Conservation

 

There is no doubt that a photographic safari of any kind will support local conservation efforts. I have tried to highlight areas which are less well-resourced or visited, and where the local conservation levy you pay will go a long way. I have also tried to make the case for wild areas on the margins of human populations, or vice-versa, or areas where coexistence is achieved, being as fascinating as 'pristine' (there's really no such thing - even the Kalahari has massive fences across it) wildernesses. More interesting still are areas where land has been 'set aside' by communities, in order for its wildlife to be utilised as an economic resource. It is positively your duty to visit these, as their continued existence depends on your expenditure. These vary in scale from NGO-run national parks such as Liwonde in Malawi down to ranches such as Kimana Sanctuary in southern Kenya, a narrow strip of uncultivated land (100m wide at its narrowest!) through which game of all sizes, including some of the largest bull elephants on the planet, move back and forth between the vast ecosystems of Amboseli and Tsavo, 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Background image: elephants crossing the Luangwa river in the early morning, late June, as seen from a tent in Flatdogs Camp, in the Game Management Area between South Luangwa National Park, which begins on the far bank of the river, and the town of Mfuwe.