Post-Corona pandemic change is inevitable, but how we adapt to it is crucial for our survival.
The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted in untold misery and disaster for the human race but paradoxically resulted in a welcome boost for nature. For once, after decades, the Earth can ‘breathe’ again. The signs are there. The air over Europe is 40% improved after a few weeks of rest, and the murky waters in the Venetian canals are clear again with dolphins present. In Asia, the summits of the Himalayas are again visible, the first time in human memory. This all because of a massive drop in human activity and actions.
It is prudent to take stock of where we stand and where we are going to.
It is painful and also disgraceful to admit that this catastrophic event is mostly self-inflicted caused by human actions or neglect to act in other instances. To only blame the Chinese for this disaster because of their disregard for animal rights and destructive ecological practices is disingenuous. We, the rest of the world, is equally to blame. We only have to look at pollution (air, water, environment), overpopulation, habitat disruption, harmful policies, health and hygiene standards coupled with civil disobedience to understand the cumulative effect on the pandemic.
Charles Darwin aptly said, “adapt or perish.”
Before the pandemic world/international travel was one of the fasted growing industries and ecotourism, responsible tourism was growing even faster.
Post Corona, the tourism landscape will transform dramatically. With the newfound realisation of social responsibilities combined with less disposable income, tourism will never be the same.
We can safely predict the ‘new’ tourist will become more discerning and demanding how their hard-earned money will be spent.
This new (or not quite so new) trend, places exciting new challenges for both the consumer and the service provider.
Our carbon footprint can be either uplifting or destructive, depending on our choices and actions.
As the responsible traveller, we must adhere to strict eco principals and standards. It starts with our choice of accommodation and transport. We have to verify or check to see if the lodge/hotel or reserve comply with responsible and eco standards. Relying on promotional marketing claiming ‘eco’ is not sufficient. We must check their credentials and grading (eco grading) we have to be alert to identify the ‘green washer’ who falsely proclaim to be eco for marketing reasons. We must take care to select locations or establishments who respect and improve nature as well as uplifting the local community. Also important to determine if their facilities and practices are truly and genuinely eco-friendly.
Eco-standards and grading
The service provider, on the other hand, has different challenges and opportunities to comply with. The current lull in local and international tourism is the ideal opportunity to get the ‘house in order’ and improve the infrastructure to comply with eco-standards and responsible tourism. Looking for, or improving renewable and energy-saving strategies, implementing water-saving policies, re-looking at amenities in the rooms and prioritise kitchen and catering standards to improve eco ratings. Use the available time to implement bush clearing of invader plants and trees and utilise the wood thus harvested for fire-making. What a better opportunity to rope in the already struggling local community, to render cultural and other uplifting activities to the establishments for the benefit of the guests. Planning new activities like birding, game drives and cultural visits, can be stimulating for the owners and also enhance their reputations. This is but a few examples, but the list can be much more extensive.
We have no choice but have to adapt to survive.
The current time is the best opportunity for all involved parties to unite their efforts to establish a true eco-community and grading for our tourism market. Here we include service providers, consumer individuals and groups combined with other involved experts to set a credible standard and grading process to guide the tourist in their decision making as well as the service provider in understanding the expected standards.
Our debris does not form part of the ecosystem.
We have visited Mabuasehube, Botswana previously, however, when our friends, Heinrich and Wendy, invited us again to join them, we said yes.
That meant cancelling our pre-planned holiday to Thailand, and instead of sipping the cocktails in the sparkling pool, we were to test our endurance for the January heat in Kalahari.
Our route was planned via Bray border post, overnight at Cornwall farm, 6 nights at Mabuasehube, then take the Nossob track to Kgalagadi and drive down to Rooiputs.
By the time we sat in our camp chairs at Mpayathutlwa camp in Mabua, drinking in the scenery together with ice-cold gin and tonic, the tension of urban living had lifted from our shoulders.
This Camp is famous for its resident pride of lions who apparently like the campsites as much as campers do, and some have developed a peculiar fetish for car tyres. Indeed the lions were waiting for us. Either vocal or visible in the close distance during our stay. At the next-door campsite, the lions occupied the A-frame most of the day and using the camp chair as a urinal. There they “owned” the camp during the heat of the day while the campers were either driving around or forced to drive around because of the lions.
We saw notably fewer antelopes compared to our previous trip in March 2014. Most likely the harsh heat and lack of rain had driven animals to migrate to less hostile grounds. However it is not the number of animals that make an enjoyable game viewing, but often the small things like blooming desert lilies popped out from the bare sand.
Sustainable tourism
There are not many wild and natural places left, let’s cherish them.
The next three days we stayed at Lesholoago no2 campsite. It had all the camp “luxuries” (water and ablution ) and in my opinion one of the best views over the pan. The flat horizon over the pan made a 180 degree stretch of the sky into a magnificent sunset tableau. Distant rain clouds painted the sky in hues of pinks and purples with streaks of rain appearing red. Every sunset is different, and I have seen many spectacular ones, yet I feel this one would have been priceless if on the art gallery wall.
