Campi ya Kanzi (Camp of the hidden treasure) is a community project with the local Maasai on their Group Ranch of 400-square-miles. The altitude of the ranch ranges from 3,000 to 6,900 feet (1,000 to 2,300 metres), so the land includes a number of different environments from the grasslands of the savannah to green river woodlands to cool mountain forests.
The volcanic Chyulu Hills flank the property.

The camp is centred around Tembo House, which is constructed of local materials such as lava rocks and grass for the roof, collected locally with high respect for the environment. Tembo House is an open plan dining/living room with a huge vista to many different views. Italian and Maasai décor are tastefully combined.

The cook has been trained in the preparation of fine Italian cuisine, which is featured along with international and local dishes. All pasta, bread, biscuits and ice creams are homemade. Fresh vegetables are supplied daily from a small
vegetable garden watered by recycled water. The garden is both biological and biodynamic.

Campi ya Kanzi lays in an area of outstanding natural beauty. The Chyulu Hills are the Green Hills of Africa so much loved by Hemingway.

ACCOMMODATION

Campi ya Kanzi
16 guests are accommodated in luxury tented cottages and the Hemingway and Simba suites, all set on wooden platforms with thatched roofs and large en-suite bathrooms with hot (solar boiler) and cold running water, special eco friendly flush toilet, shower and bidet. Bedding is of the finest Italian linen. Tents are named after the view from the verandas, from Chyulu Hills to Kilimanjaro.

The Tembo House has a veranda overlooking Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Tsavo Hills.

Kanzi House
With three doubles and two twins rooms, up to 6 adults and 4 children can be accommodated at Kanzi House. Featuring a 60ft swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, a swimming pool cottage, Kanzi House provides the most luxurious private experience, while letting guests contribute significantly to the Trust (cost is the same as staying at Campi ya Kanzi, but staying at Kanzi House attracts a flat $2,000 daily conservation fee for the entire house).

ACTIVITIES

• Game drives in open Land Rover
• National Park excursions
• Maasai cultural villages
• Bush breakfast, picnic, dinner
• Forest walks
• Escorted game walks
• Bird watching
• Visit the Trust activities (schools, dispensaries)
• Kilimanjaro scenic flight and champagne breakfast
• Air excursions
• Fly camping

Over and above the big game and plains game the area offers many rare and interesting species such as the wild dog, fringe eared oryx, lesser kudu, gerenuk, black rhino and cheetah. There are more than 400 bird species on the Ranch.

STAFF
The camp is a joint venture between Luca Belpietro, Antonella Bonomi and the local Maasai. Luca (Professional Guide) and Antonella live in the camp permanently; a team of more than 50 local Maasai assist them.

ITINERARIES
The camp tailors activities to suit each guest’s requirements.
A minimum of 4 nights is recommended to fully enjoy and explore the rich biodiversity of the area.

SEASONS: The camp is open all year round.

CLIMATE
Temperatures are very comfortable year-round, with daytime highs around 90F/33C and night time lows around 60F/15C.
The coolest month is July, with January and February being the warmest. During and just after the short rains of November and April/May, the area is particularly beautiful, everything is green and Kilimanjaro is covered with snow.
During this period the elephant population is at its peak.

CONSERVATION
The main goal of Campi Ya Kanzi is to make the wildlife profitable through tourism. The conservation fee charged per person per day is totally given to the Maasai community. This money is used to reimburse the Maasai who have suffered losses because of the wild animals, education and scholarships and medicine. These are some of the ways of utilising the money generated by tourism.

The camp is one of the most environmentally friendly camps in Africa. Campi Ya Kanzi has been built with local materials only without felling any local trees. The 220-volt electricity (Italian plugs) is provided by solar power and water is heated with solar boilers. In the kitchen, meals are prepared using special eco-friendly charcoal produced by the UN Environment Project. Food scraps are composted for use in the vegetable garden. Water, the most precious resource, after use passes through lava filters to clean it completely before it goes into two ponds for the wildlife.

Luca and Antonella have founded the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust, with the main aim to preserve the cultural and wildlife heritage of the Maasai. There is an adoption scheme of wildlife, programs concerning conservation, education and health (60 teachers, 60 game scouts, 6 nurses and 1 doctor are employed at the moment).. See www.maasaitrust.org