General Information

'Leave only footprints, take only photos!'

Click here for more information about the work of Climate Care

So, what is our philosophy about tourism and our world?, about environment issues and responsible travel?  Some call it 'eco-tourism', 'sustainable tourism',  'responsible tourism', 'green tourism' etc - we like to think of it as 'tourism with a conscience'.  A conscience for the welfare of the people of East Africa with whom we have the pleasure to interact; a conscience for the preservation of the lands of East Africa on which we have the privilege to walk; and a conscience for the future of the world in which our children and their children will have to live.

We take environment issues and responsibility seriously, and hope that, if you travel with us, you will also share these views.  Our trips take you to some of the most natural, unspoilt wilderness areas in East Africa that have remained the same for thousands of years.  All our walking and trekking trips have a minimal impact on the environments they visit, using designated campsites to keep any disturbance minimised in one place and rarely staying more than one night at the same camp.

All the provisions we will need for the duration of the trip (except water) are brought with us and moved from camp to camp by local porters, or occasionally by donkey or vehicle if there are suitable tracks.  Everything we take in to the mountains, hills and plains, we take out again including all our rubbish.  This ensures that we try to minimise the impact of our presence on the environment, and leave camps and routes as we found them.

We want the local economy to receive the maximum benefit from our trips, and our policy of using a local Head Guide as our trip leader (as well as using local guides, cooks, porters and drivers) enables this to happen.  We support the local economy by giving local people work and ensure we pay at least at the rate recommended by the National Parks authority.  For our trips in Tanzania, our porters, guides, cooks and drivers come from Arusha or neighbouring villages, and all of the fresh food we take on trek/walking is local produce, bought from the local markets in Arusha. Likewise for our Kenyan trips - local people and local food.

All of our trips are in wilderness areas that are designated National Parks, Reserves or Conservation Areas.  This means they are protected by strict guidelines to preserve their natural integrity - from safeguarding the passage of wildlife for the annual migrations and protecting rare species in the Mara and Serengeti, to minimising erosion by using only a restricted number of established routes on Kilimanjaro and keeping certain specified routes just for descent.  Designated campsites in these areas not only mean that disturbance to vegetation and habitat is contained in one place, but also that the National Parks authority can control and contain human waste pollution by digging semi-permanent toilets which can be used for longer, thus keeping human interference to a minimum and protecting the environment as much as possible. 

Our trips generate conservation income for the local economy via the payment of park fees.  National Park fees fund the preservation and management of all aspects of the national parks, including employing park rangers, protecting the boundaries of the parks, educating local people about the needs of the park, stopping poaching etc.  Kilimanjaro and Serengeti National Parks have the most visitors and highest incomes, and to an extent support the other national parks, causing a much higher level of protection nationally for wildlife and habitat.

One of the biggest causes of pollution from overseas holidays is the C02 emissions released in air travel.  This is widely believed to be one of the biggest contributors to global warming as aircraft use large amounts of fuel, releasing exhaust gasses for long periods of time over large distances high into the atmosphere. Protecting the environment is very important, and whilst the obvious and easiest solution would be to drastically cut air travel, realistically this is unlikely to happen.  Besides, a world without travel would be a much duller place - but what can we do about it?  We can actively give something back to the environment that will compensate and repair the damage from the emissions of travel, offsetting the negative effects.

Climate Care is a company dedicated to offsetting C02 emissions.  Climate Care funds schemes designed to reduce greenhouse gasses such as rainforest restoration, introducing cleaner energy sources and even introducing the use of human energy in some cases!  Climate Care has its own Environmental Steering Committee, which includes representatives from the World Wildlife Fund, The Foreign Office and Forum For The Future, assuring Climate Care's environmental integrity.  Many large companies and organisations work with Climate Care to offset their carbon emissions, and these include Land Rover, Lonely Planet, Yahoo and Barclays Bank amongst others.

You can help the environment by making a payment to offset the C02 emissions from your air travel in complete confidence via the Agreement we have with Climate Care.  Climate Care uses a 'carbon calculator' to work out the air travel emissions per person and calculate how much it will cost to offset those emissions.  For example, return flights between London Heathrow and Kilimanjaro International airport release 1.98 tonnes of C02 into the atmosphere per person, and the cost of offsetting this is £17.09.  By making this payment to Climate Care we are paying the full amount to offset the C02 that is released into the atmosphere by our flights.

At East African Adventure we believe the environment is a serious issue and concern for all of us, and wish to have the smallest impact on the environment possible.  That is why we have pledged to match all our travellers' contributions to carbon offsetting.  The cost to offset a return flight to Tanzania or Kenya is roughly £17 (including VAT) - if you, the traveller, are willing to contribute £8.50, we will match your contribution and pay a further £8.50 ourselves.  This is simply an option on the Booking Form for you to tick: it is very easy to think how insignificant a payment of £17 is to global climate change, but if we can neutralise the effect of our air travel on the environment we will be making a big difference, so please tick the box.

We take people to some of the most unspoilt wilderness areas in East Africa and see some of the most impressive natural sights on Earth.  But the African environment is very fragile and needs protection just like anywhere else - increased greenhouse gasses cause global warming and climate change that in Africa can result in lack of rain and cause drought and famine, which can have a devastating effect on both people and animals.

Global warming appears to be causing a much drier East African climate, and the reduced level of rain and snow is affecting the summit glaciers on Kilimanjaro, which since they were first measured in 1912 have shrunk by 82%.  Dated to have been on the summit of Kilimanjaro for 12,000 years, and once covering most of Kibo itself, the summit glaciers are now in danger of disappearing altogether.  Scientific research varies as to when the glaciers will have melted by - some predicts by as early as 2015 to 2020, whereas other research predicts by 2040.  We feel making payments to Climate Care to offset the impact of air travel emissions is an important issue, at East African Adventure we hope to be able to offset all of our travellers' air travel emissions, and whilst this is at your option, we encourage you to please tick the box on the booking form.