Journeysmiths has created a new series of Small Group, Big Impact itineraries exploring conservation in the world’s wildest places.
Journeysmiths has been crafting unique, inspiring trips to the world’s wild places for over 30 years and has now launched a brand new way of seeing the natural world in their Small Group, Big Impact travel series. These trips go behind the scenes of cutting edge conservation initiatives where profits are invested into the very conservation projects visited on the Small Group, Big Impact Trip.
Kicking off the series in January/February 2024, Journeysmiths has harnessed its long-standing partnerships in sustainable private travel, luxury camps and lodges and conservation changemakers to create a safari reimagined: the 2024 Kenya Safari for Conservation.
Just six guests will have privileged access to conservation projects guided by world-leaders in rare black leopard research, huge elephant herd relationships and big cat social dynamics in some of Africa’s best safari regions.
All of the trip’s profits will be invested into positive impact initiatives, the majority of which will directly benefit the very conservation projects and wildlife regions guests will be visiting.
Throughout this handcrafted small-group trip runs a synergy between luxury and intrepid travel. Guests will visit private conservancies, staying in luxurious, off the beaten track accommodation throughout. All the while travelling between conservancies by private, carbon neutral flights offering jaw-dropping views of the magnificent Great Rift Valley below; not a moment in the wild is wasted.
Guests will experience world-class game viewing led by the best, most experienced guides in the field, unique safari activities from bush walks and horse-back exploration to night game drives and sundowners in unique locations and many more surprises along the way.
The 2024 Safari for Conservation takes clients into the wilds of three of Kenya’s most iconic conservancies; each tirelessly protected to ensure the fragile ecosystems that sustain them remain exactly as they are intended: wild. Guests will meet the experts at the forefront of conservation and intimately connect with the animals they protect.
Overshadowed by the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro, Kitirua Conservancy is a beautiful and abundant wildlife viewing region characterised by a varied ecosystem. Known as ‘The Land of the Giants’, Kitirua is famed for its huge elephant herds which have inhabited these landscapes for thousands of years.
Guests will join the Kitirua Conservancy Rangers for a morning bush walk following their patrol route, picking up on subtle tracks easy to miss from a vehicle. An afternoon and night game drive under their guidance will unlock more of the conservancy’s secrets and may even give insight into the area’s nocturnal species and big cat’s hunting tactics.
In Loisaba Conservancy, a wildlife haven with a rich ecosystem ranging from high plains to escarpment walls and riverine bush, guests will meet its protectors, an anti-poaching dog unit headed up by Machine and Warrior, a formidable (and adorable) bloodhound pair to learn about what it takes to protect a conservancy. For one of the many sundowner opportunities, guests will be joined by Loisaba Conservancy CEO Tom Silvester for a drink or two overlooking the Laikipia Plains, and hear stories about the elusive black leopard and an ambitious rhino relocation project.
Following almost 100 years of no reported sightings throughout the whole of Africa, five years ago the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) captured an image of an incredibly rare African black leopard in Loisaba. With six now thought to be in the region, guests will head out on an afternoon game drive searching for the elusive big cats accompanied by the very researchers who made the incredible discovery.
Finally, in the Masai Mara, is one of the world’s most famous and spectacular game viewing regions, one characterised by undulating grassy plains rolling from horizon to horizon, guests will be joined by the researchers who know the iconic big cats that reside there better than anyone for an eye-opening game drive. From dominant lions and agile leopards to the fastest mammal on earth, the cheetah, guests will witness big cats in their natural habitat and learn about the social dynamics of these apex predators.