Mrs Waller, Surrey, July 2008

Game viewing in Hluhluwe/Imfolozi Game Reserve, with expert guide - Swim with wild dolphins in Mozambique - Visit a Zulu village and witness modern day Zulu life - Take a hippo cruise at sunset - Evening sundowners around a traditional braai

Day 1 | Overnight flight to Johannesburg

Day 2 | Johannesburg to Richards Bay

Day 3 | Free day at Richards Bay

Day 4 | Greater St Lucia Wetlands Park

Day 5 | Hluhluwe/Imfolozi Game Reserve

Day 6 | Tembe Elephant Reserve

Day 7 | Tembe Park, Southern Mozambique beaches and markets

Day 8 | Wild dolphins and beach relaxation

Day 9 | Beach and relaxation

Day 10 | Kosi Bay and Raffia Palm Forest

Day 11 | Return to London

Day 12 | Arrival UK

From	To	Description	Num Days	Price	Booking
07-Apr-2009	31-Dec-2012	GBP 2260 or EURO 2712 per person. Single supplement of GBP 100 or EURO 120 applies. Departure dates April - December Please enquire for scheduled dates and availability	12	£2260.00 what's included? Kind Points:508
Included in the price: Accommodation Gratuities and tips Internal flights NOT included in the price: Airport tax All meals and activities Country visas Transportation

• Mastercard

This trip visits lesser-known parts of South Africa as well as Mozambique, and provides much-needed tourism revenue for local small businesses. Our entry fees to the Game Reserve help fund a conservation programme to save the endangered black rhino, whose number in Africa has dwindled from 14 000 to a pitiful 2 550 in the past decade. Fees from participation in the dolphin swim contribute towards the research station which runs the excursion, and is monitoring bottle nosed dolphin numbers and behaviour, loggerhead turtle nesting activity and coral reef condition in order to make recommendations for improving the conservation of marine biodiversity. The lodge owners at our final stop, in Kosi Bay, assist in the training of neighbouring communities to supply arts, crafts and produce to the lodge’s curio shops and kitchens, giving locals an opportunity to earn an income.

The village visit provides a very real glimpse at life for local Zulus in this area: most are very poor and many children are orphaned and looking after younger siblings. Guests to the village are encouraged to bring items such as basic English books, pencils, pens, crayons, exercise books, old school/sports uniforms, deflated footballs or rugby balls or toys: these items will be very gratefully received by local schools.

Tourism brings huge benefits to host destinations and its populations. The money spent by tourists often injects much-needed funds into local economies and provides jobs – and career prospects – in areas where jobs could otherwise be scarce. However, tourism on a mass scale can be detrimental - destroying the local environment, threatening ancient traditions and cultures, and bringing little real economic benefit to local people.

In terms of global warming, carbon dioxide emissions from air travel, road transport and accommodation - and we encourage our guests to act responsibly when using energy or buying air travel and balance the environmental impact of travelling with the huge benefits that sustainable tourism can bring to local people.

We are committed to offering sustainable tourism options that is sensitive to host cultures, benefits local economies and informs visitors about local cultures and the environment. Our itineraries have been fully researched and developed on the five principles below, which we believe will provide authentic, rewarding holidays that give a real appreciation of local cultures and environments for our guests.

Our Principles

Each of the itineraries we put together have been put together on the basis of the following principles:

Excellent, small, hospitable and authentic accommodation. Examples of the accommodation used includes luxury permanent tents, allowing guests a very comfortable but 'in-the-bush' experience, a luxury ranch which shares its home with a big cats foundation (with objectives to rehabilitate orphaned or injured cats back into the wild), or luxury lodges beautifully situated on game reserves in the thick of the African bush. Most accommodation chosen is small and owners will personally welcome guests and give advice on what to do locally.

Excellent Guides, giving guests a real opportunity to learn about local customs, the environment they are travelling through and wildlife they will see. Usually local to the area themselves, the Guides are passionate about their country and keen to pass on their knowledge. Their trained eyes and ability to speak local language / dialects makes all the difference when wildlife spotting and getting the low-down on what’s where from the locals.

Lots of activities: we aim to help guests make the most of their holiday, with a full menu of optional activities, but would always aim to ensure that recommended activities organisers are operating eco-sensitively. Examples might include a fly-in trip to a Himba tribe, eco-quad biking down the sand dunes, taking a dolphin-spotting cruise, a hot-air balloon flight over the desert, a visit to a tribal witch doctor or an evening star-gazing - with champagne - through telecscopes. Things that can't be done too easily back home!

Inside glimpses at local life: each of our group itineraries offers an insight to local customs or visits a charitable project supporting the local environment or community. The funds that are paid to visit these projects support their work and there are opportunities for guests to contribute further if they so wish. See individual itineraries for details but examples include a visit to a ‘big cats’ conservation project and a visit to a local school.

Eco-Tourism: we aim to make minimal impact on the environments we visit. Our logo is intentionally representative of our philosophy as we aim to leave only footprints behind.

The companies we work with in each destination have all signed up to our Responsible Tourism Policy and most have their own projects running to benefit local communities. Each group itinerary includes an eco-tourism statement which explains the benefits that visitors bring to the areas visited.

All lodges and accommodations used - being small - benefit the local communities by employing local people and ensuring that profits stay local.

Our itineraries aim to get off the beaten tracks, away from the main crowds to give a more priviledged – and usually far more rewarding – experience. We encourage guests to interact with local people, and believe that greater understanding between cultures promotes better social harmony. Getting to lesser-visited areas provides much-needed economic benefits to communities not on the main tourist maps.

Highlights of our trips may often be the more simple things: watching the sun set over the African bush, sitting round the evening fire with a drink, contemplating the mass of stars after dark, seeing the colourful hues change over the desert at sunrise, and falling asleep to the sounds of the African bush.

We ask our guests to respect local customs and traditions by ensuring appropriate dress and behaviour, heeding the advice of their Guide when around wildlife, buying locally made products (but avoiding products made from endangered plants or wildlife – if in doubt, ask your Guide), use water sparingly and turn off power when not using (eg air conditioning, lights, etc).If wishing to take photographs of local people, we advise that permission is sought and a small payment offered.