Beyond The Challenges, Our Passion & Purpose Prevails

From the Zambezi River to the surrounding National Parks, Wild Horizons is wholeheartedly invested in Africa’s pristine and unique natural beauty. We work tirelessly to preserve and protect the environment in every dimension of the business, sharing the benefits of ecotourism with the communities we work alongside. 

Our eco-initiatives and empowerment projects have continued despite the downturn in tourism as a result of the global pandemic. We are excited to share with you, two awards we recently received. 

Travelife Partner Status Award

Wild Horizons is proud to announce that we have achieved the Travelife Partner Award in recognition of our long-term efforts and frontrunner position regarding sustainability and innovative ecotourism. We have been pioneering a greener way to travel for over 30 years and are the first organization in Victoria Falls and the second in Zimbabwe to receive this award.

Mr Naut Kusters, manager of Travelife for tour operators stated,

I am delighted to see that sustainability in the tour operators sector is obtaining momentum. The award of the first few tourism companies in Zimbabwe sets an example for the whole Zimbabwean tourism sector. It will inspire other companies to follow the same path.

Naut Kusters

Manager Of Travelife For Tour Operators, Travelife

Wild Horizons complies with more than 100 criteria, related to our office management, product range, international business partners and customer information.

Environmental Management Agency Conservation & Community Empowerment Award

environmental awards wild horizons
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and The Corporate Social Responsibility Network Zimbabwe (CSRNZ) celebrate excellence in sustainable development through awards to the lead performers in this trajectory. 
Wild Horizons received this award in recognition of our positive impact on Zimbabwe’s sustainable development by contributing to the country’s vision 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals.
This award is inspired by:

Sustainable Management

The immense contribution and involvement in the sustainable management of the environment

Best Business

Adoption of best business practices in every dimension of the organization 

Uplifting Communities

Uplifting and empowering local communities in the region 

Growing Zimbabwe's Economy

Growing Zimbabwe’s economy by contributing to the country’s vision 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals.

Everything that we do is guided by our core ethos to protect and preserve the environment while sharing the benefits of ecotourism with the Victoria Falls community. Tourism is the life-giving force for the conservation of iconic areas. When you travel with Wild Horizons, you leave Victoria Falls having made a lasting contribution to its natural and cultural legacies. Discover more about our on-going conservation and community empowerment projects in the video below.

As we reflect on the year and look beyond the challenges our industry has faced, we are reminded how much we have to be grateful for. Together with our travellers and partners, we are all making a difference and we will continue to do so in the decades to come. Thank you for sharing this journey with us.

Elephant Art Safari

The Wild Horizons Elephant Sanctuary and Art of Africa have teamed up to create an eco-conscious and unique elephant experience, brought to life by the artistic strokes of your fingertips, while surrounded by the African bush.

Guests will be provided with canvas, paintbrushes and paint. A private tutor will guide them as they paint the resident herd of elephant while learning about the rescue-rehabilitate-release program. 

Cultural Connections

Clients are taken to an authentic rural village approximately 20km from Victoria Falls town where they are given the opportunity to watch local villagers going about their daily tasks.

The tour enables the client to see rural life first hand; visiting rural homes, watching their fields being tended and possibly getting the chance to help in some of the day-to-day chores. Meet the village chief and learn about the way of life from him.

Home Hosted Meal

We pioneered and continue to facilitate home-hosted meals to create a space within which our team can share their heritage and pass on cultural knowledge to people visiting the region. Wild Horizons provides transport, mineral water and soft drinks, and the host family prepares and shares a meal with their guests. The fee of this activity provides an additional source of income to the family, and promotes an appreciation of local cultures that enrich our guests own travel experience.

Shop With Purpose

Through the Pay It Forward activity offered by Wild Horizons, holiday makers can make their journey ever more meaningful. Teach your family that gratitude is the best gift one can receive by helping an organisation in need, be it an orphanage, old age home or local clinic. Wild Horizons will give you a “wish list” compiled by the organisation, and a mission to fulfil it by exploring the unique markets dotted around the town.

You will then be transported to the organisation to deliver you goods and meet the strangers whose day you have brightened.

Travel Updates | Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana | Wild Horizons

Travel Updates | Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana | Wild Horizons

If ever there was a destination that assured travellers of wide-open spaces, it is undeniably Victoria Falls. The reopening of International Airports is a defining moment for the travel industry, and as borders open, we have the thrilling opportunity to escape to vast wilderness areas.

Over the year, we have had time to dream, and now it is time to move into the planning phase of your safari escape. Here is what you need to know about travelling to Victoria Falls.

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Dusty Road Victoria Falls

Dusty Road Victoria Falls

I started this blog with the words, “The first thing I noticed about Dusty Road..” and then my fingers froze over my keyboard. Because when I...

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Get In Touch

Our products have a purpose. From community empowerment to conservation and culture, we create meaningful and enlightened travel experiences that enrich your experience while giving back to the legacies that make Victoria Falls so spectacular.

Get in touch to book your safari to Victoria Falls today and experience the abundant beauty Victoria Falls promises throughout the year.

