excursions to Amboseli Tsavo Chyulu National Park.

1. What are your rates?

The following rates are valid through November 2008: (all prices are US dollars):

Deluxe suites:
- $490 per person per night, double occupancy
- $245 per night, child under 12 years old

Hemingway suite, featuring wide veranda with a great view, king size bed, changing room, double sink:
- $660 per person per night, double occupancy
- $900 per night, single occupancy
- $400 per night, child in third bed (under 12 years old)

In addition, whichever accommodation you choose, there is a $70 per person, per day conservation fee. This money is set aside to help the Maasai community and to preserve their wildlife heritage.

Prices Include:

Full board accommodations
Pure drinking water from our natural spring, bottled mineral water
Soft drinks, house wines, beers
Game drives in open specially modified Land Rovers and escorted game walks
Bird watching
Botanical escorted game walks
Cultural visits to your tracker house at the Maasai Village
Visits to the projects of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, including a Maasai school, the dispensary, the game scouts.
Bush breakfast, picnics, bush dinners and sundowners
Excursions to Chyulu National Park, Amboseli National Park, Tsavo National Park (Park Fees entrance non included)
Laundry
Transfers from and to Campi ya Kanzi airstrip (this is a nice 10 minute game drive)

Not included:

Transportation to and from Nairobi
Medical insurance
Special wines, spirits, champagne
Air excursions (in the Ranch or to National Parks)
Gratuities

Booking and cancellation policy.
Confirmation: to hold space for you we require a 30% deposit, 10% deposit not refundable.
Balance is payable 45 days prior to arrival.
Cancellation policy: from 90 to 30 days prior to arrival 30%, after 30 days 100%.
Late booking surcharge: For guest who arrive in the am and depart in the pm, a surcharge of 25% of the per person night rate is charged plus an extra days conservation fees.

2. How do I make a reservation?

Go to Contact page

3. How do I get there?

It's actually fairly easy. If you can get yourself to Nairobi, we'll take care of the rest!

Our staff will meet you at the International Airport in Nairobi and help you with your transfer to our camp. If you arrive late in the day, we'll take you to your hotel in Nairobi. If you're coming in early enough, we'll make the transfer that same day.

Our recommendation is that you take our own air services. We operate commercially a 6 seaters Cessna 206. It just takes one hour to fly from Nairobi to Campi ya Kanzi airstrip. We offer daily flights, 7 days a week, at the most convenient time for our guests. We'll handle the transfer from Nairobi International to Wilson.
The cost of the flight is $300 per person one way, with a minimum of 2 passengers.
We can also fly you from Mombasa or Malindi, just one hour and 10 minutes flight, for $350 per person one way, with a minimum of 2 passengers.
In all flights maximum total luggage allowed is 15 kg (35 pounds) per passenger, in soft bag.

If you prefer to travel by road, we offer transport from Nairobi to the camp in a 4WD vehicle (maximum four passengers). This costs $600 one way per vehicle, plus $40 per person for the Tsavo National Park entrance fee. The trip is about 200 miles, and takes approximately six hours. We suggest flying.

If you have any questions, please contact us at lucasaf@africaonline.co.ke

4. Is it safe?

At Campi ya Kanzi, your safety is our primary concern. No guest of the camp has ever been injured. However, you will be visiting an area where the wild animals are free to roam wherever they wish. This is not a zoo. That is why a professional guide and Maasai trackers will escort you on each safari.

Unlike in the National Parks, you will be free to get out of our Land Rover and approach game on foot, accompanied by our guide and trackers. Of course if you wish, you can remain in the vehicle. In the vicinity of the camp, guests should take normal precautions. For any urgent communication, the camp is equipped with a satellite phone and VHF radio.

5. When is a good time to go?

Anytime is good. Temperatures are very comfortable year-round, with daytime highs around 90sºF/35ºC. Nighttime lows are around 50sºF/14ºC. The coolest month is July, with January and February being the warmest. During the Short Rains of November, there may be brief showers several times per night. During the Long Rains (April to mid-May), there will be nights with a lot of heavy showers. During and after the rains the ranch is particularly attractive. At this time, everything is green and the elephant population is at its peak. Kilimanjaro will have snow peaks, all will be blossoming.

6. How is Campi ya Kanzi different from a national park?

In terms of viewing wildlife, there are several differences. Normally, in a National Park, you must stay in your vehicle (mini-van or four wheel drive). It is against Park regulations to get out of the vehicle at any time. Since Campi ya Kanzi is located in the Maasai-owned Kuku Group Ranch, these laws do not apply. Therefore, you can ride to within walking distance of the wildlife in our Land Rovers, then get out and approach the animals on foot.

