+ Accommodation

Tailor-make your trip with the lodge to your tastes, needs, desires, abilities, duration, season and migrations.

6 luxury tented cottages and 2 tented suites (the Hemingway and the Simba). Built on wooden platforms, each has solar electricity and bathroom with hot running water (solar powered), is well spaced for privacy, distinctive artwork, a unique view of wildlife at the waterhole from the porch and named after the beautiful view of the specific hills that they face. Each accommodates 1 or two guests (twin beds or king size), meaning a maximum of 16 guests at the lodge.

Kanzi House: For families with children and guests who prefer not to sleep under canvas, or desire exclusive privacy, this is one of the very few private safari villas that you can rent in Kenya. Sleeps up to 6 adults and two children and includes a Jacuzzi, private vehicle as well as dedicated cooks and waiters. Meals can be taken inside the house or alfresco, where there is also a fire pit. Your host and guide will be Samson Parashina, the son of a Maasai chief, head guide (silver level) and President of Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Alternatively you could additionally book founder Luca to guarantee to host and guide you. Only bookable as one party exclusively.

Swimming Pool Suite: Sleeps two, can be booked separately. Includes massage boma. The 18m pool is sustainably filled by rainwater catchment.

Kanzi House + the Pool Cottage can exclusively accommodate up to 10 people in three double rooms and two twin rooms.

All accommodation bathrooms are en suite with organic products and robes, shower, bidet and basin.

Safe, solar rechargeable flashlights and laundry service are also available.

Tembo House is the heart of Campi ya Kanzi, a club house open to the outdoors where everyone meets and shares experiences or relaxes with a refreshing drink in the spacious lounge enjoying classical music or books about Africa.

Outside is a fireplace and seating for sundowners in front of Kilimanjaro, a seriously romantic setting for sunsets before heading inside for a candle-lit dinner, and for joining in dancing and singing that happens after dinner on many nights under the moon.

+ Eating & Drinking

Meals taken together with hosts Antonella and Luca are more like sharing stories and conversation with friends than being in a hotel, with the finest Italian-African fusion cuisine.

Quality, fresh, daily organic produce is crucial, so vegetables come from the camp’s garden, milk and eggs from the camp’s cows and chickens, and wines from Antonella’s home vineyards in Italy.

Cooking is on Aga stoves, with charcoal made from coffee husks. Only when truly necessary is anything bought from Nairobi, and then in bulk and supporting suppliers who care about the environment.

There’s also an amazing unique experience to go to a Maasai cave where warriors used to hide stolen cattle and dine there to the sound of Maasai singing.

Maasai showroom: The boutique was started when it was realised the Maasai girls were losing the ability to bead. Older Maasai ladies were employed to teach the younger girls beading, and their handicrafts were sold in the shop, later augmented with more Kenyan jewellery, clothing, books, bags and other handmade arts and crafts, bought locally at fair prices.

Sustainability: Visitors are issued with re-usable water bottles to be used during game drives and taken away as souvenirs. When building Campi ya Kanzi, Luca and Antonella also used state of the art technology to ensure their constructions had the lowest impact on the environment. Guests are briefed on energy and water consumption and conservation upon arrival and visual signage acts as reminders in strategic areas.

Renewable energies are used and the camp is completely self-sufficient with water from rain, including in the Kanzi House swimming pool (which would also act as a reservoir for anti-fire if required). All materials used are natural, sustainable and collected locally, such as thatched roofs, lava rock, wood for building and furniture and African raffia linens. Landscaping or tree felling is avoided.

+ Activities & Wildlife

A Maasai warrior takes you on your safari journey, a dream adventure. Being outside the National Parks means that a safari at Campi ya Kanzi is special, as you are not restricted to staying in vehicles. Guests can move about, walk in the bush with a Maasai tracker in his native land (there to keep you safe, armed with a spear), learn about the Maasai medicinal uses of plant and cultural lore, trek to the top of Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa, visit the Maasai village of the guide, and see wildlife and birdlife, all in front of Kilimanjaro.

The 283,000 acres of the Kuku Group Ranch setting is immense, offering many different natural habitats. The wildlife corridor, between Tsavo West, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills and Mount Kilimanjaro National Parks, brings remarkable biodiversity and huge conservation value to the area. Of course, as wildlife is free to roam, there can be no guarantees of sightings. But the longer you stay, the more you are likely to see zebra, giraffe, the Big Five (elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard), maybe even rare wild dog and cheetah, and more common wildlife like antelope species and baboon.

You can also take scenic flights around Kilimanjaro, over the Chyulu Hills or take an old-fashioned ‘fly camping’ overnight safari. Visit Tsavo and the famous hippos of Mzima Springs or the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust orphan elephant reintroduction programme; horse-back ride; undertake meditation or photography courses; and visit the Chyulu Conservation and Research Center.

Plus, there's yoga with the certified resident yoga teacher. There are not many places to practice asana, pranayama and meditation that can top this in-nature immersion, with Mount Kilimanjaro as backdrop!