As expected, the days were boiling hot, with + 36 degrees at 6 in the evening. The best way to prevent heatstroke was to hibernate under a shady spot, depleting our stock of liquid refreshments. During our stay, we encountered quite a few uneaten carcasses of Gemsbok who probably have died from the drought.
At the Lesholoago campsite, we were expecting to meet the tyre fetish Lion as encountered during our previous visit. However, Lions were replaced with a gang of Hyenas; raiding our campsite every night in search of takeaways. Of cause, we left out of their reach, but in the morning we found a massive bag of wood dragged into the bushes and our car tyres tasted, – out of revenge (maybe). Swarms of termite nymphs appeared in the evenings for their suicide mission. It was fascinating to see the nymphs fly under the camp light, wiggling off their wings and join to move in a clockwise motion. The merry-go-round wheel got bigger and bigger, and BIGGER on the sand as millions of them joined in. By the morning the campsite ground looked like a termite nymph mortuary. It was the most bizarre activity. I am yet to find an explanation for it.
The next day a deep sandy road was waiting for us on our way to Nossob, – a challenge that we have been looking forward to. Beautiful terrain with changing vegetation and bouncy dunes.
To sum up, our Mabua to Nossob trip was a leisurely holiday. We had a great time without any let-downs from our cars or other possible mishaps. The only disappointing and annoying factor was finding cigarette-buts and other confetti such as cut cable ties; tins and beer caps at the campsites. My husband with our friends and I are regular 4×4 travellers and have noticed that lately, these findings become more prevalent.
It takes just a common sense, that beer cans will not burn to ash in the fire and ain’t going to disintegrate into the sand. More appalling was a discovery at the Matopi no2 wilderness campsite, – in the centre of the campground stood a hundred years old tree, a magnificent beauty ravaged by selfish campers for firewood. I cannot comprehend why would anyone go for 4×4 camping in the wilderness who does not respect nature and promote conservation. I hope that people would come to realise that we do not own nature and our debris does not form part of the ecosystem. https://ecoexploreafrica.com/what-is-ecotourism/
Mabuasehube Transfrontier Park in Botswana is one of my favourite places for Eco travel Africa.
On the road again.
Private unfenced camps, unexpected visitors in the form of lion or hyena, blessed peace and quiet makes any eco travel Africa trip to Mabua a memorable experience.
We decided to stay in one camp for the duration of our trip. The only camp available for a lengthy stay was Mpaya Reserve Camp. My travel companions had their doubts, but I was adamant.
One tree, no water, no facilities what so ever.
Water for our shower was collected each day at Scout Camp nearby. We managed to shower with less than 25 litres of water a day between the five of us. By standing in a bowl to catch the water, we could have a luxurious hot bush shower courtesy of Johan’s Kariba ingenious eco travel Africa shower.
To compensate for the lack of shade trees, Dennis erected his “African Tree” What an amazing invention. It allows a free flow of air and even rustles like a tree as the wind blows through it.
These are Eco travel Africa do’s and dont’s for responsible camping.
After setting up our camp our first duty was to collect bits of toilet paper that carpeted the campsite. Obviously very few visitors to Mpaya Reserve Camp took the trouble to research pooping in the bush! (By the way here are some excellent videos on YouTube about the subject.) Every morning Dennis dug a fresh toilet pit at the camp perimeter. The used toilet paper was collected in a bag, which we disposed of by burning.
Despite some negative comments on the internet, I realized that the Reserve Camp has one of the better views over the pan. Our bed in the trailer looked out directly over the Mpaya waterhole. From there we enjoyed an early morning lie-in while still observing the comings and goings at the waterhole.
Meeting unexpected visitors is why we travel to places like Mabuasehube.
The waterhole is about 500 meters from our campsite. Whenever we spotted something interesting, we jumped in the Landy and within minutes had a closeup look at lion, hyena, springbok and any variety of birds.
We left our camp only to fetch water and had one game drive to Letsoalaga pan. On our return from Letsoalaga, our fellow campers told us that a lioness walked right past the camp while we were gone.
We saw the Brownie every day, and on one occasion he visited while we were having supper. Very calmly he walked into our camp, gave us a look as if saying “What are you doing here” and ambled off into the night.
The entire night we could hear the lions in and around our campsite
During the day we were visited by the small creatures of Mpaya. Hornbills, crows, white-tailed and slender mongoose and red-billed spurfowl, were regular visitors on this unforgettable eco travel Africa experience. The hornbills made a real nuisance of themselves, even grabbing food off our plates. Obviously, they associate humans with a free lunch.
Great article to read about feeding wild animals.
On our last night at Mpaya we planned an early morning getaway. Not to be! The entire night we heard the lions in and around our campsite. It was a bleary-eyed group of travellers that eventually dared to leave the safety of their tents.Lion tracks crisscrossed our campsite. With one eye on the bush, we managed to pack up camp in record time.
Once again Mabuasehube lived up to its reputation. We will be back.
If, like us, you are a fellow eco-minded traveler and keen to explore the potential eco travel Africa, please feel free to contact us for advice and suggestions. Safe Travels