Ultimate Safaris supports conservation
Donations of N$8.5m in 2023
From humble beginnings, the foundation has - over the past three years alone - been able to deliver over N$24 million in support.
Ultimate Safaris, through its Conservation Travel Foundation (CTF), donated a total of N$8.5 million to various projects across Namibia in 2023.This, according to the company’s latest audited financial statements, includes around N$1.8 million for the provision of solar power within the Tsiseb communal conservancy, N$1 million for the construction of predator-proof kraals (which is in addition to the roughly N$1.3 million spent by CTF on predator-proof kraals in 2021), and over N$3.5 million donated to aid the efforts of conservation organisations such as Desert Lion Conservation, AfriCat, TOSCO Lion Rangers and communal conservancy rhino rangers.
The Save the Rhino Trust’s coordinated rhino rangers programme also benefitted directly through the Ultimate Safaris-led Pack for Conservation initiative, which, in partnership with Namibian camping and outdoor supplier Cymot, allows anyone to buy dedicated rhino ranger gear online via a secure platform, and have it delivered directly to rangers on the ground.
Enriching lives
Founded in 2006 by Tristan Cowley, later also a co-founder of Ultimate Safaris, the aim of CTF has always been to bring about tangible, positive impacts on ecosystem conservation and on the socioeconomic development of rural communities in Namibia, he said.
Cowley, now Ultimate Safaris’ managing director, explained that “as a safari operator, we wanted to enrich the lives of communities and enhance the areas we visit, as well as the guests that travel with us. The foundation has allowed us to achieve that in the most transparent way”.
From humble beginnings where only a few hundred Namibia dollars a year was raised, CTF has - over the past three years alone - been able to deliver over N$24 million in support.
The foundation has also developed long-term relationships with conservation partners such as those already mentioned, as well as the likes of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the Rare and Endangered Species Trust, the Lion Recovery Fund, the Pangolin Conservation and Research Foundation and the Namibia Chamber of Environment, as well as Namibian and international funding partners like Paratus, B2Gold, Swarovski Optik, Moraway Adventures, Wilderness Travel, Geographic Expeditions, Mountain Travel Sobek and the Adventure Travel Trade Association.
Vice-principal of Grootberg Primary School, Tommy Haxabeb, said: “With the support of Ultimate Safaris, through CTF, we have been able to enrich the lives of the children at the school”.
Dr Flip Stander of Desert Lion Conservation explained that the effort and support provided by the foundation “will aid substantially in the conservation of desert lions”.
Meanwhile, Save the Rhino Trust’s Jeff Muntefering explained that the support received from the foundation will “contribute greatly to the success of its rhino ranger programme”.
In a bid to ensure that all the money raised by CTF goes to the projects it supports, Ultimate Safaris provides pro bono administrative and logistical support to the foundation.