Working safari in Africa

Fancy a real adventure? Then this is your chance!

In partnership with the Dutch TIMBO Africa Foundation, The Africa Experience Collection offers a unique opportunity for young (and older) adventurers to take an affordable safari in the rugged Central Tuli region of Botswana while making a serious contribution to protecting this unique area with its magnificent wildlife.

What do we expect?

That you help protect vulnerable trees from elephants. Elephants are currently causing a lot of damage to certain tree species and to protect them for the next few decades we need to partially wrap them with netting. Elephants will then leave them alone.

That you help seal so-called erosion gullies. Due to mismanagement of large areas, much vegetation has disappeared, causing more fertile soil to wash away with each rainfall. This creates deep trenches and water no longer sinks into the ground, causing even more vegetation to disappear. By sealing these off, water and soil remain and the vegetation slowly returns.

That you help remove exotic plant species. These crowd out local grasses and have no nutritional value for our wildlife and thus must be removed. So in conjunction with erosion control, we get back more grass, more nutritional value and….our elephants are also going to push down fewer trees because they find grass more palatable.

What can you expect from us?

You will be housed in our Harena River Camp where you will sleep in a dome tent. This is a small tent with two stretchers; so you will sleep two people in this tent. These tents are in a beautiful location on the Limpopo River under large trees but among big game! Elephants regularly come to see who is in the camp! Of course there is security at night to prevent them from getting too close…..

You share outdoor showers and toilets with your fellow participants.

You will of course get three meals a day and regularly you will share them with our local staff; this way you not only get to know the local customs better but also have a chance to really get to know the wonderful people of Botswana. They will also work with you.

Because it is a working safari and it can get very hot you will work about 4-5 hours per day maximum. We guarantee at least one game drive or bushwalk per day and if possible even twice. Of course we will also teach you about tracking, animal behavior, how large nature reserves are managed and as much as possible about the culture of Botswana. Sometimes, instead of working, we will take you to local villages so you get a nice insight into how people live and work in Botswana. We also organize soccer matches and excursions to other areas where we work.

In other words, it’s a unique opportunity to spend a very special vacation in the middle of the bush in a very affordable way.

What does this cost?

The package is composed as follows:

We will pick you up by private bus at Johannesburg airport and drive you to Harena River Camp in Botswana. This is a trip of approximately 5 hours.
You will stay with us for 7 nights with all meals, tea, coffee and soft drinks included.
We will of course also take you back to Johannesburg.

The price for this all-in package is Euro 800 per person, excluding the flight to and from the Netherlands. You can also extend or combine it with a stay at our Koro Island Camp or Koro River Camp or even with family members who would like to come along but prefer not to participate in the work safari itself. In that case, we can make a customized offer.

What is also important: all proceeds from this working safari go directly back to the Timbo Africa Foundation and are all spent a the projects in the area where you stay.

Harena River Camp is set up in partnership with the local communities and so you also contribute to the mutual cooperation.