Authentic Africa - Campi ya Kanzi

Campi ya Kanzi is widely recognized as one of the most unique and inspiring safari experiences in Africa. Situated at the foot of the legendary Chyulu Hills, Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa, it is a luxury camp offering an incomparable combination of 5-star luxury, first class wilderness adventure, amazing wildlife, and authentic immersion in Maasai culture. This is truly the ultimate African safari.

This luxury lodge has been built in partnership with the Maasai community of the 280,000-acre Kuku Group Ranch.

Campi ya Kanzi has a unique commitment to community development and environmental sustainability: we are leaders in real ecotourism, engaging the local Maasai in benefiting from wilderness with thriving wildlife.

In front of Kilimanjaro, with a Maasai warrior taking you on safari, among elephants and lions, you will experience your dream African adventure.

Campi ya Kanzi has two goals: treat you to the most memorable vacation of your life, while helping the Maasai preserve their wildlife and cultural heritages. Here you will experience true ethical and solidarity tourism. State of the art technologies have been used to make the least impact on the environment: water comes from rain cropping, electricity from 120 photovoltaic panels, hot water from solar panels, food is cooked using an eco-friendly charcoal. But most importantly the lodge is a partnership with the Maasai local community.

Discover the real Africa: the Maasai Mara (600 square miles) offers accommodation for about 5,000 guests (76 acres per guest). Our Group Ranch (about 400 square miles) has one lodge, Campi ya Kanzi, with room for 16 guests (17,500 acres per guest). Here you will be in the real Africa, away from the minibuses and the noisy crowds. Being outside of a National Park you will be able to walk, in safety, escorted by your professional guide and Maasai tracker.

Unique is rather an overused (and often abused) term, but that’s what we truly are. Unlike other lodges, we are not in a National Park (with crowds of visitors) or in a small, privately owned concession.
Instead, we are a community eco-lodge, offering an authentic experience of an iconic Africa, rich in wildlife, wilderness and culture.

The diversity of the landscape, and consequently of the wildlife, is tremendous. You can spend a week here, enjoying and discovering something different everyday, combining traditional game drives with unforgettable game walks, while being deeply immersed in the Maasai culture.

In the words of Edward Norton, the President of Maasai Wilderness Conservation Fund: “The contribution that Campi ya Kanzi makes to Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust is a shining example of the way the romance and adventure of tourism in the last, best wild places can actually help preserve those places for the future.”

Guests will have access to Full board accommodations. This will include the following:

- Pure drinking water from our natural spring, bottled mineral water
- Soft drinks, house wines, beers
- Game drives in open specially modified Land Rovers
- Escorted game walks
- Bird watching
- Cultural visits to your tracker house at the Maasai Village
- Visits to the projects of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, including a Maasai school, a dispensary, the game scout program
- Bush breakfast, picnics, bush dinners and sundowners
- Excursions to Chyulu National Park (Park Fee not included)
- Laundry
- Transfers from and to Campi ya Kanzi airstrip (this is a nice 10 minute game drive)

Campi ya Kanzi was created in 1996 by Luca Belpietro and Antonella Bonomi, who have made it their home ever since. They will be your hosts, with a team of sixty five people from the local Maasai community, who help with the guiding, cooking, housekeeping and maintenance. All of us at Campi ya Kanzi are dedicated to making your safari the most memorable vacation of your life.

Luca Belpietro will be your host and professional guide at Campi ya Kanzi. He was born in Italy, and with his family has been a part of Africa since 1969. With his father, he toured Africa on many sporting safaris. Luca divided his youth between Italy and Kenya. He has a degree in economics and wrote his thesis on “Sustainable Development and Environment Conservation: Wildlife as a Natural Resource in Kenya”. Following this, he had a successful career as managing director of a financial consulting firm. However, he never forgot his dreams of Africa, and stayed involved in wildlife conservation in Kenya. This led to the creation of Campi ya Kanzi. Luca speaks fluent English, Italian and Kiswahili. He is an adamant conservationist and founder of Campi ya Kanzi and the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

Your hostess at Campi ya Kanzi will be Luca’s wife, Antonella Bonomi. She comes from the same Italian town as Luca, and graduated with a law degree. Not liking civil courts, she worked for a while at her family’s vineyard, Bonomi Tenuta Castellino. She visited Africa with Luca and found that she shared his passion for the Country and the Maasai people. Antonella is fluent in Italian, English and Kiswahili. She also knows a little French and German. Luca and Antonella were married in the Chyulu Hills in 1999 and live at Campi ya Kanzi with their daughter Lucrezia, born in Nairobi in July 2002, and with theirs sons Jacopo (born in April 2007) and Lorenzo (born in May 2009).

Samson Parashina is an outstanding Maasai who joined Luca and Antonella, to help them create Campi ya Kanzi. At first he worked as a waiter, but after studying hard, he became a professional guide. He is now the head guide (Silver Level) of the camp and the President of Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

Stefano Ricci is an Italian schoolmate of Luca. They grew up together. Stefano is the one who introduced Luca and Antonella (some days we bless him, some days we blame him!).
He joined us at Campi ya Kanzi in 2004, led to Africa by his passion for wildlife, the outdoors, photography and mountaineering.
He left his career as a builder and became a safari guide.
He speaks Italian, English and Kiswahili. He knows some French and German as well.

Matasha, Pashiet, Parashi and Sunte, were also instrumental to creating Campi ya Kanzi. They are passionate guides and will make your safari a memorable experience. Being on safari with a Maasai professional guide is a unique experience, as you will be exposed not only to both the animal behavior and biology, but also to the Maasai culture and living, from the inside.

We will tailor-make the safari you like, according to your taste, abilities, needs, and desires. You will feel like you are visiting a friend’s home, not just in another hotel for tourists.