
• Always take note of posted speed limits and park regulations.
• Stay on designated roads and tracks
• Do not off-road.

If you find that you are still travelling at sunset or after sunset, and feel unsure, contact our Customer Care Centre on +27 275 3500 for assistance.

Going on safari?

Although there are pro’s to doing a self-drive game drive, including doing the drive at your own leisure, and not having to travel with strangers, there are also a number of reasons we recommend you book a professional game drive with us.

Going on a game drive or walk with a ranger can be a highly rewarding and educational experience. Rangers are trained experts who can enhance your wildlife safari experience in several ways:

• Game rangers have extensive knowledge about the local flora and fauna, including animal behavior, habitats, and migration patterns. They can help you spot and identify animals that you might have missed on your own.
• Game rangers are trained in wildlife safety and are skilled in reading animal behavior. They can keep you safe by ensuring you maintain a safe distance from potentially dangerous animals and by providing guidance on how to react in various situations. They know when it is safe to approach animals for a better view, including how to best position the vehicle for the best viewing experience.
• Many rangers are skilled trackers who can follow animal footprints which can significantly increase your chances of encountering elusive animals.
• If you’re staying outside of the Park, you’ll be driven into the Park by your ranger maximising your game drive time experience.
• If conservation is important to you, by participating in a game drive or walk with a ranger, you are indirectly supporting conservation efforts, as the fees you pay for guided tours often contribute to wildlife conservation and habitat protection. rangers will also often share information about conservation efforts, threats to wildlife and teach guests about the importance of preserving natural habitats.
• In addition to conservation contributions, many of the game drive suppliers have reciprocal initiatives with local communities ensuring that local people are employed and supported.
• If you’re an avid birder, rangers are often skilled bird watchers and can help you identify and observe various bird species, enhancing your birding experience.

Overall, a game drive or walk with a game ranger can turn a wildlife safari into an enriching and memorable adventure, providing you with a deeper understanding of the natural world and an opportunity to connect with nature in a meaningful way.

If you’d like to know more or book a safari with Thompsons Africa, please be in touch on email info@thompsonsafrica.co.za or contact your Thompsons Africa consultant.

THOMPSONS AFRICA

20 The Boulevard
West End Business Park
Westville, KwaZulu-Natal
South Africa

Tel: +27 31 275 3500
Email: info@thompsonsafrica.com

Our colleague Samantha was invited to join a Wild Horizons fam trip to Victoria Falls. She shares her experience with us.

Day 1: The Wallow

Beautiful lodge, amazing service, lodge management team are top notchVFA hospitality at its best!

Victoria Falls Rehabilitation Sanctuary, gorge visit, sundowners with the perfect sunset and perfect full moon.

It was truly a ‘picture perfect day’.

Can’t wait to see what Day 2 has in store…

The Wallow Lodge is a new safari style lodge set on the banks of the Masuwe River within the Wild Horizons Wildlife Sanctuary, just five kilometers from bustling Victoria Falls. It is the perfect base to take in the expansive views of Batoka Gorge, one of the greatest sights in Victoria Falls. This peaceful sanctuary makes an ideal base recharge before or after a safari, with a full range of exciting activities within easy reach.

Day 2

Jam packed day, that was beyond incredible! Flight of Angels (speechless), Tour of the Falls (WoW, unbelievably breathtaking), Look Out Cafe at the edge of the Batoka Gorge and to spice things up a bit…ZIP LINE across the gorge (who knew I am this brave!) and then lunch. Afternoon simmered down a bit, cruise transfer to our site visit…it’s all about arriving in ‘style’! Old Drift Lodge, so elegant and beautiful. Perfect location! Ended with dinner cruise, and yet another perfect sunset. It was most certainly a tough day at the office!! Thank you Andrea Schaffner and the Wild Horizons team for the most amazing day!!!

Old Drift Lodge, Victoria Falls is a new luxury tented lodge on the banks of the Zambezi, a bush paradise that exudes an old world charm, admits modern luxuries.

Old Drift Lodge offers family friendly accommodation, with each air-conditioned suite decorated with stylish furnishings, fitting of a bygone era, which blend in seamlessly with the natural environment. The spacious canvas suites all have a private lounge, indoor and outdoor showers, plunge pool and outdoor bath overlooking the Zambezi.

