Some more great feedback!!!

Here’s a report from a couple that just returned from a 3-week camping safari through Botswana and Zambia:

Dear Louise and Kili,

Wow, what a trip! We are very pleased with your arrangement. Everything has worked perfect. Transfers between the different parts of the trip have been well organized and we have always been looked after in a safe way.

“Highlights in Botswana” was the rough part, exciting with fantastic game drives as well as unforgetable nights including hippos, elephants close to our tent. Anna even spotted a leopard nearby the bushtoilet! We were impressed by the big amount of animals. The guide was terrific. The only thing that was tough was the heat with hardly no shade and of course no where to go during the siesta. The Falls and the Flight of Angels were fantastic.

“Kafue Rivers and Plains” was amazing with the mighty rivers and the evening boat-cruises. The accomodations were great with excellent guide and management. We have been so fortunate on our game drives, lots of lions, buffalos and the real highlight five WILD DOGS. We saw prints of cheetah, but we didn´t find any.

“South Loungwa”. We liked the game around the lagoons, the beautiful green trees, walking-safari where we spotted the Thornicraft Giraffe, a very rare owl and a dito nightjar. The last camp, Kalamu, will stay in our heart forever. The athmosphere there was very special thanks to the management. Considering that NINE lions walked through the camp while we had our dinner doesn´t make it less memorable!

Thank you so much for a splendid customized safari. It couldn´t have been better! This was the journey of our life!

We absolutely love hearing feedback like this. You can download a PDF of their entire itinerary here: Custom 3-week Botswana and Zambia Camping Safari.

Texting Elephants

Here’s a radio story about how researchers are using state-of-the-art GPS texting devices to protect Elephants throughout Africa. You can read much more about the project in the September NatGeo article by David Quammen.

The article and radio story both focus on Iain Douglas-Hamilton’s work with the Samburu elephants. There’s some photos below of Kili’s trip to Samburu in May 2007. Who knows? Maybe some these elephants are sending text messages.

Nomad raises the bar in Tanzania

Our friends at Nomad Tanzania are the first to have a complete audit of the carbon footprint at both their camps & reservation offices. We congratulate them on setting the achievable & sustainable goal of a carbon-neutral ecotourism company:

The carbon footprint audit, completed in May 2008, was based on a year of data collected in the field by Julia Bishop, an environmental consultant, and audited by Energy For Sustainable Development (ESD) working with the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management. Assessment is the first step in the carbon management process, which provides the building blocks to carry the company to a greener future. It enables us to develop our company strategy for reducing carbon emissions by setting targets that undergo regular assessments.

We now have the source data of our energy usage and carbon emissions, both for our camps and offices. We also have a carbon footprint offset value for each one of our safari camps, which will result in carbon neutrality for Nomad – and a carbon neutral safari experience for our clients.

Read more about what Nomad Tanzania is doing “to go beyond greenwashing.” They offer superb service & hospitality at 8 camps across Tanzania, and we’re proud to continue working with them.

Nomad Tanzania

Rare Photos – Leopard attacks Crocodile

Here’s some amazing photos by Hal Brindley of a leopard chasing down and attacking a crocodile. It’s the first time this kind of attack has been documented. None of us safari enthusiasts have ever even heard of this kind of attack before.

leopard attacks croc

Here’s the link to the story from the Telegraph, and here’s a link to a slideshow of the photo sequence, and thanks to the folks at Robin Pope Safaris for the tip.