Also, Campi ya Kanzi is very exclusive: our camp hosts a maximum of fourteen visitors in our eight tented cottages. 400 square miles of wilderness all for our guests!
We are 2/3 the size of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. However, the Masai Mara has beds for over 5,000 tourists. At Campi ya Kanzi, you will see game, but you will never be surrounded by hordes of mini-vans full of tourists!

Animals in the Parks are more used to vehicles, and easier to approach. The draw back is that they will ignore you and there will be very little, if at all, interaction between you and them.
At Campi ya Kanzi animals are wild; they behave naturally and you will not have the zoo safari experience of the crowded Parks.
We focus in providing information about animal behavior, ecology, biology, geology. We would like to pass you our passion for the wilderness; the more knowledge and experience we will be able to pass you, the happier we will be.

We like to focus on what is going on, why, the interaction of different species, the social behavior among one species, conservation challenges, more than what animals you will see.

7. What will I see?

See above question and answer (nr. 6) before reading the following.

The ranch is permanent home to many prides of lions, and others pass through while traveling between Amboseli National Park and Tsavo West National Park. Zebras and giraffes are very common. We have herds of elephants and many hartebeests, wildebeests and Grant's and Thompson's gazelles. Impalas and Cape Buffaloes are frequently seen as well. Hippos are easy to find, and baboons are quite common. We have Leopards and black rhinos on the ranch, but they can be harder to spot.

We have some very interesting gazelles and antelopes (quite uncommon elsewhere) such as the lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx, klipspringer, gerenuk and mountain reedbuck. Although seldom seen, the endangered African wild dog and the bush pigs of the forest are residents of the ranch. Other common animals include dik dik, duiker, hyena, jackals, serval, caracal, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, wart hog, eland, waterbuck, bushbuck, cheetah, porcupine, aardvark, mongoose, and many others. In addition, the ranch is home to a spectacular array of bird life.

Here is a list of our mammals
Of course, the ranch is very large and animals roam from place to place every day. Thus, there can be no assurance that on any given day you will see a particular species, or even that during your stay you will see all the species mentioned above. However, the ranch is rich in wildlife, and the longer you stay, the more you will see.

Our best record in one day of safari has been to spot 30 different species of mammals! Our record for bird species sighted in one day is 73!

Generally speaking you will see more quantity of game in a National Park. Here you will enjoy more diversity (you will see more species here than in the average National Park), you will be privileged by not being surrounded by tourists, you will be provided with all our knowledge about animals, their behavior, their ecology and the challenges to preserve them.

8. What should I bring?

In general, dress at the camp is casual and comfortable, and the climate is temperate.
Please download here the list of what we suggest you take.
The nearest store is six hours away over dirt roads, so double-check what you're bringing!

9. How long should I stay?

Our experience is that guests who stay longer enjoy their visit more. The best motto for the best holiday, especially in Africa, should be quality time in quality places.
There are so many different animals, so many different environments, that you could stay with us for two weeks doing something different every day. With habitats that include a lake, two rivers, wide open plains and the forests of the Chyulu Hills, you can enjoy most of the East African vegetation and the animals which inhabit it.
A day excursion to Tsavo National Park, visiting the impressive Mzima Spring home to crocodiles and hippos will be extremely interesting.

A night spent in the fly camp will be a unique experience of the real safari.

Also, resting longer in one place instead of rushing from one place to another, makes a holiday more relaxing. Do not make the mistake to rush from one lodge to the other for just two nights in each place.
Though the recommended stay is 5 days, there is no minimum requirement. Even if you have less than four days, you can still have a very enjoyable holiday with us. Staying less than three nights will be a very limited and hectic experience.

10. Can we take our children on safari?

Yes, indeed, but as long as you and your children understand fully what a safari experience with us is all about.
Our safari experience is special and we desire all our guests enjoying it.
While we love to have children around, some guests may not. So keep in mind that we are not a resort with a swimming pool, or with an area where children can be left unattended to play.
Maasai staff love children. The trackers will share all their lore with them. A visit to the schools may be a very enlightening moment in their lives, comparing their Western world with a very different one.
Children will need to be obedient and respectful of animals.
Silence while on safari is a key to approach game.

Therefore the experience of Campi ya Kanzi is reserved to well mannered children (an endangered species?).

We enjoyed in many occasions families with children, as young as three years old.
Our daughter, Lucrezia lives at the camp and will love to have playmates around (she was born in July 2002).
A safari with us will be an unforgettable experience for your children and for your family.
It will be an educative experience as well.

Up to you now to decide if your children are fit for the above or not.