Cedarberg RIver

Responsible Travel

Ama Africa Experiences is committed to preserving the integrity and promoting environmentally responsible travel and so would like to point out a few responsible travel requirements whilst on your programme in South Africa.

Carbon Offsetting

To offset your carbon emissions from your flight to South Africa, you can use a carbon calculator to establish your footprint (the amount of CO2 your flight will emit) and you can then purchase offsets in an amount directly proportional to your emission. You can use a company such as atmosfair, Myclimate, CarbonCounter or Climate Care. If you are making use of any sort of transport, please lift share or use public transport wherever possible.

Care for the Environment

  • Use water sparingly whilst in South Africa as we are a water distressed country;
  • Switch off any unnecessary lights or equipment, to save money at your accommodation or project.
  • Reuse and recycle whenever possible, refilling up water bottles from the taps is a great way to reduce waste
  • Reuse plastic bags when shopping
  • Don’t litter anywhere,
  • Waste products are very difficult to dispose of especially in rural communities. If you are a smoker, please remember to dispose of your cigarette butts in an appropriate manner, never throw burning butts out of a car window or onto the ground, not only are they a fire hazard but they are negatively affecting our environment

Care for the projects

  • Support local community initiatives by buying local handcrafts and supporting street vendors or by paying for services instead of handing out spare change to beggars and street children
  • Dentists are very expensive, sweets are damaging to children and money is often spent on drugs and glue, please rather give food or contribute to a worthy cause in order to alleviate poverty.
  • Don’t forget that wild animals are exactly that, they are wild, please never exit your vehicle when on safari and never get too close to a wild animal for a photo or a closer look, rules and regulations are there for a reason.

Water Savings

South Africa is currently experiencing a very serious drought and water restrictions are in place in the Western Cape. Please use water sparingly and remember to shower for a maximum of 2 minutes once per day only. Please remember to switch the taps off while brushing teeth or washing your hands or better yet make use of waterless cleansers and dry shampoo as much as possible. Please also only flush the toilet when absolutely necessary, every little drop saved helps.

Never forget

South Africa, even though it may seem like a cosmopolitan country is still a third world struggling economy and needs to be respected and cared for as much as possible.