The main lodge boasts sweeping views, north the Zambezi and south, a water hole. Old Drift Lodge is an environmentally friendly property with a strong focus on keeping our carbon footprint minimal. Transfers to and from the lodge are by luxury cruise boat and take approximately 15 minutes from Victoria Falls.

Activities offered at Old Drift Lodge include exploring The Zambezi National Park by road, river or foot. Only 4.5 km from Victoria Falls, Old Drift Lodge guests remain in close range to the variety of attractions the town has to offer.

Day 4 and 5

Multiple site visits, BomaDinnerVFSL, take2 FlightOfAngel and sundowner cruise! I’m going to miss the beautiful sunsets.

Thanks for all our Thompsons Africa partners for the hospitality in Victoria Falls. It was 5 days of informative site visits, productive meetings and new friendships!

Similar to the rest of Southern Africa, VFA proved that we have so much diversity in the hospitality industry. We are spoilt for choice.

If you’d like to know specific details on Sam’s adventure and her experience in Victoria Falls, please be in touch on email info@thompsonsafrica.co.za or samantha.kisten@thompsonsafrica.co.za.

THOMPSONS AFRICA

20 The Boulevard
West End Business Park
Westville, KwaZulu-Natal
South Africa

Tel: +27 31 275 3500
Email: info@thompsonsafrica.com

MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® – this is our ethos. We recognize our responsibility to leave a positive impact on the planet we call home, the people we visit, and the wildlife we find there. We manage our impact in two ways; as a business through our sustainability goals, detailed in How We Tread Right, and through our TreadRight Foundation.
 
Our efforts to MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® focus on:
 
Planet – Protecting our landscapes and natural resources through conservation and sustainable practices.
People – Ensuring that the true economic benefit of tourism is felt by local communities.
Wildlife – Protecting our world’s wildlife and advocating for ethical wildlife experiences.

In 2022, we achieved the following advances in our journey.

GOAL 6: ELIMINATE AS MANY UNNECESSARY SINGLE-USE PLASTICS ACROSS OFFICES AND TRIPS

Thompsons Africa’s Guided Journeys itineraries include 100% biodegradable plant-based water bottles.

GOAL 7: INCLUDE AT LEAST 1 MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® EXPERIENCE ON 50% OF TTC ITINERARIES BY 2025

In 2022, Thompsons Africa offered one MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience on 78% of itineraries.

Today, on #MANDELADAY, the SOUL Committee visited Sisonke Durban Garden with a donation of seedlings…. and a little bit of their time! The theme for #MANDELADAY this year is ‘Climate, food and solidarity’. In the words of the Committee, ‘It was absolutely incredible. Sarah is incredible. The people working there are incredible. In just 18 months they have accomplished SO much with very limited funding.’ Thank you SOUL Committee for donating your time to learn more about this wonderful project. #itisinyourhands

During South Africa’s COVID19 lockdown, a group of homeless men in downtown Durban started a food garden. The project found some success, but as Sarah Alsen of Bioregional noticed, its productivity had started to wane as the months passed by. One day as she drove past the garden, she decided to investigate and found that because of the garden’s success, many of the men who started it had since found full time employment elsewhere. The garden was suffering without their skills. Sarah, who has since become a facilitator for the garden’s transition into an SMME, hired a permaculture mentor and trainer to advise. The soil, he said, had been depleted. And so arose an opportunity.

“I approached a nearby hotel and asked about their food waste,” Sarah reflects. “And there are trees and a park right by the site, they had lots of green waste, some of which is collected in plastic bags and transported to landfill.” Sarah joined the dots, persuaded the hotel to purchase Bokashi bran which accelerates food waste composting, even of cooked, dairy and meat products –it is like ‘composting on steroids’, she says- and the pilot composting project was born. Six months after the project’s inception, the circularity dimension which characterises the business is proving its worth. Weekly compost is turned and made, and the food garden is flourishing. By collaborating and making connections with local businesses like a nearby Spar, an early morning food market, a restaurant and even residents of nearby flats, Sarah has helped find a market for the organic produce. And the garden is also being used as a work experience site for final year DUT (Durban University of Technology) horticulture students.

“The consequent benefit is to the local people,” says Sarah, who notes that serious disruptions in supply chains caused by social unrest and environmental disasters in the last year have highlighted the need to shorten supply chains and look at local production for local needs.

