Part of my work as Managing Director and founder of Tracks Safaris is the extensive travel to Africa I undertake every year to experience the camps, lodges, guides, wildlife areas, habitats, and conservation and community work undertaken across the board to understand and get a broader idea of the many safari operators, before recommending to our guests.
In December 2025 I visited two corners of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. With recent social media illustrating the area as highly visited with ineffective controls, especially at sites where visitors have been observing the migration, my objective was to find areas within or close to the park which not only operate sustainably but offer a slower safari away from the maddening crowds.
My first stop was &Beyond Kleins Camp set in a private conservancy in the north east of the park very close to the Kenyan border. Klein’s Camp leases its 10 000-hectare exclusive wildlife concession from the Ololosokwan community. Here the establishment of sustainable land use, wildlife management and community development programmes has created a mutually beneficial situation for the operator and the Maasai landlords.
Facilitated by the African Wildlife Foundation, the innovative lease sets aside a part of the leased land for the exclusive use of Klein’s Camp guests, while the remainder of the land remains available for the Maasai to graze their cattle on, as well as for safari operations. This agreement secures one of the wildlife migration routes outside of the Serengeti National Park and therefore has significant conservation value.
In addition to the benefits that come from land ownership, the camp has also provided employment for local residents – 78% of Klein’s Camp staff come directly from the surrounding communities. These close community ties have meant that development projects have been particularly successful. Guest excursions to Maasai villages to learn more about the tribe and their culture also generate income for local communities, while the exquisite beadwork on sale at the Camp Safari Shop is also produced locally by two groups of women. Most of the vegetables served at the camp at mealtimes are sourced from the Klein’s shamba (vegetable garden), owned by a member of the local community.
And the safari experience? Incredible! In just two game drives on one day we had the pleasure of seeing three leopards spotted by our amazingly skilful spotter and guide. These are local guides from the local community and know the area inside out. We did not see another vehicle during the day – there were other camp vehicles out and about, but the drives were managed incredibly well so that information is shared but space is not.
My next camp was Grumeti River Camp set close to the Grumeti Airstrip. The camp is situated on the banks of a tributary of the Grumeti River, in the secluded western parts of the Serengeti National Park with fabulous wildlife viewing at any time of the year.
I visited in November when the migration should have been in the central area of the Serengeti heading down to the calving grounds of Ndudu – the migration had turned back to where they should have been in June to follow local rain patterns – and were congregating in large numbers close to the camp. With only a handful of camps in the area this meant prime wildlife viewing – sometimes without another vehicle in sight.
Grumeti is well known for its large prides of lions, and we were very lucky to not only spend time with the migration – but to enjoy sitting and watching families of lions with multiple generations of cubs enjoy the bonanza of a second migration visit within 6 months.
Significantly, the redesign of Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge by &Beyond presented an ideal opportunity to integrate a sustainability focus from the very outset. No heavy concrete foundations or slabs were used in this environmentally sensitive framework of lightweight steel clad in natural canvas, and sustainably sourced local hardwood.
This has translated into a feeling of space and flow, with taller doors and unglazed openings providing an abundance of natural light and connection with the natural surrounds and the investment in specific energy-saving elements – some of which include:
- solar power to enable the lodge to run on 80% renewable energy
- energy-saving hot water systems which have replaced the original infrastructure
- LED low-energy fittings have been used throughout.
- Water management – waste water from the laundry will be recycled
- Rainwater tanks will support the filling of plunge pools and cleaning
- Water measurement – the lodge’s borehole capacity is not exceeded
- Plastic elimination – zero plastic with a no straw policy and on-site water bottling
Just some of the initiatives which make staying out in the wilderness a more sustainable experience.
The last hop of my journey was Zanzibar – the iconic spice island set in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of Tanzania close to Dar es Salaam. Whilst much of the island has been developed, the majority of the hotels are giving back to neighbouring villages in terms of community support – including the provision of health clinics in an area with historically very little medical provision. Zanzibar is known for its soft sand beaches, warm tidal seas, spice plantations – and of course Stone Town – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the administrative centre of the island.
Set in the far north east of Zanzibar is a tiny tropical island set around 5 minutes boat ride from the coast of Zanzibar. Just 12 open-air Bandas, including a family banda, rest beneath whispering casuarina trees. No doors and no windows, only soft sand between you and the sea.
On Mnemba Island, time drifts with the tides and you can choose to swim in the warm, crystal waters, snorkel on the house reef. Indulge in a spa treatment or walk barefoot on sand washed by the ocean. For those with a little more energy you can dive, swim with wild dolphins, enjoy a sand flat picnic or visit iconic Stone Town.
As the sun dips below the horizon and the warm breeze ripples the sea, enjoy cocktails on the beach before dining under the starts – toes in sand. You may even encounter a giant green turtle hauling itself up the beach to lay its eggs in the warm sand on the way back to your banda later in the evening – turtles often come back to the exact spot where they were hatched!
But there is more to your stay on Mnemba than initially meets the eye. You can enjoy staying on the island knowing that just by staying there – you are putting essential funds back into the community, protecting marine environments and habitats, and you are helping to conserve critically endangered species such as the Aders’ Duiker.
But behind the scenes there is much more. Wild Impact and &Beyond’s Oceans Without Borders (OWB) marine conservation programme was started within the Mnemba Island seascape in 2018. Wild Impact’s work focuses on four pillars: Conserving Ecosystems, Future Foundations, Tomorrows Leaders and Thriving Communities. Under Mnemba Island’s Project Manager there is a team of eight local community and conservation rangers and a project office who work together to restore the reefs around Mnemba Island. Restoration is done through:
- Coral nurseries where coral fragments are nurtured and monitored into mature colonies to later be transplanted onto degraded reefs.
- Artificial reef structures that help deflect pressure from areas of high tourism intensity and provide additional habitat for marine life
- Reef stars that stabilise rubble to promote coral recruitment and facilitate reef recovery through coral transplanting
The team also works closely with the Future Foundations Echo Marine Education Awareness programme, which introduces marine lessons into school curricula. Tomorrows leaders help empower young community member through scholarships to further their studies at tertiary education.
The last pillar, Thriving Communities, focuses on uplifting our partner communities. Through this work, crucial infrastructure such as schools, clinics, ablution blocks, and even boreholes are constructed to support long-term wellbeing and resilience.
If you want to make a difference AND enjoy a fabulous, customisable journey to Tanzania then call us on 01984 667420 or email: sue@trackssafaris.co.uk to start planning your sustainable Tanzania adventure!
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