You can do something new and different every day, for 10 days straight!

Plus, at the Chyulu Club, children can have their own safari in the Chyulu Hills with their own Masaai guides!

• Exploring the savannah, cloud forests, hills and wilderness, they learn how wild animals can be best protected and how we can live in balance with nature, and understand the issues facing the ecosystem.
• Work on artistic projects with the Maasai people to understand their culture and celebrate it.
• Visit local schools to become aware of the area's educational needs and offer practical solutions.
• Participate in wildlife preservation and reforestation projects with the help of specialists from the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, to learn, assess and help solve the planet's conservation challenges.

+ Weather

The camp is open and temperatures are comfortable year-round.

Daytime highs are around 90ºF/35ºC, nighttime lows around 50ºF/14ºC.

The coolest month is July; January and February the warmest.

November's Short Rains may bring several showers per night. Long Rains (April to mid-May), will bring heavy shower nights. During and after the rains, the landscape is particularly lush and attractive, and the elephant population at its peak.

Other times to consider, depending on your travel plans are: February for calving in the Serengeti, July/August and mid to late October for the Great Migration in the Maasai Mara, November-January for a great stay at the coast for a 2-centre trip/

+ Community

'Maasai' means people speaking maa. With their iconic red robes and spears, the fearless tribesmen are true to nature and have lived in harmony with wildlife for centuries as nomadic pastoralists herding cattle. Being on safari with a Maasai professional guide is a unique experience, as you are exposed to the animal behaviour and biology, and the Maasai culture and way of life, from the inside.

But despite external pressures to 'evolve' whilst they try to retain their laws and traditions, their land and ecosystem is under threat. Campi ya Kanzi was created and runs in partnership with the Maasai – as part of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust - to protect the Maasai and their land, and enable the community to continue to live their culture and traditional way, if they wish. This is supported by the daily conservation fee.

+ Staff

Head Guide and President of Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust is Samson Parashina, who received a university education in social science for the good of his community thanks to the trust, and was celebrated and named ‘Champion of the Earth’ by UNEP at Rio+20. Working alongside are guides Muli, Pashiet, Parashi and tracker Matasha.

Aside the founders, the staff of Campi ya Kanzi consists of local Maasai people, specially trained for their positions at the camp, who benefit directly from the camp’s revenues so the success of the camp contributes to the local community and conservation.

+ Patron

American actor Edward Norton came as a guest, left as a friend and later became President of the US Board of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

Having learnt from his conservationist father, he saw a significant global model in the integrity Campi ya Kanzi showed in doing – not just talking about – working with communities for conservation, in such an ecologically and spiritually astonishing place. “No one delivers a more authentic community experience than Luca and Antonella.”

Edward Norton said (The Telegraph, Oct 2015),

It's "unlike anywhere else. But then, it's for someone who wants something other than a manufactured experience. I personally don't want perfect waiters, and big [swimming] pools that deprive communities of their water. I want to go to a place where I can interact with people with the same concerns and needs, but whose culture is very different; where I can see incredible ecosystems and wildlife; where I can walk in forests, get out of my Jeep, and not see any other tourists."

+ Conservation

Campi ya Kanzi is run by the community as the ecotourism partner to the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and aims to deliver the highest possible conservation dividends to the Maasai landlords, to continue proving that thriving wilderness and wildlife is their best economic resource.

• Carbon footprints: Minimised and offset: Only renewable energies are used – photovoltaic panels for electricity; electric Land Rover for a game drive vehicle; solar boilers for hot water; and all food is cooked in stoves using a charcoal made from coffee husks, approved by the United Nations Environment Programme.

The limited emissions that occur are offset in the MWCT REDD+ Chyulu Carbon Project and all guests are charged a nominal fee for the carbon generated during their stay. (see more below)

• Waste: Organic waste is composted and used on the vegetable garden. Glass, plastics, cardboards and papers are recycled. Any non-recyclables go in an incinerator specially built on a UN recommendation to minimize impact. Some goods are reused and upcycled, such as waste tyres given to the Maasai community to re-use as water troughs for cattle, tetra packs re-used to grow tree seedlings and glass bottles re-used to serve drinking water in guest tents.

• Energy consumption: Measured and monitored monthly, with sub-meters in all guest rooms. Carbon footprint zero is achieved.

• Water: Self-sustaining. All water needs are fulfilled through a rainwater catchment range of approximately 12,000 square metres and water storage of approximately 1,600,000 litres in special PVC bladders. This eliminates additional pressure on already-sparse wells, and the time and fuel required to bring water from many miles away. Black and grey wastewater is specially filtered through a three chambered process, then recycled to irrigation and a waterhole used by wildlife, providing them with valuable water and maximizing guests’ wildlife sightings. Low energy dish washers and washing machines are used to save on water consumption, and ecological soaps for perfect chemical purity of water. Water meters monitor consumption. Water carbon footprint zero is achieved.

