• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Elevate Destinations

Experts in socially responsible luxury travel. We design travel experiences that support conservation and local communities without skimping on comfort.

  • Trips for families and friends
    • Experiences
      • Family
      • Safari
      • Special Occasions
      • Give Back Travel
    • Destinations
      • Africa
      • Asia
      • Australia and New Zealand
      • Caribbean Islands
      • Central America
      • Europe
      • Middle East
      • South America
  • Trips for organizations
    • Donor Travel
    • Charity Challenges
    • CSR Incentive Travel
    • Learning Journeys
    • Retreats
    • University Travel
  • Who we are
    • The Elevate Ethos
    • Buy a Trip, Give a Trip
    • How we work
    • Press + Awards
    • Testimonials
    • Sustainability Practices
    • Our Partners
    • Our Team
    • Join Our Team
    • Statement on Racial Equality
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • 800.605.0671

Up Close with Elephants in Zambia

Everyone deserves the chance to travel. Yet, all too often, seeing the world is a privilege reserved for the global elite. At Elevate Destinations, we bridge the divide. Our goal is to connect local youths to their own environments, as travelers and as stewards.

Through our innovative Buy a Trip, Give a Trip model, your trip purchase creates fun new travel opportunities for local kids. For the first time, they experience nearby natural and cultural wonders. They see the sites, have fun, and make the kind of travel memories that we take for granted. Here’s just one example of Buy a Trip, Give a Trip in action:

elephant1The Travelers:

Kids from the Tongabezi Trust School who showed a great interest in wildlife and art

The Excursion:

On this daytrip, the kids went on an up-close wildlife adventure to Thorn Tree Lodge in Livingstone, Zambia. This lodge is well-known for its reserve of elephants that mingle and munch surprisingly near to the guests of the lodge!

elephant6The Details:

The kids unleashed their imaginations and their artistic flair as they set out to capture the elephants in drawings. At one point, the elephants were even close enough to touch! On a wildlife encounter like this one, the children got a taste of the safari and wildlife tourism that draws so many people to their home country each year.

Firsts:

  • Getting close enough to elephants to feel their leathery skin
  • Learning about elephant behavior and how to stay safe when they are nearby
  • Enjoying a fun, inspiring space at a lodge that caters to mainly to foreigners

elephant3Partner Organization:

The Tongabezi Trust School was set up by Vanessa Parker, who was previously teaching as a volunteer in Livingstone. The school opened on 1 May 1996 and due to its huge success it has been growing ever since. The school provides education to the Tongabezi staff children, as well as children from the local community, in an area where educational funding and materials are scarce. Over the years, it has grown from a pre-school class of 15 children, to a primary school with over 240 students.

elephant4

Read more Buy a Trip, Give a Trip stories.

Read next: A View from the Top of the WorldGo back: Main blog page

Connect and start planning your next journey.

About you
Name
Your experience

Footer

Get on the list

Sign up for the inside scoop on new destinations, family tips, and much more.

"*" indicates required fields

Private Travel

  • Family
  • Safari
  • Special Occasions
  • Give Back Travel
  • Private Travel Covid-19 Policies

Group Travel

  • Donor Travel
  • Charity Challenges
  • Learning Journeys
  • CSR Incentive Travel
  • Retreats
  • Group Travel Covid-19 Policies

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Buy a Trip, Give a Trip
  • Press + Awards
  • The Elevate Ethos
  • Sustainability
  • Testimonials
800.605.0671
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter