Conservation
The Making of Vamizi
"once you've seen Vamizi you become obsessed with saving it"
The development of Vamizi Island for up-market eco tourism was an extraordinary undertaking. There was no fresh water available on the island; there was no reasonable access beyond small local wooden boats and there were no roads beyond roughly cut tracks through the bush.
Now ten years on, Vamizi has a beautiful, thirty- six bed barefoot luxury lodge in full swing, a desalination plant providing thousands of litres of fresh water a day, an airstrip suitable for 12-seater charter aircraft and even the eco-track, providing a smooth and sensible circuit of the island without the use of any tarmac, has begun.
It has taken extraordinary commitment and persistence - often against the run of play - but as one of the donors to this project says, Vamizi Island is "where we still have a chance to make a difference. You know, once you've seen Vamizi you become obsessed with saving it."