Travel company Wildland Adventures has added a second departure for its conservation safari to the Hwange National Park double for the 2020 season. It offered just one departure in 2019.
The 11-day Water for Hwange Conservation Safari supports the purchase, installation and maintenance of solar-hybrid water pumps that assist the conservation of elephants and other wildlife in the park.
The pumps are also making life easier for villagers bordering the park in western Zimbabwe. They no longer have to spend hours pumping water by hand or walking long distances to carry it home. Replacing two old diesel pumps with solar-hybrid water pumps has impacted 10,000 elephants and 3,500 Cape buffalo. The same strategy replaced hand pumps in two villages, benefitting over 350 households and close to 4,000 livestock.
"The fact that guests get to see the pumps in action, along with the herds of elephants that congregate to the waterholes, and then meet the rangers who protect them and the communities that benefit from tourism, is incredibly gratifying to us and our travelers," said Kurt Kutay, Wildland Adventures' founding CEO and president.
Accommodations are organized in lodges built on community land to make sure the local communities are benefiting from tourism. The Wildland Adventures safari is led by resident safari guide Mark Butcher, a native Zimbabwean and visionary conservationist who directs wildlife conservation and community development in and around Hwange.
There are two departures of this conservation safari in 2020: June 10 to 20 and July 27 to Aug. 6. A 2021 departure is scheduled for July 4 to 21. Rates start from $7,180 per person, double, and includes a $500 tax-deductible donation to Wildland Adventures' nonprofit Travelers Conservation Trust Foundation that dedicates 100% of contributions directly to support the communities guests visit.
For more information on Wildland Adventures' worldwide offerings, availability and reservations call (800) 345-4453 or email info@wildland.com. Visit http://www.wildland.com/.