“By creating one’s own compost, there’s a 98% savings in greenhouse gases that would have been emitted had the waste gone to landfill, not to mention the carbon associated with transporting food and waste from place to place,” says Sarah. “Plus, we’re not only providing local, seasonal, organic and fresh produce, we’re also promoting zero waste as most of the produce is not packaged” she adds. “Any waste from the garden can also be composted, adding to the circularity of the system too”.

“We’ve proven that it can be done, now is the time to ramp this up,” she says. Bioregional has identified four additional sites that they would like to work with, with existing restaurants and gardens where compost production can occur. “Food waste use, food growing and composting, if we can stitch that together, that’s beautiful circularity.” But for the initial pilot project with Sisonke Durban Garden, the benefits reach beyond creating livelihoods and a great circular economy project. “Local residents are generally grumpy about homeless communities near them,” Sarah says, “but we’re starting to change that narrative. We’re not only providing employment and local organic produce at a fair price, we’re creating a positive story and showing that with collaboration we really can create healthier and happier neighbourhoods for the good of all, while also having a positive impact on the environment.”

VISION FOR THE FUTURE

“The vision is to expand this project, teaching people how to make compost using food and garden waste such that we have an established network of production for local needs and with it, training and employment opportunities and a network of urban food gardens. We need to value waste as a resource to tackle climate change, build resilient communities and regenerate the living systems of our earth.

Sisonke – together – we can.”

Article compliments of Bioregional South Africa

ABOUT THE SOUL COMMITTEE

The SOUL Committee focuses on educating Thompsons Africa and Cullinan employees, customers, suppliers and friends on the importance of conserving our environment and wildlife for future generations.  This committee works to identify sustainable initiatives within our office environment in order to minimise our impact on the environment.  Additionally, they identify key conservation organisations who Thompsons Africa supports, assists and/or promotes.

The Committee is also responsible for supporting and garnering both monetary and non-monetary contributions for Thompsons Africa identified charities and not-for-profit organisations.  We are committed to its involvement and care of the greater community and through the initiatives of the Committee, aim to truly ‘make a difference’.

Jane Goodall Institutes’ Chimp Eden is a Thompsons Africa MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® approved experience, meeting Sustainable Development Goal 15 – Life on Land. Read more about Goal 15 here.

Chimp Eden is a sanctuary for chimps that have been misplaced from their natural habitats in Africa. Guests will be educated on the goal of the sanctuary which is to rescue chimpanzees that have survived the bush meat trade, been orphaned, traded in the illegal pet market, or rescued from being traumatised for entertainment in circuses, beach resorts and night clubs. The chimp is ‘“’Endangered’ under a strict application of the IUCN Red List Criteria (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and is listed in Appendix 1 of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Chimpanzees in the wild may be extinct within the next 10 – 20 years if current trends cannot be reversed.

Guests are able to virtually ‘adopt’ a chimp via a Donation Adoption Package the proceeds of which are used toward Chimpanzee Welfare and Sanctuary Operations.

In addition to the lifelong care of the chimps at the institute, Chimp Eden committed to education through its public tours, volunteer programme, education centre and school tours. The chimpanzee sanctuary also has an outreach programme to educate local community schools about chimpanzees and sustainability issues, with the assistance of funding from The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.

Roots and Shoots, the Jane Goodall Institute’s global and humanitarian youth programme and part of JGI South Africa, undertakes education projects throughout South Africa, and is aimed at empowering youth to commit to human, animal and environment concerns. The Jane Goodall Institute works closely with GRASP (Great Apes Survival Partnership) in educating all involved communities and stakeholders about the plight of the endangered great apes.

It’s World Environment Day and this year’s theme is #beatplasticpollution.  World Environment Day 2023 is a reminder that people’s actions on plastic pollution matters.  And in a world where we produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, we need to act!  Just one simple change can make a BIG difference.

Clean a Beach: If you live near a coastline, join beach clean-ups in your area. Or take your family along on a beach walk and start your own clean-up.

Clean a River: Rivers are direct pathways of plastic debris into the ocean. Join a river clean-up or do your own! The river will look nicer and benefit its ecosystem and the ocean.

Shop Sustainably: Next time you are out shopping, choose food with no plastic packaging, carry a reusable bag, buy local products, and refill containers to reduce your plastic waste and effect on the environment.

Try a Zero-Waste Lifestyle: Become a zero-waste champion. Invest in sustainable, ocean-friendly products- reusable coffee mugs, water bottles and food wraps. Consider options like menstrual cups, bamboo toothbrushes and shampoo bars. These will help you save money and the ocean too.

