Tour operator Audley Travel has expanded its Africa programme with the addition of two new conservation-focused camps in Tanzania and South Africa. 

Usangu Expedition Camp in Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park will open in June with four “simple but comfortable” guest tents that each feature a shaded veranda, en-suite bathroom and views towards the Usangu Wetlands. 

The property will allow guests to partake in a research-integrated safari and will offer twice-daily private safari drives, night safari dives, walking safaris, and boating and canoeing through waterways. 

Guests will be encouraged to place camera traps, help to identify predators against the research database, track lions with telemetry and learn about ongoing projects at the nearby Douglas Bell Eco Research Station. 

Audley Travel offers an 11-day trip to Tanzania including four nights at Usangu Expedition Camp as well as time on Zanzibar from £6,990 per person. The price is based on two people travelling and includes international flights, light aircraft flights, transfers, accommodation on an all inclusive basis on safari and half board basis on the beach, along with all safari experiences and park fees. 

The second camp to join the Audley Travel collection is Marataba Conservation Camps in Marataba Contractual National Park in South Africa. 

The property opened in September 2020 and offers clients access to conservation activities while enjoying a private safari experience in a privately managed section of the national park. 

The camp only takes three bookings at once and has a dedicated conservation guide. Itineraries are designed around each guests’ interests and can include tracking cheetahs, monitoring the growth rate of elephants, identifying rhinos and collecting camera trap data.

Clients can choose between booking one of Founders Camp’s four tents on an exclusive basis or staying in one of six tents in Explorers Camp on a semi-exclusive basis, with only two bookings taken at once. 

Founders Camp has living areas with terraced decks perched over the river, a swimming pool and a fire pit. Explorers Camp features one family tent as well as a swimming pool and decking by the waterhole. 

Guests booking a mimimum of three nights in either camp can add on a stay in the Star Camp, which puts a focus on exploring on foot and has basic tent accommodation without electricity. 

Audley Travel offers an 11-day trip to South Africa including four nights at Marataba Conservation Camps as well as time in Cape Town and Franschhoek from £4,550 per person. The price is based on four people travelling and includes international flights, domestic flights, transfers, accommodation on an all-inclusive basis at Marataba and B&B elsewhere and all safari experiences and park fees.

In addition to the two new camps, Audley Travel has designed new sample itineraries to inspire clients interested in travelling to Kenya and South Africa. 

These include driving into the Cederberg Mountains in South Africa as an alternative to the Garden Route and a new adventure in Kenya featuring camel safaris at Loisaba Wilderness Conservatory and a stay at Loisaba Starbeds, where clients can sleep under the stars. 

Image credit: Asilia