Conservation at the Heart of Travel

At The Classic Safari Company, conservation and community empowerment are not an afterthought, they are the essence of who we are. Every journey we design, every lodge we partner with, and every client we host contributes directly to safeguarding Africa’s wild places and the people who call them home. We believe that travel should be more than simply an indulgence, it should also be a force for good. That is why we commit a portion of every client’s investment towards meaningful conservation and community initiatives across the continent.

In 2025, we are proud to have donated almost AUD $5,000 each to two extraordinary organisations: The Pride Rock Trust and The Tikki Hywood Foundation. These donations are just one part of our broader commitment to supporting ethical lodges, sustainable tourism practices, and grassroots charities that ensure Africa’s wild spaces and cultures thrive long into the future.

This philosophy underpins everything we do: when you travel with The Classic Safari Company, every dollar you spend is an investment in conservation, protection, and opportunity.

Pride Rock Trust: Education as the Seed of Change

Founded in 2018 by Paul Kamwi, Pride Rock Trust School was born from a simple mission: to give underprivileged children and orphans access to education, food, and clothing. What began in an old church has grown into a permanent school, though infrastructure remains limited and only 40 children can currently be enrolled.

Our donation is helping complete a staff house and contribute towards the dream of building more classrooms and facilities to upgrade the school to accommodate upper primary students. As Kamwi shared:

“Let me start by thanking The Classic Safari Company and everyone involved for the donation you have made to our school, we really appreciate it. We are doing our best to complete a staff house which needs a roof, windows, doors and panes, so the money will be used there. We are also on our quest to build at least two or three more classrooms and an ablution block so that our school can be upgraded to upper primary.”

Beyond bricks and mortar, they are also seeking sponsorship for children:

“We are kindly asking [people] to sponsor a child at £35 per month. This will give that child an opportunity for education, breakfast and hot lunch every day, and we will be sending monthly and term updates on the progress of the children to their sponsors.”

By investing in Pride Rock, our clients help nurture the next generation of conservationists, teachers, and community leaders. For us, supporting children’s education is inseparable from conservation, because without empowering communities and educating them on sustainable practices and the natural wonders that surround them, Africa’s wilderness cannot thrive.

The Tikki Hywood Foundation: Protecting the Pangolin & Beyond

The pangolin, or scaly anteater, is the most trafficked mammal in the world, yet it remains one of the least understood. For over three decades, the Tikki Hywood Foundation has been at the forefront of pangolin rescue, rehabilitation, and release, becoming the world’s longest-operating pangolin conservation organisation.

Unlike many organisations, they are deliberately not tourism-facing, believing the rarity of encountering a pangolin in the wild is part of its magic:

“We are 100% conservation and do not engage with tourists or volunteers. Our ethos is that if a tourist or member of the public is visiting a national park and comes across a pangolin then that is the most precious sighting ever.”

In 2023, their persistence bore fruit when Zimbabwe became the first African nation to develop a Pangolin Conservation Strategy & Action Plan. Lisa Hywood explains:

“Through the work we do with authorities, Zimbabwe was the first African nation to develop a Pangolin Conservation Strategy & Action Plan. This is, of course, over and above the rescue, rehabilitation and release of pangolins both here in Zimbabwe and Cameroon.”

Our 2025 donation helps sustain this pioneering work, ensuring pangolins have a fighting chance at survival.

Natural Selection: Expanding Wild Frontiers

The partners we choose to work with are as critical as the charities we fund. Natural Selection is a shining example, operating across more than 1.6 million hectares of wilderness and transforming poached lands and environments damaged by mismanaged agriculture into thriving ecosystems.

Their philosophy is clear:

“Our primary conservation focus is the protection and expansion of wildlife areas, alongside the upliftment of communities living alongside these landscapes. Through responsible tourism, we bring value to significant conservation areas—including transforming previously hunted or marginal lands into sustainable eco-tourism destinations.”

