ABOUT US
ABOUT US
Our Story
Shanil Balgobind, the Founder of Kimburi Tours, took to nature, camping, and hiking at a young age when he began exploring the natural beauty and cultural heritage of Southern Africa with his family. But it wasn’t until he was completing his Master’s in Environmental Law that his calling to a closer walk with nature began to take shape. While volunteering at a local nature reserve between studies, Shanil observed the challenges of the tourism industry. Kimburi Tours was then born to be a direct part of the solution to sustainable tourism.
The Founder is an active and key part of the business and continues to find adventure, peace, and purpose in sharing this amazing country with guests. He has built a valued “clan” who each have an inspiring story about their journey into tour guiding, and who all share Kimburi’s values, purpose, and adventurous spirit.
Together the clan upholds the company’s integrity and excellent customer experience reputation at every touch point with guests, the community, and nature. You can meet the team on the clan page, and you can hear what Kimburi client’s experience on our reviews here.
OUR FOCUS
The focus is sustainable tourism as well as excellent quality and customer experience within the parameters of sustainability. This is upheld by keeping sustainability conscious throughout the company’s activities and decisions as well by adhering to international industry norms and standards.
Kimburi Tours aspires to be at the forefront of the tourism industry where the company can make a difference in the lives of their guests, their team, and the local communities that work with the business. Kimburi Tours is conscious of conserving the environment and the industry for present and future generations.
Our Mission
To reach a stage where eco-friendly tourism is the norm and where it is common practice to incorporate local communities into tourism, so that the benefits of tourism are shared and uplift local communities as well as conserve the environment for the future.
Our Vision
To ensure that Kimburi Tours is at the forefront of eco-friendly tourism which includes local communities – to perpetuate sustainable tourism for future generations and to foster good relationships between tour operators, locals, and tourists.
Our Values
We value honesty and transparency in our team, with our clients, and with the local communities in our tour destination areas. We have an inherent respect for all people that we meet along our adventures, including our team, our guests, and the local communities we engage with in the various destinations we visit. This respect extends to the natural environments in which we love spending our time, and to the wildlife that thrive in these environments.
We know that honesty, openness, and respect build genuine understanding and trust which in turn make up a strong foundation in which we can carry out all our business with safety, integrity and accountability resulting in the upliftment of our clients, our team, our company, and our communities.
Hassle Free Holiday
We understand that your time is valuable and that while you’re on holiday, your aim is to have a stress-free experience. At Kimburi Tours we take on the task of making all the arrangements and bookings, working out the most efficient and effective itinerary, and paying all the service providers on your behalf. That way, you can sit back, relax, and have a good experience while we worry about everything else.
Sustainable Tourism
Sustainability is often described as the balancing of three factors – the environmental considerations, social considerations, and economic considerations. In South Africa this is likened to a potjie, a three legged cast iron pot used in traditional cooking on fires. If the three legs of the potjie are not the same length, the pot will fall over!
Read more
At Kimburi Tours we strongly believe in sustainable tourism with a key focus of including local communities. We work with local guides, visit local communities, and support local economies.
Eco-friendly Tourism
We are constantly looking for ways to minimize our carbon footprint, reduce our waste, re-use what we can and recycle what we cannot. We’re proud to have moved to glass water bottles, moved away from single use coffee cups, and started a recycling initiative. Our products are locally sourced where possible and where not possible, we use the brands that fit in with our core values.
Ethical Tourism
In today’s modern and digital world, many travellers look for those special encounters with wildlife, so they can share their amazing photos far and wide. We, at Kimburi Tours, only support ethical establishments that aren’t involved in animal cruelty, that provide the best care for their animals, and that rehabilitate and release healthy animals back into the wild wherever possible.
Read more
We also believe that people and their cultures need to be respected, and as such we only support establishments that uphold these values. All our rural visits are done with consideration for the people involved – we merely facilitate your meeting with them whereby you get to enjoy a cup of tea, or a meal with people whose life experiences will probably be vastly different from yours. This is one of the most authentic ways of getting first-hand accounts of what life in South Africa is like, and what it was like in the past.
Non-Discrimination Policy
In accordance with the Constitution of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, everyone has the right to equality, human dignity, and the freedom of religion, belief, and opinion. We, at Kimburi Tours, welcome all travellers irrespective of race, religion, belief, sexual orientation, or any other factors by which people are discriminated upon. Feel free to be yourself, we can’t wait to get to know you personally.