Travel Sustainably: When you are on holiday, try to watch your single-use plastic intake. Refuse miniature bottles in hotel rooms, take your own reusable drinking bottle, and use reef-safe sunscreen, without microplastics.

Be an advocate for change: Ask your local supermarkets, restaurants, and local suppliers to ditch plastic packaging, refuse plastic cutlery and straws, and tell them why. Pressure your local authorities to improve how they manage waste.

Dress Sustainably: The fashion industry produces 20 per cent of global wastewater and 10 per cent of global carbon emissions. That’s more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. “Fast fashion” is so last year. Consider sustainable clothing lines, vintage shops and repair your clothes when possible.

Choose plastic-free personal care products: Personal care products are a major source of microplastics, which get washed into the oceans straight from our bathrooms. Look for plastic-free face wash, day cream, makeup, deodorant, shampoo, and other products.

Thompsons Africa is proud to be part of a joint initiative by The Travel Corporation (TTC) family of brands called The TreadRight Foundation; a ‘not for profit’ working to ensure that the environment and communities we explore remain vibrant for future generations. 

World Wildlife Day – 3 March 2023

It’s World Wildlife Day!  And with its theme of ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation’, we are proud to partner with many properties and their foundations who dedicate themselves to the preservation of our wildlife and nature.

Through our partnership with the not-for-profit TreadRight Foundation, Thompsons Africa is committed to the How We Tread Right (HWTR) sustainable strategy, and we support the UN’s goal that all wildlife experiences are ethically responsible. 

Through its MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® initiative, we are committed to identifying experiences that have a positive social or environmental impact on their communities and those who experience them.

The Tswalu Foundation

The research being conducted on ground pangolins at Tswalu is one of the projects of the Tswalu Foundation.

The Foundation facilitates a broad range of research undertaken on Tswalu Kalahari Reserve. Its mission is to promote conservation and strengthen an understanding of the semi-arid savanna biome within the southern Kalahari. The Foundation also presents opportunities for guests to interact with researchers in the field, while providing Tswalu Kalahari Reserve with data for management purposes. The Foundation is a crucial component of the Oppenheimer Family’s vision to conserve the Kalahari by restoring the natural environment, re-establishing biological diversity and maintaining the natural ecological processes of the Kalahari.

The Red Carnation Hotel Collection

See Historic Rock Art in South Africa

Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat, part of the Red Carnation Hotels Collection, is the custodian of over 130 unique rock art sites, some as old as 10,000 years. Guests can view the sites on the reserve and learn about how Bushmans Kloof has been dedicated to protecting these extraordinary treasures. This experience directly advances UN Global Goal 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities, by protecting natural and built heritage.

https://bushmanskloof.co.za/activities/rock-art-and-heritage

Shamwari’s Born Free Big Cat Sanctuaries

In partnership with actress, author and wildlife campaigner, Virginia McKenna’s Born Free Foundation, Shamwari Private Game Reserve designed the Animal Rescue and Education Centres to incorporate the sanctuary and educational facility.

Their goal is to create awareness of the horrific way in which wildlife is exploited in captivity around the world. The centres aim to draw attention to the plight of wild big cats, confined in impoverished, captive environments throughout the world.

The Born Free Foundation is a UK-based wildlife charity that rescues animals from captivity and gives them lifetime care in spacious sanctuaries. The charity protects threatened species including lions, elephants, tigers, gorillas, wolves, bears, marine turtles and much more in their natural habitat. Working with local communities, Born Free finds humane solutions to help people and wildlife live together without conflict.

Since its inception in 1984, it has grown and been backed by celebrities, conservationists and passionate institutions worldwide, such as Shamwari Private Game Reserve. By supporting the big cat sanctuaries, you’re not only learning about the plight of wild animals, but you’re also taking a stand against animal cruelty.

A notable success story is that of ‘King’ a young lion cub. King was kept illegally as an exotic pet in a Paris apartment before being rescued and relocated to Shamwari’s Big Cat Sanctuary. He is permanently located in their JEAN BYRD CENTRE.

Contact us for information on other properties and their foundations who are committed to the preservation of our wildlife and nature.

info@thompsonsafrica.com

Tel: +27 31 275 3500

http://www.thompsonsafrica.com