In its sixth year, the 2014 Safari Awards revealed the very best safari lodges, camps and houses alongside the most outstanding safari guides and operators in Africa – the ‘who’s who’ of the safari community. Sponsored by The Good Safari Guide, and led by a team of 15 highly respected independent safari specialists from Australia, Germany, USA and the UK, over 4,000 public and travel trade nominations for over 250 safari properties, guides and operators have been whittled down to 18 award winners representing the future of wildlife tourism and conservation in Africa.
Zarafa Camp in Botswana, is the winner of the 2014 Safari Awards Best Safari Camp in Africa for the second year running. Zarafa Camp, located in the 320,000-acre Selinda Reserve is synonymous with exclusivity and perfection. The spirit behind Zarafa Camp comes from Colin Bell, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, who together designed Zarafa to incorporate all the components of what they envisioned as the ‘perfect’ safari camp. It embodies authenticity, luxury and simplicity to create a camp that has been clearly considered, and thoughtfully planned to be as environmentally sensitive as possible. It is the culmination of years of safari experience.
CEO and Founder of Great Plains Conservation, Dereck Joubert, commented that the win was amazing.
“Winning this award is amazing. Zarafa Camp is a beautiful shell but without the staff it remains a shell. We are certainly sharing this award with all the staff who are the heart and soul of Zarafa. Winning this award allows us to open up conversations about the conservation work we are doing, which is our primary initiative. For example, it points a spotlight at our ‘Zeros for Rhinos’ initiative where we are aiming to move 100 rhinos out of a hot poaching area into the area around Zarafa where poaching rates are low. Great Plains is more than just a safari destination, it is a conservation company. I would like to sincerely thank all those who supported Zarafa Camp in the 2014 Awards.”
The ‘Best New Safari Camp’ is always a much-awaited category, unearthing the safari properties of the future. This year’s title is taken by the fabulous Chinzombo in Zambia. Mindy Roberts commented, “All of us at Norman Carr Safaris are so proud of the whole team; it was a huge company-wide effort to build Chinzombo. The camp has attracted interest worldwide, not only for its wildly luxurious design, incredible location and fabulous wildlife, but because the team in camp brings it to life; we think it retains the legacy of Norman Carr but brings something completely new to Zambia.”
– Traveldailynews,com
