CKGR Lodge a success - wilderness safaris

MONKAGEDI GAOTLHOBOGWE
Staff Writer | Monday November 14, 2011 00:00

Wilderness Safaris, probably the most successful company thanks to its footprint that extends to as far as South Africa, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, the Seychelles and other African countries, have also announced they will next month be opening an office in Gaborone for the first time.

The Gaborone office will, among other things, enable the wilderness marketing office to tap into the Gaborone market and influence locals to travel to Botswana touristsdestinations at affordable prices. Sally-Anne Follett-Smith, GM Wilderness Adventures brand at Wilderness Safaris, is concerned that although her company is famous for top notch travel and tourism services around the world, Batswana and other Africans in Botswana often do not  enjoy the facilities that Wilderness Safaris is famed for.

She says that could be partly due to the fact that as a top-end company Wilderness marketing initiatives have focused on the overseas market. But that is about to change, as Wilderness now hopes to be closer to Batswana with their Gaborone office.  Follett-Smith says they have realised that locals indeed love travelling and enjoying themselves, as shown by their trips to Namibia's Walvis Bay, Capetown and Sun City in South Africa.  That is the market segment Wilderness hopes to entice very soon, with special offers designed specifically for locals to enable them to experience the top notch services that continue to attract some of the affluent personalities around the word, to Botswana.

Not that the Wilderness Safaris camps are not doing well at the moment. In fact Follett-Smith says their CKGR lodge, Kalahari Plains, has been doing very well since it opened four years ago.  'It brings a lot of attention to  the camp, we call it sustainable environmental economy,' she said.  Follett-Smith says it has been a great privilege to operate inside the CKGR where the wildlife variety is huge.  She says wildlife and game viewing in the CKGR is unique both during the peak season and quite season. She says when the environment is dry, tourists enjoy watching desert animals that can survive the harsh conditions of the Kalahari. In the peak season, during the first rains, Follett-Smith says it is a different game viewing pleasure, as browsers such as Zebras, antelopes, buffaloes, springboks are followed into the desert by the famous Kalahari black mane lions, cheetahs and other animals of prey.  'It is fun, very remote and offers authentic wildlife experience,' she said.  She is also quick to clarify that Wilderness Safaris is not the only company that operates inside the CKGR though. Other companies with lodges inside the CKGR are Tao, Deception Valley Lodge, Hyena Safari Lodge, while individuals also do own self-drives and camping inside the CKGR.

- Although they operate and run five facilities in Botswana, Wilderness Safaris also market over 20 tourist facilities in Botswana alone.  Follett-Smith says they are time and again engaged by other operations to market them to tourists.  'We are a very strong marketing machine, it is due to our marketing and operations that organisations come to us and engage us to take over marketing and management contracts,' explains Follett-Smith.