Private Game and Wilderness Reserve
Integrity
Being honest, transparent and having strong moral principles in all that we do.
Passion
Demonstrating an intense desire and enthusiasm for our Reserve.
Shared Accountability
An obligation and willingness to accept responsibility for our individual and team actions.
Social Responsibility
Our combined and individual commitment to act in a balanced way in order to ensure the coexistence of our Reserve with the ecosystem and local communities.
Sustainability
Our commitment to the sustainable development of everything that we do in such a way as to ensure that what meets our present needs will not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Our vision at Limpopo-Lipadi is to be a Reserve that provides passionate co-owners with the opportunity to be custodians of a magnificent part of the African wilderness and to enjoy a unique and personal safari experience.
The overall environmental vision is to return Limpopo-Lipadi from previously farmed and hunted land into the wild, natural piece of earth it once was. Natural cycles last hundreds, if not thousands of years and accordingly our strategy is long-term, with no shortcuts.
We have ample opportunity for shareholders to be involved in the Reserve. We recognise that shareholders come from diverse backgrounds and maintain a wide range of interests. Shareholders can therefore choose to contribute through a variety of ways including: sharing safari photographs; logging species sightings; removing exotic weed species; or simply helping to rebuild roads and waterways.
Species Reintroduction
We are dedicated to preserving endangered species and have introduced wild dogs, lions and many herbivores that were removed for agricultural purposes.
Over the last few years, the Reserve worked hard to rehabilitate a litter of rescued wild dog pups and reintroduced them to the wild. The release occurred in late 2010, and we are proud to say that we have a healthy, well-established pack of wild dogs roaming the Reserve and are breeding well.
Future years will see more species reintroductions, following on the success of our wild dogs and lions, so that the diversity of this part of Botswana is returned to its natural state.
In 2015 we successfully lobbied the Botswana government to allow the Reserve to have free-roaming lions.
The lions are a vital part of the natural ecology that had been missing, and the largest herbivores can now be naturally controlled by the king of the bush!
Anti-Poaching
Botswana takes anti-poaching seriously and so does Limpopo-Lipadi. We have well equipped units who actively patrol the Reserve.
In the last ten years Limpopo-Lipadi has become home to a number of rhinos. The increasing threat of poaching has now also reached Botswana.
This means that we have strongly reinforced and trained our anti-poaching unit and have the support of the Botswana Defence Force. Our effort is also helped by the tracker dogs who can locate our rhinos in the most efficient way during day and night time, so we can always keep our vigilant eyes on these magnificent creatures.
Another important part of conservation is the dehorning of all of our rhinos, which will be repeated at least once a year, so there will be no horns to be poached off our rhinos.
As part of our community upliftment program, members of our anti-poaching units visit the local schools in order to teach children about the value of conservation. A highlight for the children is when they have the opportunity to join a unit on one of their patrols of the Reserve.
Our sole purpose is to create a place of safety for our animals, in order to breed them as part of our conservation effort and their existence in Botswana.
Conservation
Watching the animals go about their daily routines is the essence of a safari, but a great deal of thought and hard work must take place in order for this incredible experience to happen. The management staff of Limpopo-Lipadi must constantly monitor the ecological health of the reserve land and all it’s flora and fauna. This is accomplished by doing full geological surveys, by studying and conserving our underground water resources, by accessing the condition of our soil, grasses, bushes and trees that shelter our animals and taking remedial action as needed.
To this end we have undertaken aerial photography of the Reserve, walked hundreds of transects logging vegetation types and distribution, studied fish species in the river, and so much more.
The visible legacy of the farming days is fast disappearing as we continue to naturalize water holes, remove old cattle troughs and to cut new bush trails that meander through the veld while allowing arrow-straight cut-line roads to overgrow. Our ambitious conservation programme has come far and will continue as more challenges appear.
Following on the success of our wild dogs and lions, of future years will see more species re-introductions, continuing to build the diversity of this beautiful part of Botswana and assisting in returning it to its natural state. Careful management of the bush will be needed to ensure sufficient grazing exists all year round even in the driest periods, and to maintain the right balance of plains areas, woodland and everything in between. In doing so we will draw on the vast experience of our Reserve management team and their contacts throughout the conservation industry to ensure that Limpopo-Lipadi reaches it’s full potential as a jewel in the crown of the Tuli Block.