Namibia and Botswana self drive vacation

Planet

All of Namibia is characterised by ecologically extremely delicate arid savannahs and desert landscapes. Rainfalls are scarce and annual fluctuations are considerable, temperatures are high and so is evaporation.

All of Namibia is characterised by ecologically extremely delicate arid savannahs and desert landscapes. Rainfalls are scarce and annual fluctuations are considerable, temperatures are high and so is evaporation.

The Lodges that we work with in Namibia are committed to ensuring that the natural and cultural environment in which they operate is ethically managed and profitably operated according to the highest possible international standards, practices and guidelines in sustainable tourism, environmental conservation and biodiversity protection and cultural heritage preservation. For instance, one lodge in the Caprivi Strip has ensured that the lodge blends into the environment by choosing appropriate Construction Materials?? (renewable materials - using as little cement and solid materials as possible and purchasing natural construction and maintenance materials harvested locally by communities, including reeds, thatch, mopane wood poles, etc.). The lodge has deliberately been designed to be small and low impact. It takes its water from it’s own channel, generates its own electricity and has its own solid waste and sewage treatment systems, to avoid putting pressure on local resources. The lodge uses solar panel produced electricity and is totally energy self sufficient, with water heated by solar power for guests and staff.

In Damaraland, one of the lodges we use reduces, reuses and recycles all refuse, and uses energy saving bulbs as well as solar geysers to reduce their carbon footprint. Lodge designs usually take this into account also, with high roofs and ventilation ducts resulting in a temperature change from outside to inside of no more than 5 degrees on hot days.

People

Nature reserves, accommodation facilities, activities and the Self-Sufficiency Centre provide both jobs and opportunities for Namibians to improve their lives – this cannot be taken for granted at all in Namibia where unemployment is estimated at 30 to 40 percent. The lodges that we use employ local people and these salaries enable employees to feed their families and to send their children to school, too.

One of the lodge groups we use has gone a step further and invested heavily into training. Their training department, established in 2001, offers a comprehensive programme, from computer and language courses (English, German, Italian) to service training and HIV prevention, family planning and old age provision. Any employee can take part, hundreds have benefited. For specialised training in areas such as vegetable cultivation, cheese-making and butchery we invite experts from Europe. Several of their leading employees have completed internships in European hotels and restaurants - and thereby have been able for the first time to experience their guests' way of life.

We use accommodation that is small and locally owned, ensuring that the costs are retained in the local economy. Our local ground handler is particularly supportive of local community projects and the company has formed a partnership with the Windhoek SOS Children’s Village which offers a home to around 118 orphaned children aged between 3 & 18. We encourage our clients to bring a few gifts such as clothes, shoes, toys, English books, crayons and colouring books. In addition, SOS supports the local community to help children who have lost one or both parents to be cared for in their own extended families wherever possible. The aim of the trust is to give tangible assistance to African people and their environment in their efforts to achieve economic viability without doing harm to natural habitats and wildlife, thus utilizing both on a sustainable basis for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.