| What's New in Botswana Lodges and Camps
What will Botswana safari outfitters come up with next? Read on to find out...
Exciting Refurbishment to Chobe Game Lodge
On December 10, 2011, Chobe Game Lodge will unveil a new look in their guest arrivals, reception, and lounge areas and add an elevated viewing boardwalk to enhance their guests’ experience. The lodge will be closed November 27 through December 9 while they conduct these exciting new refurbishments.
Johan Bruwer, General Manager of Chobe Game Lodge said, “Our focus is on creating the ‘wow’ factor for our guests from the moment they step into the lodge. The design and layout will complement the new seamless check-in process and allow our guests to completely relax and soak in the stunning natural surroundings of Chobe Game Lodge and the river front. Along with the new look of Chobe Game Lodge, we will also be introducing a new elevated viewing boardwalk amongst the trees and look forward to ensuring our guest’s experience in the Chobe National Park is a memorable one.”
For more information, please visit www.chobegamelodge.com or email marketing@chobegamelodge.co.bw.
Xigera Camp is Now Solar Powered
Situated in the heart of Botswana’s pristine Okavango Delta, Wilderness Safaris’ Xigera Camp is yet another example of how the company is committed to having a minimal environmental impact and operating in the most sustainable manner possible.
For years, Xigera has been operating off diesel generators for at least 8 hours per day and a set of batteries and an inverter system to power the camp for the rest of the day. This summer that all changed – the generators were turned off and the power for the entire camp was switched across to a new photovoltaic solar plant consisting of a total of 135 solar panels producing renewable energy – enough power from the sun to run the entire camp including all fridges and freezers!
For more information on Xigera Camp, please visit www.wilderness-safaris.com or email marketingservices@wilderness.co.za.
&Beyond Produces Guest Booklet About Company’s Sustainability Efforts
A leading responsible luxury safari operator, &Beyond, has introduced a sustainability booklet titled “Give More Take Less” to the en-suite collateral at their group’s Botswana lodges. The booklet is one of a set of 10 that have been produced for &Beyond’s African lodges, all designed to enhance your safari experience.
Written and designed in an easy-to-read format, each “Give More Take Less” booklet covers a lodge or region-specific conservation and research victory, sustainability measures that reduce the negative impact of lodges on the environment or save precious commodities, plus the practice of measuring eco overheads that is in place at all &Beyond lodges.
In addition, each “Give More Take Less” booklet highlights Africa Foundation projects that have been completed in local communities as well as initiatives that are in the pipeline. The Botswana edition details plans to expand the facilities at the Motse Wa Tsholofelo Day Care Center in Maun where currently the kitchen is often required to double as a classroom.
During your next &Beyond experience, make sure to pick a booklet up. We guarantee you will love the “Give More Take Less” stories.
For more information, please visit www.andbeyondafrica.com or email Cynthia.wailey@andbeyond.com.
Making a Difference: Packing for a Purpose in Botswana
Do you ever wonder how you can make a difference when traveling far and wide? What can you do to say “thank-you” to these special places? There is need everywhere in the world. It can sometimes be difficult, however, to identify specific needs in places far from home. That is where Pack for a Purpose comes to the rescue.
Pack for a Purpose is a non-profit organization, based in the USA, which helps both travelers and children around the world! They invite travelers to pack school supplies, medical supplies and other small items on their next trip as a donation to a local community or organization where they are visiting. The goal is to assist travelers who want to expand their generosity beyond their own communities.
Pack for a Purpose displays supply lists for destinations on their website; the lists are provided directly by the local community-based projects that will receive these supplies. This allows travelers to make informed decisions and bring items which meet the needs of the people and organizations who will be using them.
Pack for a Purpose also provides a list of participating accommodations where all you have to do is drop off the donation at the front desk and the rest is taken care of. The hotel, lodge, camp, etc will then deliver the donation.
Interested in “giving back” during your next trip to Botswana (or anywhere really), visit Pack for a Purpose to learn how easy it is. It only takes a small portion of luggage space to make a life-changing difference!
To learn more about this great concept and organization, please visit www.packforapurpose.org or email info.packforapurpose@gmail.com
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Equitrekking TV “Horses Around” in Botswana
Equitrekking host, Darley Newman, explored and filmed four diverse areas in Botswana – the Northern Tuli Game Reserve (NTGR), Maun, the Okavango Delta, and the Makgadikgadi Pans, Yes, as you can imagine, exhilarating horse riding safaris are part of the adventure. But they filmed - and enjoyed - so much more: bush walks, game viewing by boat, on foot, and in 4WDs, village visits to experience the local culture, cuisine, and arts and crafts … and of course to shop for authentic souvenirs and gifts.
First stop on the itinerary: Northern Tuli Game Reserve (NTGR, or Tuli for short)).
Their Botswana adventure started with an early morning scenic charter flight from the capital city of Gaborone to Limpopo Valley Airport in Tuli, followed by a short (game viewing filled) drive to Limpopo Valley Horse Safaris (LVHS) at Mashatu Game Reserve. LVHS is professionally managed and guided by owners Cor and Louise Carelsen, who both share a wealth of specialist knowledge on the African bush, horses and classical horsemanship with their guests.
The Northern Tuli Game Reserve (Tuli for short) is located in the far eastern tip of Botswana, bordered by South Africa and Zimbabwe. One of the largest privately owned game reserves in Southern Africa, Tuli is referred by many as the “Land of the Giants” because of its larger than life natural attractions. Riding across the magnificent vistas bordered by the great Limpopo River in Mashatu Game Reserve, the crew discovered exactly how it got its nickname, coming upon a mixed herd of zebras and wildebeest, giraffe, elephant and many other creatures large and small on their first ride. With an abundance of wildlife and dramatic rock formations – as well as archeological and historic sites and the nearby Botswana village, Motlhabaneng with arts and culture for travelers to enjoy - it was the perfect place to start their safari adventure
For stunning images of their Tuli safari adventure, view the Limpopo Horse Safaris photo gallery on Equitrekking.com.
To read about Darley Newman’s excellent adventures throughout Botswana, visit her travel blog.
Next up: Maun!
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