Footsteps in Africa - Blog from Anthony MD of FIA
Dear Friend in Travel
During the past 5 years you were hard pressed to find a real safari experience at an affordable price into Botswana. Indeed the value for money die-hards relied totally on camps like Oddballs’. But affordable camps and lodges to this day remain few and far between. "To get a real safari experience in Botswana you need to pay a lot of money, bla, bla, bla..." For 5 months of the year (December to April) we at Footsteps in Africa offer our guests a choice of camps and lodges at rack rates of US$ 375 per person per night (have a look at www.kalaharisummer.com) - now it does not get more affordable than that! Our commitment to year round affordability has been our mantra since our very inception. It is not a new division or a new market we have decided to target - this is who we are.
Another age old question debated by numerous experts is what constitutes a real safari. If we look at the history of safaris into Africa - a real safari or traditional safari was to take a foot safari with a expert guide - local guides may I add, often making use of wooden vessels, such as a mokoro when water needed to be navigated.
You see, to obtain the very best out of a safari experience and to make it "real" you need to be on your feet walking or sitting in a mokoro type vessel. You need to sense - feel, touch, smell and live Africa!
Amazingly enough this type of safari (foot or mokoro) is the very best example of sustainable tourism and has least impact on the environment too.
It would now appear that as an industry we have successfully taught ourselves that a real or traditional safari - a foot safari - is now not as enjoyable as a vehicle safari. Even worse, we have even managed to indoctrinate ourselves that a mythical Mr. Got Bucks from Philadelphia, who has never been on a safari before, knows what's best!
Maybe it is because I am old fashioned but I for one, would certainly would like to see a far more balanced safari experience - foot safaris and vehicle drives, each taking equal place in time and effort for guests to enjoy. They say to really enjoy Africa you need to get the dust of Africa onto your feet - I could not agree more.
One thing is for certain, you can participate on a 1,000 safari drives and see 100 lions but the very first time you encounter a lion on foot - it is a memory that will last forever! It is as if the entire experience becomes so much more real.
In closing, this is exactly what the Footsteps in Africa circuit offers, foot safaris, mokoro excursions and game drives all taking equal place in a range of choices our guests can choose from.
We offer real safari experiences at affordable rates - a whole Botswana high spots circuit of camps and lodges!
Kind Regards
Anthony Cavill-Taylor
Managing Director
Back to Basics - Botswana made Easy and Affordable. It is our hope that you will indeed invest a few minutes and read each of these articles that will be both relevant and readable.
In today’s information age, speed and digital are the "new" buzz words all hyped to produce "perceived" improvements, leading to ignoring the basics. These basics are the very foundations of the safari industry in Botswana. Forget all the hype ... forget the latest safari industry fad "My decorator is better than yours"..... STOP!
Have we forgotten to offer the most basic of basics - a real safari experience at an affordable price?
Footsteps in Africa continues to offer a quality, rewarding, yet affordable safari experience for our guests, while being acutely aware of both our impact, and that of our guests, on the environment. Further we recognise that as a company predominantly trading in Botswana we have a socio-economic responsibility towards the citizens/ residents of Botswana.
Footsteps in Africa is committed to Sustainable Tourism Practices; including management systems maximising social, economic and cultural benefits to the local communities whilst conserving the environments we operate in. Our camps and lodges are owner-operated - by people committed to the resources and cultures of Botswana.
Delta Camp, Oddballsʼ Enclave and Oddballsʼ are amongst the most environmentally friendly safari camps anywhere, confirmed by the findings of the pilot project for EcoTourism Standards in Botswana.
Our various camps and lodges offer a wide range of experiences, including traditional mokoro (dug-out canoe) safaris (we are the last operators in Botswana to use the traditional, hand-made canoes rather than fibreglass replicas), camping excursions, day and night drives with guide and tracker, San (Bushman) activities and interactions, guided walking, horse riding, and family and specialist safaris.
We look forward to welcoming your clients onto our circuit!
Kind Regards
Anthony Cavill-Taylor
Managing Director