Guests at their lodges contribute directly through levies and fees, funding more than 160 conservation and community initiatives since 2016. From elephant corridors to rhino reintroductions, their achievements are wide-ranging.

One particularly inspiring project is the Elephant Express:

“Elephant Express buses safely transport school children and medical workers through elephant corridors in the Okavango eastern panhandle. Three buses ran successfully for a sixth year with zero elephant-child encounters. Class attendance continues to improve, as has academic performance.”

Another, Communal Herding for Livestock and Wildlife Protection, has had equally transformative results:

“[We have seen] zero retaliatory killing of lions in three years. We just entered our sixth year of funding this programme, leading to the recent launch of certified, wildlife-friendly beef which is a significant milestone for this area.”

When our travellers stay at Natural Selection camps, they are joining a movement of regenerative tourism with measurable outcomes.

Kwandwe: Rhinos, Reforestation, & Education

In South Africa’s Eastern Cape, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve blends luxury hospitality with bold conservation. Their flagship Rhino Conservation Trust has nurtured black and white rhino populations to internationally significant levels.

As Craig Sholto Douglas of Kwandwe explains:

“By providing the protection and suitable habitat for our rhino species, we conserve so much more. Each guest that stays at Kwandwe pays conservation levies, which are split 50/50 between the Ubunye Foundation and the Kwandwe Rhino Conservation Trust. The overall goal is to build communities and protect wildlife and land.”

They also tackle climate change through their reforestation project:

“We are currently running a VERRA-registered carbon project which aims to plant 12.5 million trees over the next four years. The aims of the project are to remove vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, restore degraded landscapes, provide employment opportunities for local communities, and provide more suitable habitat for critically endangered species like the black rhinoceros.”

Since 2022, over 4.7 million trees have been planted, while their partnership with Lessons in Conservation is reaching over 400 local learners annually with certified environmental training.

Why We Give

Each year, The Classic Safari Company sets aside a portion of our revenue to donate directly to projects that need it most. But these donations are only one thread in a much larger fabric. By carefully selecting the lodges and partners we work with, we ensure that your safari supports conservation and community from the moment you arrive.

As an example, South Africa’s Londolozi channels its revenue directly into three primary areas: employment, education and conservation. For every night a guest spends at a Londolozi property, five employees and their dependents are paid, six rhino are given essential protection and the education of eight children and one adult is supported; every single guest, and every single night of their stay. This all amounts to a profound impact.

Likewise, Tswalu, also in South Africa, in the far reaches of the Green Kalahari, was established first and foremost for research and conservation. Tourist dollars directly benefit these aims, financing staff and ensuring the continued protection and betterment of this fragile ecosystem.

Whether it is feeding schemes in remote Botswana villages, rhino monitoring in South Africa, classrooms in Zambia, or pangolin rescue in Zimbabwe, your journey has a tangible impact.

Our philosophy is simple: every dollar invested by our clients goes further, protecting the places you visit and uplifting the people who call them home.

The Ripple Effect of Travel

When you book with The Classic Safari Company, your investment doesn’t just buy a journey; it buys survival for rhinos, protection for pangolins, safe passage for children, education for the next generation, and livelihoods for rural communities.

It creates ripple effects that travel far beyond your safari experience: a child in Botswana can attend school safely, a pangolin can return to the forest, a lion can roam free without fear, and a teacher in Zambia can live in dignity while shaping young minds.

As one of our partners at Natural Selection reminds us:

“Conservation and community wellbeing are inseparable.”

At The Classic Safari Company, conservation is not charity, it is responsibility. It is woven into every journey, every partnership, and every decision we make. Together with our travellers, we are building a future in which Africa’s extraordinary wildlife and its resilient communities thrive side by side.

So, when you plan your next safari, know that your adventure is part of something far greater. Every lion you watch on the savannah, every rhino you track on foot, and every child’s smile you encounter is a reflection of your investment in Africa’s future.

Stunning cover image by Patrick Mavros, courtesy of the Tikki Hywood Foundation.

See you out there.

Thomas

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