• Construction environmental impact: Using sustainable materials and minimising any landscaping and felling.

• Employing locally and training locals: Campi ya Kanzi has a staff of 65 Kenyans, 90% of whom are local Maasai. All guides, trackers, maids and waiters are Maasai from the community.

• Buying locally where sustainable: Sometimes, local buying is a false, unsustainable economy which can lead to greater land division and destruction. Where necessary, buying from Nairobi in bulk, from suppliers who care about the environment can be the more sustainable option.

Conservation Fee: $116 ($151 for Kanzi House) per visitor night spent at Campi ya Kanzi is paid directly to the Trust, to enable and support the Maasai community to create and run sustainable development programmes to preserve the critical ecosystem and culture. Programmes have impacted over 10,000 people through conservation, education and health.

• Land conservancies: 90% of the wildlife population of Amboseli National Park lives in Maasai land for part of the year, so it is crucial that Maasai landlords earn economic benefits to protect the wilderness status of their land and its wildlife. The already-established Kanzi Conservancy 5,000 acres of grassland, and the Motikanju Conservancy, 7,000 acres of wetland and grassland, do not allow farming and grazing; land is solely dedicated to wildlife. The aim for a third conservancy around a key water source adds to the vision for a network of conservancies to constitute over 150,000 acres of the most important ecological zones, with long term management deals supporting good stewardship and alternative community livelihoods and supported by international NGOs.

• Wildlife research & protection: There are over 100 local rangers and ‘Simba Scouts’ employed to monitor activities in the ranch, combat poaching, and track and protect predator lions, cheetah and hyenas. The successful ‘Wildlife Pays’ compensation program incentivises Maasai herders for good behaviour of not killing, but protecting wildlife that predates their cattle. The program rigorously assesses and fairly compensates for claims for livestock killed, to a maximum quarterly budget, fully funded by Campi ya Kanzi’s conservation fee (not philanthropy). It benefits the wildlife, the tourism, and the community for the long term, and sets a new Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) model for global ecotourism to move beyond minimising negative impacts to maximising positive impacts on the local ecosystem, viably and sustainably. Game scouts also ensure there are no water diversion, no bush fires and no illegal cutting of wood.

• A partnership with Zoological Society of London (ZSL): To develop standard species monitoring protocols with Tsavo National Park. The partnership works to help understand long-term trends of abundance and distribution of key wildlife species with solid scientific assessment of the impact of conservation programs. Holistic rangeland management practices and participatory restoration have been implemented, using a rotational method to reduce environmental degradation and promote sustainable land management.

• Further Payment of Ecosystem Services: Aimed at sustainable use of water resources.

• The first REDD+ Carbon Project for Maasai communities: A UN climate change mitigation strategy through biodiversity and active forest, deforestation and degradation protection and alternative livelihoods for local communities. It’s a 30-year project between 9 organisation partnerships under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) standards, protecting 1,000,000 acres which can prevent 37 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. 2017 saw the first carbon credits sale, to Tiffany&Co. Your stay includes a fee for its offset, and you can buy further carbon credits if you wish. Guests who express an interest can receive a full presentation of the projects at the MWCT headquarters.

+ Education

In partnership with the Ministry of Education:

• Employment: Of 56 certified teachers and 12 school support staff in 22 schools, with over 8000 students and a scholarship program for 47 students thus far, as well as providing school supplies and support for extra-curricular activities, school clubs and sports clubs. Maasai elders are also employed to assure Maasai lore is transmitted to pupils attending school.

• Construction: 8 classrooms, a 2 bedroom head teacher's house, a modern library complete with books and computers, and piped water and solar power for Iltilal Primary School, offering education for more than 1,000 children: The only special school in the region, highly gifted students come from all over Kuku Group Ranch to board and study at the Kanzi Academy.

• Kanzi Academy: Purpose-built for the best pupils in the area, teaching a combination of the Kenyan and British curriculum, to prepare students for leading national and international schools and to develop future community leaders and role models.

+ Health

In partnership with the Government of Kenya and Ministry of Health for the 16,000 strong Maasai community over the 283,000 acres Kuku Group Ranch:

• Employment of the only doctor in the area
• Support of health facilities: 4 sustainably solar-powered with dispensaries and one clinic equipped with modern laboratory for enhanced diagnosis and treatment with a lab technician and 7 support staff.
• The only ambulance operated in the area.
• Health outreach to remote areas, resulting in greater child immunisation, prenatal care, early disease detection and treatment including for breast and cervical cancers.
• Regular friendly youth sports tournaments to encourage health education, promotion, awareness and counselling including for Female Genital Mutilation (FGV) and HIV/Aids, including voluntary testing. Please contact us if you are a qualified doctor, nurse, dentist or teacher who can volunteer your services to the Maasai people.

MWCT has pioneered very rigorous accountability for how conservation benefits and revenues flow into the community.

Here, everything combines to a genuine, profound, immersive and unforgettable experience.