Travel is a privilege that incurs responsibility. Many of the Parks and Reserves in Africa are fragile ecosystems that will hopefully be around for visitors to enjoy for generations to come. Many of these parks receive thousands of visitors each year, which means that one thoughtless action by one visitor, repeated a thousand times can lead to habitat degradation and/or animal disturbance. Ecotourism is often touted as the answer to protect these parks and reserves. The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people.” The following guidelines were developed for travelers so that these remarkable wildlife areas will not be harmed by our presence and will remain intact for years to come. We ask for your understanding and full cooperation in adhering to these guidelines.

• Wild animals always have the right of way.
  
  
• Vehicles must keep to established roads or authorized viewing tracks. Destroyed vegetation can be slow to regenerate, and haphazard vehicle ramblings may expose young animals to unnecessary danger.
  
  
• Do not disturb or harass wildlife in any way. Radios and cassettes are forbidden. Please do not imitate animal sounds, clap, whistle, pound on the vehicle, or sound your vehicle’s horn. Do not throw objects to attract the attention of animals.
  
  
• Do not leave litter behind at any location. Keep film cartridges, cigarette packets, lunch boxes and tissues in the vehicle to be properly disposed of later at your lodge or camp. In addition to creating an eyesore, litter can choke or poison wild animals and birds.
  
  
• Visitors must remain in their vehicles except when notified by their driver or guide that getting out of the vehicle is acceptable. Many parks and reserves do not allow walking or exiting a vehicle.
  
  
• Wildlife must not be approached too closely, especially when they are actively hunting or engaged in social behavior. Good binoculars and a telephoto lens are critical to your enjoyment on a safari. Your driver and guide are instructed as to the proper viewing distances for different circumstances and animals. Keep in mind that even when an animal does not exhibit frightened or disturbed behavior that is visible to humans it can still be under increased stress due to your actions.
  
  
• Please do not encourage your driver to approach too closely, either with subtle pressure or financial incentives.
  
  
• Do not pick, cut, or destroy any vegetation. Do not remove any object of biological interest including eggs, feathers, or bones.
  
  
• Do not light fires or cause them to be lit. Smoking is not be allowed when game viewing. If you are camping, your camp staff will take necessary precautions to fully extinguish your camp fires.
  
  
• In a natural habitat, animals follow their own rhythms, which do not always coincide with visitors’ desires. Do not fault your driver or guide if the wildlife does not perform according to your expectations.
  
  
• Please be considerate of other visitors. They, too, want to enjoy game viewing and photographic opportunities without harassment. Do not do anything that will cause an animal to move away from you in fear, for this may deprive other visitors of the opportunity of seeing and enjoying the same sight.
  
  
• Do not hang out of the vehicle windows, or sit or stand on the roof hatch. Animals are accustomed to vehicle profiles and smells and anything unusual can provoke unpredictable behavior.
  
  
• Avoid abrupt movements within your vehicle. These, too, can startle animals or irritate other passengers trying to take photographs. On game drives keep your voices low. Loud talking disturbs not only the wildlife, but fellow visitors as well.
  
  
• Refrain from feeding animals and birds, this can cause animals to become pests, and change their normal behavior. This can lead to abnormal behavior and possibly into dangerous encounters with humans which usually then means the animal’s death.
  
  
• Do not crowd around animals or animal groups. Please respect a limit of five vehicles around any sighting and encourage your driver to leave if more vehicles show up to allow other visitors a chance at viewing the animal and to prevent stressing the animal unnecessarily.
  
  
• Do not photograph members of the Maasai tribe nor any other African people without first having your guide obtain permission.
  
  
• Do not hand out gifts to Maasai or other African children. Work with us or your driver/guide to make appropriate donations of items that are actually needed in a culturally sensitive manner.

PLEASE OBEY ALL INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN BY YOUR DRIVER/GUIDE AND LOCAL MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES WHILE YOU ARE ON SAFARI.

KNOWING THAT YOUR PRESENCE HAS NOT JEOPARDIZED THE INTEGRITY OF THE AREA YOU HAVE VISITED WILL ADD TO YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE SAFARI