Save the Planet - Gamewatchers Safari Style

Cheetah Family outside Gamewatchers Porini Lion Camp

Would you like to take a trip of a lifetime? 

How about an African safari where you can see exotic animals in the wild in abundant numbers and with comfortable accommodations? What if your trip helped preserve the very wildlife you see and its threatened habitat?  And, what if it also helped the indigenous people of the area preserve their way of life?

Would it help persuade you if your outfitter could walk you through the planning process, help with travel arrangements and provide on the ground representatives to make your in-country travel seamless? Would you be more likely to go if the head of your outfitter helped create the very conservancy concept that makes this possible?

If you think you might, read on while we describe how to make just such a rewarding and environmentally supportive adventure.

Take a safari like the one we just described in our recent 28-episode Safari Series. And experience the best trip of your life while helping preserve Africa’s wilderness.

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Reticulated Giraffe outside Gamewatcher's Porini Rhino Camp

Planning your own safari.

Planning your own trip is easy really. Just contact Gamewatchers Safaris through their website at porini.com or by get in touch with one of their expert representatives.

We worked with Wayne Hammond ([email protected] / in UK +44 (0) 7986 978985) and had a great experience. Friends have worked with Julie Roggow ([email protected] / in U.S. 1-877-710-3014) and rave about how helpful she is. Either would be a good choice to work with.

Rather know more before you talk with someone? Check out the Gamewatchers’ website planning page or have a free planning guide at sent to you.

Bull Elephant at Amboseli National Park

Why we chose Gamewatchers Safaris.

But why travel with Gamewatchers to their conservancies? Why not use another outfitter in Africa?

There are lots of reasons that fit into two general categories. The first are the selfish reasons that relate to the quality of your safari experience. The other relate to the impact your travel makes on the region, reasons related to being environmentally conscious and supportive.

Hippo outside Gamewatchers' Porini Lion Camp

First, the selfish reasons.

You get a great experience. I think the proof of that is in the safari we took and documented in our recent Safari Series. Check out any of our 28 adventures recorded from our 12-day trip. Forgotten our trip? Sample some of these days we traveled with Gamewatchers.

Safari 1: The Hunt
Safari 3: Tented Camps and Conservancies
Safari 4: Passports in his Underpants
Safari 5: Night Lions to Amboseli
Safari 7: Pooh on You
Safari 9: The Maasai
Safari 11: Crash in the Grass
Safari 17: Distracting His Highness
Safari 18: How to Eat a Tree
Safari 19: Hunting with Children
Safari 24: Searching for Figlet

Lions headed to the waterhole outside Gamewatchers' Porini Amboseli Camp

You get a superior viewing experience.

Seriously. In the conservancies, the number of tents are limited per acre to keep the number viewing tourist numbers down. No more than one tent per 700 acres and no more than 12 tents in a single camp. So, you see more animals with fewer sightings of other vehicles.

You view the animals on drives in six passenger open safari vehicles that give you an unimpeded view. And in the conservancies, the vehicles are permitted to go off road to where the animals are. So, you get close. In the National Parks, which abut the conservancies, this is not possible.

But you do not miss the national parks. You will be able to view in both locations while visitors to the national parks are not invited into the conservancies. Amboseli National Park was spectacular and highlight of our trip.

Frustrated Cape Buffalo outside Gamewatchers' Porini Rhino Camp

The accommodations are first rate.

Yes, you stay in tents but the tents are spacious, floored and come with their own bathroom and shower. Yes, the showers are gravity showers but we never had problems with temperature or volume of water.

Each of our tents also had two beds (with bedsteads), one a single and the other a full size.  Bedside tables with lamps and a writing table were standard fare. Each also had a covered porch with two chairs.

And, the food is five-star served in spacious dining tents each day where you get a chance to share stories with other guests. Before dinner, many of us sat outside around a fire pit to enjoy the evening and one another’s company.

You will find the people as enjoyable as the wildlife viewing. And by that, I do not mean just the other guests. The staff were extremely cordial and engaging made up almost entirely of local Maasai, the same people who lease the conservancy land to Gamewatchers.

Figlet the Leopard outside Gamewatchers' Porini Lion Camp

It's good for the wildlife and more.

As if all of that was not enough, you can take this trip and have this grand experience with a clean conscience. It all is extremely eco friendly and your travel dollars go a long way to expand wildlife habitat in Africa and support the local Maasai community who owns the conservancy land.

This is all the brainchild of Jake Grieves-Cook and others like him who came up with the conservancy concept as a way to help local tribes by making them partners conservancy projects that expand protected wildlife habitat beyond the borders of the National Parks. For more than 20 years, Jake has been working to expand wildlife habitat and promote the interests of the local Maasai.

Here is how the model works. Jake and his Gamewatchers Outfitter (www.porini.com) lease land directly from the Maasai that they set aside as game conservancies. Gamewatchers agrees to strict density limits and set up tented camps in the conservancies.

Tourists visit the camps and provide the revenue to pay the Maasai. The Maasai receive regular rent payments for the leased land. The camps also employ the local Maasai to run the camps and provide the guides.

White Rhino Calf outside Gamewatchers' Nairobi Tented Camp

The result is more habitat, employment and revenue for the Maasai, more wildlife in the conservancies, and a premium wildlife viewing experience for visitors. It all works if enough of us visit and support this remarkable conservancy model.

Make your plans.

So, take the leap. Plan a safari and have one of the best experiences of your traveling life. But, do it with Gamewatchers Safari and help preserve the wild African experience for future generations.

In case you forgot, here is how to plan a trip with Gamewatchers. Just contact Gamewatchers Safaris through their website (at porini.com) or get in touch with one of their expert representatives.

We worked with Wayne Hammond ([email protected] / in UK +44 (0) 7986 978985) and had a great experience. Friends have worked with Julie Roggow ([email protected] / in U.S. 1-877-710-3014) and rave about how helpful she is. They will tell you everything you need to know to plan a great trip.

Rather know more before you talk with someone? Check out the Gamewatchers’ website planning page or have a free planning guide at sent to you.
Either way, have a great trip!

Sundowner view outside Gamewatchers Rhino Camp

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All photos and text are copyright Clinton Richardson. The images are from the author's Safari Collection at Trekpic.com. If you like these posts, please tell your friends about the Venture Moola blog at Readjanus.com. Want to plan your own safari? If so, feel free to check out the outfitter we used at Porini.com.

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