Cape Town to Johannesburg tour, South Africa

Planet

Water: Before commencing one of our tours travelers are sent detailed pre-departure information which includes advice on using water sparingly. We recognise water to be one of the world's most precious commodities, particularly, in some of the areas this trip travels through. Due to the camping nature of this trip we carry a lot of our water for cooking, drinking and washing with us. Filling up heavy jerry cans, we find, helps focus the mind on the importance of water conservation!

We also encourage our travelers to bring reusable water bottles from home with them for the trip. These can be filled from the truck's water supplies. This helps to minimise the usage of plastic water bottles.

Waste: at the point of booking a tour with us, all our travelers receive detailed pre-departure information which contains a large section on traveling responsibly. This includes advice on minimising the amount of waste they create on the trip. This informs travelers on what they can do before they go, for example removing toiletries from unnecessary packaging and taking a reusable water bottle and gives advice on what they should do whilst on the tour, for example, disposing of litter appropriately.

Roughly, half the nights on this tour are spent camping and we purchase our tents locally, thereby further supporting the local economy and employment. Sleeping under canvas obviously has a low environmental impact and brings you closer to nature. Lights and aircon cannot be left on unnecessarily!

People

As with all our Tours we generally stay at small, locally run guest houses and camp sites on this trip, many of which share our Company ethos of supporting local communities. Malealea Lodge in Lesotho, for example, invites local choirs and bands in to share performances with Lodge guests every evening. Guests are invited to make a donation to the performers.

In Cintsa, the Lodge we stay at will help you volunteer at the local, community run, soup kitchen. You will help prepare and serve food to local children (mainly) who are left alone while their parents are working. Often there are more than 50 enthusiastic, hungry children that attend! A local guide will collect you and take you back to the Lodge. En route you will often visit his friends and neighbours in the local community - a young widow for example,, who brews her own beer at home in order to support her family. Be prepared to be taught and practise the local language during your tour.