The Imbali concession was awarded to the Extraordinary group in 2000 and opened in 2003. Being located within a Private Concession inside the Kruger National Park offers some unique benefits to conservation and sustainable tourism. Of course, there are benefits to our safari enthusiasts as well – being in a world-renowned protected area such as Kruger comes with a deep sense of absolute privilege.
Kruger covers an area of some 2,2 million hectares – 22000 square kilometres or an area roughly the size of Israel or Belgium. It’s a small country – home to the largest biodiversity of fauna and flora anywhere on the planet. In addition, Kruger is the third largest National Park worldwide. What’s not to marvel at?
A Private Concession within a protected area offers an exclusive territory, with all the same wildlife and simply means that your stay will be uber-private and offer you the knowledge that this destination takes extraordinary measures to minimise its footprint on this pristine space. The exacting standards set out by South African National Parks is tailored to allow for a minimal footprint that generates maximum revenue, filtering directly into conservation. The vision supports a world that is inclusive, educational and offers benefits to the surrounding communities through job provision and economic development. The ecotourism model of concessions benefits not only conservation but also neighbouring communities by providing employment, training, creation of micro-enterprises, shareholding, and education
The concessions offer a sustainability model that is a leader in the eco-tourism environment by opening and allowing travellers to access areas that previously were complete wilderness areas, to benefit both conservation (assists with minimising poaching) due to more people and monitoring over the area. The model uses minimal resources due to low volume of guests and stricter obligations for the concessionaire. There are opportunities for small and medium businesses in peripheral communities to benefit from the development. Since there is very little other employment in these rural areas surrounding protected areas the resultant job creation is of great benefit.
In a world where the environment is constantly at risk what sets us apart as conservation warriors is our strong partnership with South African National Parks who do an awesome job of protecting natural resources and areas that are dedicated to wildlife. We are constantly challenged to improve our eco-management and undergo a rigorous bi-annual audit by an independent resource who assists the implementation of “best practices” and mentors the ethos to constantly improve all aspects that influence conservation, – water, resources, human impact, and utilisation of natural resources. An example of the efforts undertaken by our conservation teams would be the critical management of the roads within the concession area. We maintain different category roads that include slightly wider and more accessible access roads through to more rustic two-track roads. During high rainfall periods these tracks are closed off to vehicles to ensure that minimal damage to soils and roads is caused. Erosion is addressed continuously in our ongoing maintenance projects. The objective to ensure that these roads and tracks do not lead to damaged areas and soil erosion and that sensitive soils are avoided as far as possible. The Imbali Concession allows off-road driving within controlled circumstances – what does that mean and why are these measures important?
Off-road driving is part of delivering a high-end safari expectation. It means the ranger can leave the road in a 4×4 vehicle and move closer to an animal to allow for the ultimate photographic opportunity and to allow the best visuals. Bear in mind the model allows for minimal guest numbers so these off-road incidents are limited to cats and more rare species. The guides/ranger team log all off-roading and go back to rehabilitate off-road tracks and riverbeds as specified by SANPARKS regulations.
The Imbali Lodges follow a Low Volume High Revenue Model how is that considered “GOOD Conservation ethics” This total area is 100 square kilometres – similar to the Western block of the Sabi Sands. We only accommodate 48 guests across three small lodges in total. That equates to over 200 hectares per guest. – (200 rugby fields) – the resultant impact on a pristine wilderness environment is therefore minimal.
Poaching is a major concern in Africa as a whole and here as a concessionaire we do offer support where possible, just our presence acts as a barrier to poachers, in an area that is so vast any extra movement, eyes and ears is helpful. In addition, our conservation fees and concession fees aid the conservation and anti-poaching efforts of South African National Parks.
Water is the most precious of commodities in Africa and we ensure that the Imbali Safari Lodges utilise and mitigate overuse by measuring usage and setting a limit on daily consumption. In addition, we operate reed beds, grey water systems, and have no irrigation for garden – rather relying on the natural bushveld . The ongoing protection of all-natural resources is of supreme importance and thus at Imbali we practice the only utilise approved wood suppliers brought in from outside the park and we never utilise any of the natural assets in the park and ensure proper waste disposal, recycling and several other greening policies are fully implemented