Chef Renzo

While sitting in the stunning Lookout Café overlooking the Batoka Gorge, with a salted caramel pretzel milkshake in hand,  I was fortunate enough to catch up with Chef Renzo on his annual visit to the Wild Horizons properties . Originally born in Portugal, Chef Renzo moved to South Africa in 1994. He has spent many years working closely with and for several leading hotel chains. His varied experiences have given him different and exciting perspectives on food. He visits the Wild Horizons group annually to work with the in house chefs and to bring in creative new ideas in the menus being offered. In keeping with current trends the Wild Horizons group, incorporating The Elephant Camp, Stanley and Livingstone, Imbabala Zambezi Safari Lodge and the Lookout Café, like to update their menus seasonally with imaginative ideas to celebrate the move from winter into summer.

Chef Renzo stresses that a key component of a menu is the availability of ingredients and at all times there is an emphasis on quality and freshness. He told me that a current food trend at the moment is the use of herbs and this will be a key component in many of the salads gracing Wild Horizons tables. He and the team are always on the lookout for delectable bites with a difference.

Many guests of the Wild Horizons group are often lucky enough to visit at least two of the properties and as such it is important that each lodge boasts its own style of food. In keeping with the Wild Horizons mantra that every dining experience must be different Chef Renzo is planning on implementing a revolving menu at each lodge that will include a buffet, a set menu including at least 3 options and a bush braai out of camp. He plans to make even further use of our unique and glorious African settings on the doorsteps of our lodges.

Of course availability of stock can sometimes hinder the imagination but there is no shortage of fresh salad ingredients in Victoria Falls . Much to the delight of our chefs, local entrepreneur Dave Cooper has started up his own hydroponic vegetable garden within Victoria Falls. Moving away from mass market gardening Dave is growing, with unbelievable success, a wide variety of the more unusual and yet sought after salad ingredients including fancy lettuce, a variety of tomatoes, several varieties of edible flowers and a spectacular array of fresh herbs.

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Wild Horizons look forward to spoiling you with our new and creative menus that are welcoming in the summer of 2016. Written by Libby White

‘The Elephant Camp furthers efforts & aims for Top Sustainable Tourism Award’

The Elephant Camp has recently been invited,  with other leading hospitality establishments in Victoria Falls, to spearhead a new project in Zimbabwe. This is to be part of Green Tourism, the largest and most established sustainable certification programme in the world, with the aim of achieving one of their respected awards.

Green Tourism Award means that a business works responsibly, ethically and sustainably; contributes to their community; reduces their impact on the environment and aims to be accessible and inclusive to all. Businesses that meet the required standard receive a Bronze, Silver or Gold award.

The Elephant Camp has worked tirelessly since its inception, to reduce the impact of the business on the environment and improve links with the local community and now feels the time is right to join the programme. We currently have the following initiatives in place and look forward to expanding upon these:

  • Solar Heating: All of our water heating systems are either solar or currently in the process of being converted to solar.
  • Worm Farm: All plant waste there from Elephant Camp, as well as most elephant dung from our resident herd, is fed into our worm farm, creating valuable compost for use in our organic vegetable garden.
  • Organic Garden: In order to supply as much organic produce to our guests as possible The Elephant Camp produces much of its own herbs, spices and vegetables for use in our kitchens.
  • Indigenous Tree Planting Program: To rehabilitate areas that were once denuded of trees by uncontrolled wood collection, we created an indigenous tree nursery. Trees are grown from seed and are transplanted once established, into areas in need of rehabilitation.
  • Biological Monitoring and Erosion Control: The Elephant Camp employs a qualified Environmental Officer to monitor the biology of the reserve and assists with mitigation. Bi-annual biological surveys are conducted, alien vegetation is eradicated and soil erosion is carefully managed in the reserve and on neighbouring communal areas.
  • Community Relations: We make every effort to employ staff from neighbouring areas, and work closely with the community on projects such as transporting thatch from neighbouring areas annually for roofing of homes in neighbouring areas annually for roofing of homes.
  • Education: The Elephant Camp frequently hosts school children on educational trips, teaching them about and allowing them to experience, the beautiful natural environment and the threats that face it today.

The Elephant Camp will be graded on-site by a qualified team of assessors against a rigorous set of criteria, covering a range of areas such as energy/water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity, social involvement and communication.

Craig White, Operations Director said:

Wild Horizons pride ourselves on being driven by a team that is passionate about our environment, and fully committed to sustainable environmental practices. The inclusion in Green Tourism is an exciting development to our business, as The Elephant Camp strives to be a leader in sustainable tourism practices. Whilst we have come a long way on our own initiatives, the inclusion in such a prestigious body gives us a host of new challenges which we are determined to meet in our quest to reach Gold Standard status.

It is also extremely exciting on a National level, to see that Zimbabwean Tourism has evolved to the stage where international bodies such as Green Tourism are keen to establish a foothold in the country. This inevitably encourages  local companies to strive toward sustainable environmental practices. International travellers are seeking out establishments that practise environmentally sustainable  tourism. This naturally encourages operators to look closely at their businesses from an environmental perspective, or risk being left behind as  tourists become more discerning in their holiday choices.

About The Elephant Camp

The Elephant Camp is a luxurious and intimate lodge under canvas within easy reach of Victoria Falls. Situated on a private concession with breathtaking views of the Victoria Falls’ spray, and the spectacular gorges which separate Zimbabwe from Zambia. We also cater to exclusive groups and families at The Elephant Camp West, which has exclusive suite accommodation for 8 guests in 4 luxury tents.

About Green Tourism

Green Tourism awards recognise places to visit that are taking action to support the local area and the environment in general. Green Tourism is the largest sustainable certification programme of its kind, assessing hundreds of fantastic places to stay and visit worldwide, with Zimbabwe being the latest addition to their portfolio.