Who is Endeavour Safaris?
We are a family run company in
Southern Africa founded to enhance travel opportunities for various types of disabilities, including but not limited to Mobility Impairments, Visual impairments, Senior Travel, Oxygen Users, Kidney dialysis and Developmental Disabilities. Endeavour Safaris began operating in Australia in 2008.
When did the business start operating? The company was established in November 2001. The first year was spent doing a lot of market research, promotions, etc. Our tours have been fully-operational since November 2002. Endeavour Safaris began operating in Australia in 2008.
Who is the Director and what is his background? Michael Hill is the company director. Prior to starting his own venture, Mike worked as as a professional safari guide for 12yrs in
Botswana where he gained extensive knowledge and experience of the African bush. Sue and Ian Reeve are the directors of Endeavour Safaris in Australia.
How did the whole concept of "disabled safaris" and tours come about?
After spending 12yrs in the safari industry leading mobile safaris for able-bodied travellers throughout Southern Africa, Mike realised that travel opportunities for wheelchair users was seriously lacking. Mike's dream of providing safaris for physically challenged people finally became a reality when he met his wife, Silvia - an Italian geologist, who happened to have experience in the disability and handicap field. Together they began doing extensive market research, which led finally to the start of their company. So the company was initially born to provide travel opportunities for people with mobility impairments in the wilder areas of Southern Africa, it has since it's start grown to three major countries, namely South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. Along with the growth to these three major countries, came a growth in the products offered, to where we are to-day offering various specialised tours for a variety of disabilities.
Who is your target market? Five hundred million disabled people around the world. Naturally only a certain percentage would be interested in travelling to
Africa. Our main clientele being individual or family groups, institutional based groups as well as sports team groups.
Are there any disabled persons that Endeavour Safaris does not accept? No, not really - we will naturally try to accommodate anyone, taking their specific disability into account.
Are clients permitted to travel on their own, or do they have to be accompanied by a companion/ carer/ etc? Nobody knows their capabilities like you do, for this reason we leave the decision of whether or not you need extra help or not up to you. It all depends on the type and extent of your disability. In the example of a quadriplegic, very often the partner or family member will play the carer role. It is naturally more expensive, should you bring your qualified carer with you, and for these professional persons we charge only 60% of the tour cost.
Do you provide carers?
Yes. We would prefer clients to bring along their own carer, but should they not wish to do that for some reason, then we will happily provide a carer for them, at the standard going rates. Naturally it is more comfortable and less stressful for the client if they have their own personal carer with them. For those who do not really need personal care, but are concerned about lifting heavy suitcases, or helping push a wheel-chair up a large hill etc, our guides and staff, naturally try to help as far as possible.
Do you cater for vegetarians, vegans, etc? Yes, as long as we are informed in advance we will cater for any special dietary requirements.
Which countries does ES mainly operate in? At the moment our main focus is
Botswana, Namibia & South Africa. We are however currently investigating other destinations that we would like to include in future tours, such as
Zambia &
Mozambique.
What type of vehicles are used? In
South Africa and often in
Namibia, we make use of our specially adapted Mercedes Sprinter, whilst in the wilder areas requiring 4x4, of
Namibia and
Botswana, we use specially modified Landcruisers.
Besides the scheduled safaris that ES operates, would it be possible to tailormake an itinerary should this be requested? Yes, if necessary we could tailor-make trips to suite the individual travellers requirements taking their specific interests into account (such as bird-watching/ fishing/ etc).
Should clients wish to extend their trip with add-ons, would ES make all the necessary arrangements, bookings etc? Yes, no problem to arrange add-ons.
Is travel/ medical insurance included in the packages? No - this is for the clients own arrangement and must be organized prior to commencement of their safari.
Should a client experience a medical emergency, whilst on tour, how would ES react to this situation?
In
South Africa, we are generally always within close proximity to hospitals of International standard, Should for whatever reason this not be the case, we will organise an emergency air evacuation, to the nearest major hospital for further medical help. In
Botswana and
Namibia or other countries to the North of South Africa, where we find ourselves further from major city centres, in the event of a medical emergency, that the local professional medical services, feel needs hospitalisation, we will without question organise an emergency air evacuation, to
South Africa, or
Windhoek the capital of
Namibia.
Are there any age restrictions? No, all ages are welcome. However, should clients wish to bring children on tour with them, we would suggest that the family book a private trip to prevent inconveniencing other guests.
Are children charged the same rates as adults? No, children under 12yrs of age are charged 50% of the pp sharing rate. Children have to share with their parents - this is for their own safety and for our peace of mind. For children 12yrs and older, normal pp sharing rates are applicable.
How does ES deal with a group consisting of different nationalities/ languages/ age groups/ etc? As we deal internationally with overseas agents and private people via the internet, we will always have 'mixed' groups consisting of different people from various walks of life. We have never found this to be a problem, in fact it definitely adds to the overall experience.
If necessary, could ES provide interpreters? Yes, at the moment we have Italian & German interpreters at our disposal.
Are you able to take people with an intellectual disablity on safari? Yes, we can accommodate anyone with a mild intellectual disabilty.
