African Dream Destinations - Doing Well by Doing Good

I have travelled to Phinda on three occasions and stayed at three of their lodges, my favourite being Phinda Forest with glass walled accommodation where you become one with your green surroundings and intermittent visits from blue duiker the smallest antelope in southern Africa who are seen in close proximity to your room in solitary or in pairs.  Secretive and browsing through the green and dank forest which borders coastal bush terrain minding their way in what appears to the human eye to be a piece of paradise. 

I have also flown to Ngala on a private charter to attend a meeting that was held in a dry river bed. So yes, I am qualified to say that I have experienced the African bush beyond and above expectation. Memories of lodges which provide style and pampered comfort, bush cuisine like none other, morning game drives and evening sundowners game drives with the reward of ‘big five’ sightings to return to the lodge for a fire inspired boma dinner around a large bonfire.

The lodge chefs prepare food with love and personal, unpretentious attention.  Rural students in the lodge kitchens are turned into world-class chefs.  Many of the lodges serve an exciting fusion of world cuisines, with the bite of South East Asia and Portuguese-African influenced peri-peris, to West African grains and pulses.  Ingredients are drawn from the local farmers.  Food is homely yet exotic, with its innovative combinations and strong focus on local products.

Through their operations of running magical safari lodges and camps in the most breathtaking parts of the African continent this sustains hundreds of rural communities and millions of acres of precious, sometimes endangered wildlife land.

Even though they have a relatively small physical footprint, in terms of buildings and number of guests, it can have a disproportionately large positive impact on the wildlife and people that are interwoven with &Beyond. The entire group of lodges comprises less than 450 bedrooms (smaller than a mid-size city hotel), yet they help sustain more than two million acres of the world’s most precious wildlife land.

They are “doing well by doing good” and it all starts with delighting each guest, and by creating a place where people travel with heart and feel nourished by what their holiday has meant to them.

From the deserts of Namibia to the Okavango swamps, from the plains of the Serengeti and Masai Mara to the Indian Ocean archipelagos and South Africa's famous Big Five game parks. Their passion for the earth's natural high spots has also taken them into the jungles and tiger country of India, where they operate four unique lodges.

History

&Beyond was established alongside rising international demand for ecotourism and wilderness experiences, and in the belief that, through business enterprise, wildlife conservation could be placed on a sustainable economic footing. In 1991 &Beyond (then called "Conservation Corporation Africa" or "CC Africa") began realizing the dream of extending Africa's green frontier.

&Beyond is an evolution of the model originally established over 70 years ago at Londolozi Private Game Reserve.  This model demonstrated that, by harnessing international capital through low-impact, high-yield tourism, conservation land could prove its economic viability whilst affording rural communities a meaningful share of the benefits.

The spirit and efficacy of this model, implicit in the company's core ethic of "Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, Care of the People" was not only recognised and supported by the holders of international investment capital, but has been underwritten by numerous awards, including the important British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow award and a host of hospitality and conservation accolades.

Travel showcasing Africa in its best light – from its natural beauty and charm to its ever enthusiastic and service delivery conscious staff that are there to ensure your stay is the best it can possibly be within the natural beauty of Africa and the wild.

Johannesburg
Sales & Reservations for &Beyond Lodges & Southern & East Africa preferred partners
Tel: (+27 11) 809 4300
E-mail: safaris@andBeyond.com

USA
Marketing & Sales
Toll Free: 888 882 3742
Fax: (+1 305) 221 3223
E-mail: usa@andBeyond.com

Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Marketing & Sales
Tel +49 (0)89.13 92 76 90
Fax +49 (0)89.13 92 76 919
E-mail: safaris@andBeyond.com

Nairobi
Tel +254 (0)203745238
Tel +254 (0)203754002

Would you like to hear from &Beyond?

If you would also like to know about wildlife sightings at &Beyond lodges, as well as stories from their rangers and guests, they invite you to visit www.WILDwatch.com

http://www.andbeyond.com