Your chance to shape Africa’s Future!

Here at Buffelsdrift Game Lodge, we’re passionate about the spekboom - and it’s time you got to learn about Mother Nature’s (not so) little miracle too. Here’s everything you didn’t know you wanted to know about this fascinating plant, often called ‘an environmental miracle’... and how you can help make the bush a better place during your stay in our luxury tented camps.

What on earth is a Spekboom?

Fancifully known as the ‘Pork Bush’ in parts of the Karoo, this is an indigenous evergreen everyone should know about. As anyone who's had the joy of experiencing Klein Karoo game lodges before will have noticed, the Spekboom loves the semi-arid setting of the Karoo and grows remarkably well here. It can handle almost anything life throws at it, thriving in full sun and poor soils that more tender plants can’t handle. They grow up to 5 metres tall and can live for close to 2 centuries undisturbed!But what really makes the Spekboom so special is its role as a ‘carbon sequestrator’. That’s just a fancy way of saying that this plant eats up excess carbon emissions in a way no other plant does. One hectare will pull anything from 4 -10 tons of carbon out of the air annually. That’s ten times more than an equivalent area of rainforest! With rising carbon emissions, a pressing global worry, this could well be the answer to one of our worst environmental woes.

‘A Spekboom for everyone!’: Our (not-so) secret mission

The Buffelsdrift Foundation was founded to express one of our core values - that we don’t just want to be a private game reserve, but also a powerful movement for growth and change through ethical tourism and smart conservation. We believe the future is one where humans and animals can co-exist peacefully, and we’re determined to help shape that future. Our ‘Spekboom for everyone’ project is simple at heart.The Karoo is a beautiful place, but there are areas where man has left a scar. By planting just one Spekboom in these farmed-out, eroded areas, we hope to help people see what a difference a small gesture can make. Your tree will be offsetting the entire carbon footprint of a trip from Europe to Africa! Over time, through this simple initiative, we hope to educate people about the miracle that is this ‘carbon-eating’ tree.It’s not just about the Spekboom, though. It’s about the step into a brighter future you just took. It’s about being part of a life-changing, yet achingly simple, long-term goal. And it’s even free - while we always appreciate donations to the foundation, your Spekboom is yours to claim during your time on the reserve.A small step in the right direction is a step worth taking. Come and take yours (and your Spekboom) at Buffelsdrift Game Lodge and the Buffelsdrift Foundation. Your luxury game lodge with an African heart.