A great safari and responsible tourism are not at odds, quite the opposite. Here are six eco-lodges that pair the most accomplished comfort with a genuine commitment to wildlife and to local communities.
1 Hoanib Skeleton Coast CampNamibia
In the heart of the Kaokoveld desert, eight luxurious, secluded tents where you meet giraffes, chameleons and ostriches. The camp works to protect brown hyenas and lions, runs entirely on solar power, and carries its ecotourism philosophy right down to its detergents.
2 Matetsi Victoria FallsZimbabwe
On the Zambezi, near Victoria Falls, a lodge that lives by the water: river cruises, helicopter flights, fishing, and canoe trips for birdwatching. Recycling, plastic reduction, solar energy, and a kitchen garden for the table.
3 Time + Tide LuwiZambia
A walking-safari paradise: typical, comfortable straw-bale houses overlooking mahogany groves where hippos and elephants pass. The Time + Tide Foundation supports women's rights, health, education and wildlife protection.
4 Feline Fields LodgeBotswana
Biking, tennis, golf and a private pool that elephants occasionally visit. The lodge produces its own state-of-the-art solar energy and monitors its water use through the Feline Fields Trust, in service of community and conservation.
5 Virunga LodgeRwanda
In Volcanoes National Park, a lodge from which you set out to track mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, with views over Lakes Bulera and Ruhondo or the volcanoes. Volcanoes Safaris runs small groups in strict respect of the animals, and supports water and craft projects.
6 UnembezaSouth Africa
In the Hoedspruit reserve, refined rooms and villas, a bush spa with African massages using the calabash or the rungu stick and natural, local oils. Leopard safaris are done on foot, by bicycle or on horseback, and the lodge supports women's projects through the Hlokomela charity.
Travelling in Africa can leave a positive mark. These houses prove that the truest luxury is also the most respectful, of the wildlife, the landscapes, and the people who live there.
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