A new safari company, Natural Selection, recently launched in the market. Natural Selection is a collection of owner-operated lodges that have joined together with the common aim of offering unique safari experiences while being an important part of the conservation solution for Africa's wildlife.
Founded by Colin Bell, Dave van Smeerdijk, Jennifer Lalley and James Ramsay, Natural Selection partners with communities, governments and conservation organizations to help protect and even expand protected areas and critical wildlife habitats through the development of ecotourism projects across southern Africa.
Everything offered by Natural Selection will be "clean and green,'' utilizing the latest technology and developments in sustainable building to ensure there are no footprints left on the ecosystems where it operates, the company said.
The Natural Selection portfolio comprises Meno a Kwena in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park; Jack's Camp, San Camp and Camp Kalahari in the Makgadikgadi; and Sable Alley, Hyena Pan and SkyBeds in the Khwai Private Reserve, all in Botswana.
This year, Natural Selection plans to develop two lodges in South Africa's De Hoop National Park (famous for offering the best-land based whale watching on the planet) and expand into Namibia with the opening of two lodges, one in the Nkasa Rupara National Park and another in the Kaokoland. In 2018, a lodge in the Mkambati Game Reserve will open on South Africa's Wild Coast.