Sustainable Travel in Tanzania

Sustainable Travel in Tanzania: How to Do It.

The world of travel has shifted, from thrill-seeking tourism to thoughtfully, eco-conscious itineraries. At Focus East Africa Tours, sustainable travel is our core value, and we’re glad for this incredible, massive shift. A few months ago, a viral video shoot in the north of the Serengeti was hurtful: seeing tourists being so greedy while compromising a crucial event, the Great Migration. In this article, we’ll show you what you should do to make your East African safari more sustainable.

Focus on general safari experiences, rather than being too specific.

While most wildlife explorers focus on their bucket list, you just focus on the experience as a whole. Chasing the Big Five can be overwhelming in some destinations, forcing you to drive for so long (and even breaking the rules) to satisfy your greed.

At the end, you realize, you’ve touched every corner of the reserve, went even off the trail or overspeed to overtake other vehicles. Witnessing a river crossing is a memorable experience, but sharing that moment with a pack of more than 30 vehicles is frustrating.

Do this instead: celebrate every wildlife sight that comes your way. It’s a little mongoose along the river, enjoy it. Maybe a solitary buffalo bull staring at you like you owe it something, pause, and enjoy the scene.

Stay longer in one destination.

Switching places every two days isn’t the best way to explore the wild. This day, you’re in the Serengeti, the next you’re in Ngorongoro… too many journeys within a week. Honestly speaking, such kinds of itineraries do more harm than good. Yes, it may be right for you – you want to have a glimpse of Tanzania’s finest wildlife parks. But your trip emits more carbon to the environment due to the use of the safari vehicle.

What to do then? Want to know Serengeti better? Why not explore it for a week? This world-renowned park is massive and is equally jam-packed with wildlife and spectacular wonders. So, spending a week will enable you to explore its natural beauty in detail. And to save the environment.

Explore hidden-gem destinations.

Parks in the North get a reasonable number of guests per year. The Serengeti, for example, records not less than 300,000 visitors annually, with the largest volume being between July and August. These parks may be overwhelmed with vehicles seeking to explore the Big Five and trek the Great Migration.

However, parks in the South are far from being crowded. Yet, wildlife is its prime. A clear example of this is Nyerere National Park, the largest park in East Africa. Here, you will find large herds of buffalo, countless elephants, lions, hippos, and African hunting dogs. Add the comfort of floating gently along the Rufiji River.

A few kilometers south of it is Ruaha National Park, the land of terrestrial giants and baobabs. There’s a promising lion population in the area, as are hippos and crocodiles in riverine pools along the Great Ruaha River. Similarly, parks in the west, like Gombe and Mahale, host rare chimpanzees, recording a small number of guests per year.

Include many adventures other than game drives.

Game drives are key to exploring expansive savannahs, woodlands, and forests in Africa. But at least now, people can decide to do many other carbon-free adventures apart from game driving. Here, we mean immersive nature walks where you will explore nature and wildlife up close.

The night is calm. Instead of a night safari that can be a little bit disturbing, you can do zero-impact adventures like stargazing and fly camping. With these activities, your part of the wilderness instead of being just an observer.

Stay in private concessions.

Private concessions have one unique way to reduce the number of guests: charging a higher price for their services. As a result, only a few people who are willing to pay can go there. And more often, these properties are key players in preserving nature as they focus solely on the sustainability of key wildlife reserves.

In Tanzania, private concessions around the Serengeti offer exclusive access to remote areas, with the main focus on avoiding crowds. These include Singita Grumeti Reserve, Mwiba Wildlife Reserve, and Loliondo Game Controlled Area.

Participate in conservation directly.

You can show your support for conservation directly by either donating or volunteering. There are various projects working to restore wildlife in Tanzania. For instance, the Serengeti Cheetah Project in the Serengeti. It aims at protecting cheetahs in this wonderful park. You can participate by simply taking a photo of this mottled cat during your Serengeti safari.

In Mkomazi, there’s a rhino sanctuary, Mkomazi Rhino Sanctuary. Started in 1991, this project focuses on restoring the population of rhinos. As of now, there are about 35 rhinos in Mkomazi thanks to conservation efforts. There are so many other projects apart from these ones.

Stay in eco-conscious lodges and camps.

Before you confirm a booking, do a background check on their conservation efforts. Are they eco-friendly or supportive of the community? It may be difficult to do this on your own. At Focus East Africa Tours, we work with eco-friendly lodges and camps.

We are here to help you.

With seasoned safari planners and guides, at Focus East Africa Tours, we are determined to make your adventure unforgettable. We can take care of every detail, from flight to eco-friendly lodges and camps. Let’s plan your tour.