Tanzania’s vast plains and abundant game have attracted safari travelers for centuries. This popularity presents a real problem for anyone interested in exploring Africa in the raw, away from the pinging of Land Rovers and camera-swinging tourists. So how do you see the migration of the wildebeests instead of the migration of tour operators? Try this: Spend a week following a seven-foot tall, elegant Maasai wielding a poisoned spear as he pads barefoot through the bush. (You are allowed to wear hiking boots.)
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Following in the native tradition of safari, this journey is taken on foot. No doors to slam, no windows to crank up when a lioness approaches or an elephant charges. Aptly called a "walking safari," this type of adventure is for those who want to experience the wild African bush, uninsulated from its wilds. You and your fear will get cozy very quickly.
The safari is based out of a tent camp, which includes a toilet, shower and kitchen. There is no fuel and no generators; it’s just you and the wild that lies beyond. For one week you’ll trek the plains bordering Serengeti National Park. Your leader is a local Maasai, trying his hand at ecotourism to help sustain his tribe. As more land is allocated to national parks and tourism development, the Maasai, traditionally herders (warrior is a misnomer), are quickly losing grazing lands, so adapting to new circumstances the Maasai are leading bush walks.
Wake each morning to a spear poking through your tent, lifting up a flap to let the sunlight stream in. The morning air is cool. The Maasai bring you a small basin of hot water to splash on your face. You eat breakfast sitting at a wooden table in the middle of the northern Tanzanian plains. Birds serenade you and baboons linger on the perimeter of the camp, waiting for scraps of food to come their way.
After breakfast you head out for the trek of the day. The Maasai use landmarks such as a cluster of rocks or trees to guide you across the plains. The rocks are great for viewing the surrounding area, and lions think so too. You can’t get much closer to African wildlife than standing 20 feet away from a snorting buffalo who just picked up your scent. Or crossing the path of a rare striped hyena perusing the bush for savory treats. Graceful gazelles leaping through tall elephant grass appear to be a mirage, but they’re real. The Maasai are always eager to point out the simba (lion) and tembo (elephant) footprints, usually freshest around water sources. When they spot these tracks, the Maasai scan the area and two of them go ahead before leading you any further.
The Maasai wear red cloaks but leave their legs bare. You will want pants and long socks, maybe even gaiters, to fend off snakes and nettles. These tribespeople will introduce you to plants and offer short lessons in their medicinal values. Certain plants have digestive healing properties.
This trip is bound to awaken your instincts. Vulnerable, facing the wild, you’ll realize that human beings are slow runners and we don’t have many natural defenses. Newly humbled, a walking trek is at once thrilling and peaceful.
Dorobo has operated walking safaris for over 22 years and is also founder of the Dorobo Fund, a non-profit committed to promoting sustainable growth in Tanzania. The nonprofit Dorobo Fund for Tanzania was established to promote sustainable local resource management in Tanzania, while supporting indigenous cultures as they interface with the modern world. The Dorobo Fund is a U.S. 501c3 nonprofit organization licensed in Minnesota. Thad, David, and Mike Peterson, founding members of the Dorobo Fund, also own and operate Dorobo Safaris, an eco-tour company in Arusha, Tanzania. Traditional wildlife viewing in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Manyara and Tarangire with time spent in adjacent wilderness areas of Maasailand (for first time visitors). The ultimate wilderness trek- 7 days along the Mzombe River in South Tanzania with options for Ruaha and Udzungwa Mountains National Park.
Dorobo Safaris was originated in the early 1980s in Arusha, Tanzania. Since its beginning, Dorobo has based its adventure travel on the philosophy that our natural environments (and wilderness and wildlife) are intimately and irrevocably linked to people - both locally and globally. Dorobo has designed unique wilderness travel for individuals and groups. Their background in the natural sciences along with their knowledge of the peoples of East Africa provide stimulating educational experiences. African cultures are serendipitously met while on camping and walking safaris in wilderness areas of Tanzania. These special adventures engage participants in issues of ecology, culture and development. Three Peterson brothers, Mike, Dave and Thad with their wives, Lisa,Trude, and Robin, along with a Tanzanian partner, Walter Maeda, own and operate Dorobo.
Contact Dorobo Tours and Safaris (T) Ltd.
Box 2534, Arusha, Tanzania
Fax: 255 57 8336
Telephone: 011 255 57 2300 (from U.S.)
E-Mail: dorobo@habari.co.tz
For Dorobo Fund: daudi@dorobo.co.tz or SBoren@Spencerstuart.com
Camp ya Kanzi, operated by Italian transplant Luca Belpietro, has a permanent camp from which day-safaris are operated. The camp is based in the middle of a 400-square mile Maasai ranch and is staffed entirely by Maasai. In 2000 they founded Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT). The aim is to preserve what like to call a conservation triangle: the base being represented by the land. Protecting the land as a wilderness, the other two sides of the triangle would be almost self- preserved: wildlife and culture. Campi ya Kanzi, are proud to be among the most environmentally friendly camps in all of Africa (so quoted by Adventure Magazine, National Geographic magazine, USA Today). The main goal of Campi ya Kanzi is to protect the land of the Maasai; 280,000 acres of Kuku Group Ranch, to enable the Maasai community to keep living according to their traditions, if they so wish.
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, the Green Hills of Africa, we offer an incomparable combination of 5-star luxury, first class wilderness adventure, and authentic immersion in Maasai culture. This is truly the ultimate African safari. They will tailor-make your safari to meet your needs. At other safari camps, guests frequently find themselves tied to an inflexible, predetermined safari schedule. By choosing a walk in the savanna or in the cloud forest with your Maasai tracker, or a more traditional game drive in our open Land Rover, you will experience a connection with the local culture which is unique, profound and genuine, while enjoying pristine wilderness and observing amazing wildlife.
Contact Campi ya Kanzi
PO Box 236 - 90128
Mtito Andei, Kenya
Telephone and fax: +254 45 622516
Satellite: +88 2164 3339831
Email: lucasaf@africaonline.co.ke
Website: http://www.maasai.com/