Singita’s exclusive Grumeti Reserves on the Western corridor of the Serengeti in Tanzania, where Africa’s thrilling wildebeest migration takes place, is an exemplary model for the new philanthropic direction that Safari Travel in Africa is taking. The Serengeti National Park is home to the biggest large mammal population on earth, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981. A small number of eco-philanthropists are investing in East and Southern Africa, restoring the land and its wildlife and addressing the needs of the local communities, while providing the top end of the tourism market with an exclusive safari experience.

It is said that this could well be the ‘African miracle’, and the inextricable link between wildlife resources and the growing tourism industry, that will rescue the continent’s flailing wildlife populace, whilst supporting and educating impoverished local communities.

Frequented mostly by affluent, intrepid travelers seeking a quintessential ‘Out of Africa’ experience, safari destinations such as Singita Grumeti Reserves provide a workable model for eco-tourism. Here the owners are acting as custodians to the natural resources of Africa, conserving large, viable tracts of African wilderness and its wildlife, while creating micro conservation-based economies, which provide employment and business opportunities for local communities.  With that comes an interest in preserving the land beyond its capacity to support human interest, and the creation of a truly symbiotic partnership between man and beast, and the land that nourishes both.

Owner of Grumeti Reserves’ 350 000 acre (140 000 hectare) private concession, American Paul Tudor Jones is a Wall Street Fund Manager with a grand and noble vision that distinguishes the Grumeti Reserves from many other safari destinations. He has made a significant commitment to the regeneration of this precious wildlife area, and has formed an important community-driven trust, called the Grumeti Fund.

Recognizing that authentic, unpolluted wilderness was becoming increasingly harder to find, Tudor Jones purchased the rights to this land (Grumeti Reserves) just six years ago, when it was nothing more than a dismal hunting ground where poaching was rife, which had resulted in the severe degeneration of wildlife.