Taz, that is what bushdrums is actually all about. One of our goals is to provide the average tourist with the information he/she is looking for but at the same time also a little background info how things really are and what the different lodges really do for conservation. Unfortunately we expected a little bit more co-operation from the lodges. Many didn't even bother to reply. It sometimes makes you think if they are not all just so busy riding the wave of profit through ecotourism.

So if I understand you correctly you agree with me that we should not rate the driver/guide but the camp/lodge instead because they are responsible for their guides, right?

Carsten:

Most of the problem drivers I have seen and/or reported are not the camp/lodge driver/guides. Most of the camp/lodge drivers are based at the camp/lodge and usually remain at that lodge and stay in that park and DO observe the rules.

It is the private companies and their vehicles that cause most of the problems. For instance in Tsavo, it is not the driver/guides based in Tsavo. It is the Mombasa day tripper-type guides (or private tourists) that harrass the wildlife and disobey the rules. In Amboseli the regular Ol Tukai, Serena, Tortillis Camp driver/guides are always obeying the rules. Again it is the private companies such as Pollman's, Private Safaris, Akorn and the like that cause the problems.

Thus the camp/lodges have no control over most of the drivers in the parks - only their own few driver/guides.

In the past I have found that legitimate companies tour operators or lodges have obeyed the rules.
But there are an increasing number of \"Get rich quick\" companies jumping on the band wagon with no training or care.
These are offering cheap & not so cheap trips, at one end it\'s cheap street touting & the other it\'s a very professional web site offering all that you could always want & more from a safari. It is these companies that should be targeted, except it would fall on deaf ears.

I would assume, but have no knowledge, that established lodges are ethical. What I fail to understand is the ethical companies tolerance of the get rich quick operators. Except for the \"Meaningful Stare\" I have witnessed no other action!
I was involved in an accident in Tanzania with a safari Toyota on the main road in the Serengeti when I reported this I was met with \"Oh them! Bunch of *$%^**\"%$\"

There is little I can do to help, The dollar speaks louder than Kipper! But if everyone did a little..........!

I am regularly asked for safari advice by people going on \"The holiday of a lifetime\" I always add advice on the ethical approach to travel but if in awe of their surroundings I'm sure very few would be aware the stress caused & ask the driver to back off.
All I can hope is it would be one less plastic bottle or wrapper & they are a little more polite to the people they meet or one more camera with the flash turned of!

But it is a start! Along with my other little project just a mere drop in the ocean, a million drops could be a wave though.

Mmmm! I like that time to change my signature!
- Edited by kipper on 06.09.2007, 09:28 -

to me mostly the private cars - majority of them driven by kenyas of indian decent - cause problems as they are on a quicky to the maasai mara for instance and just give a shit or simply don't know what they are doing to the game. if you approach them directly they just don't care and get rude. to me the only solution is to report them to kws because they are not related to any tour company. private cars should just be banned from entering the reserves/parks. instead there should be public transportation for daytrippers available at the park/reserve gates.
tour operators should be forced to train their guides who go to reserves/park and they should get a qualification! without that: no permission to drive tourists around!
regarding tips: there should be a kind of guidline provided by the kenya tourism office which informs tourists of tip rules as this is always tricky. guides who know that tourists know what to tip might be well aware that tip won't make a difference and eliminates competition between the guides for tips!

A part of the problem here is the lack of concern by the tour operators. The hotel/camp drivers are often not the ones responsible as they are usually from the surrounding areas. However, the guides from the tour operator are not monitored nor given regular training. The companies mentioned by Jan are some of the biggest culprits but these comapnies are also the biggest and most influential in the industry here. As long as money is being thrown around under the table (or straight up in front of the clients!!) these driver guides will always be a menace. The idea behind bushdrums is a noble idea - unfortunately, the average toursit is not interested in the sites like bushdrums. These tourists also encourage these "get-rich-quick" operators, many of whom have no idea on the various issues in the industry, including client safety when they look for the cheapest option. TO the creator of Bushdrum, I say Asante sana for your efforts. Asante to all those of you who are making such an effort to conserve this diverse eco-system. But unfortuantley, until the tour operators don't wisen up and until the destination doesn't re-brand itself as a destination for the "upmarket cleintele" who will aprecaite these concepts, there will be little change, if any, any time soon.

Taz:

Sadly I think you are right on about this subject, but we must continue to at least try. We can't give up and let the poor driver/guides take over or else things will only get worse.