What is a Luxury safari in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda & Rwanda? Safaris to west kilimanjaro, arusha, tarangire, ngorongoro, lake manyara, serengeti, lake eyasi, loliondo, lake natron

Proudly Maasai, distinctly Tanzanian™


	Kiliwarrior Expeditions is the top outfitter on Kilimanjaro - we pay the best salaries, have better quality camping equipment, more advanced safety equipment, better itineraries and we offer a deeper cultural experience! On safari, we continue this tradition of excellence! On this page you will get an idea of our superior services - offered at very competitive prices!

Inside "The Kiliwarrior Difference"

The Kiliwarrior Difference - Customers, Service, Excellence; and Knowledge!

Please read our testimonials!

The Kiliwarrior Difference

1. We are a licensed, luxury outfitter based in Arusha Tanzania. We own vehicles, safari equipment, storage buildings and a local and international office! While we sell direct to the public, our safari and trekking services are also available to travel agents, tour operators, safari consultants and consolidators!

2. We match our clients with the best combinations of parks, flights, vehicles, camps, lodges and guides based on budget and interest.

Some clients love open vehicles - some do not
Some clients love vehicles with popup roofs for sun/rain protections - some do not
Some clients want Japanese speaking guides, others want Spanish guides
Some clients want walking safaris - others want cultural exchanges
Some clients want open vehicles modified for photography, others prefer air-conditioning
Some clients want tented camps - others prefer lodges

3. Our exclusive and highly specialized safari services are clearly not for everyone. We operate high end safaris and are priced accordingly! Please be aware that our exclusive safaris start at $500 per person per day (2008 rates).

4. We come to you! For a flat rate of $500 per day (continental USA only, call us for international rates) you can meet with company owner Eben Schoeman in the comfort of your home or nearby hotel coffee shop! Eben will discuss your safari in detail and share his vast knowledge of East Africa. Highly recommended if you are planning a once-in-a-lifetime safari!

Here is a summary of the reasons why we stand out in a very crowded and competitive safari market:

Safety

While in the parks, emergencies can happen. Due to the remoteness, a heart attack, for example, can be fatal.

All our clients are enrolled in the Flying Doctors emergency program. They will evacuate a patient to the nearest best hospital as far away as Nairobi.

We offer portable oxygen and AEDs to clients at an additional charge of $100 per trip. Automated External Defibrillators are devices that look at a person's heart rhythm (through special pads placed on the torso) and can recognize ventricular fibrillation (VF), also known as "sudden cardiac arrest" or SCA. If SCA is present, an AED will advise, and will talk the responder through some very simple steps to defibrillate. AEDs are designed to be used by lay rescuers or "first responders" such as guides and fellow passengers.

	We have a first-aid kit in every vehicle.
	Our guides have cell phones with SIMs from different providers to increase coverage.
	Our vehicles have long-range radios for communications with park rangers and other vehicles.

Guides

While the guide service is one of the more important factors to consider before booking a safari, please remember that a guide is only as good as the itinerary and equipment he has to work with.

	Our itineraries are optimized for game movements and weather patterns, making life easier for our guides.
	Our naturalist guides are some of the best in East Africa.
	Where applicable, we use Maasai spotters in the passenger seats of our vehicles.

Itineraries

East Africa is a specialist safari destination. It has vast distances, bad roads, unreliable air services, animal migrations, changing weather patterns, and plenty of accommodation choices. The success of your safari is directly related to the research, care and effort of the planning process.

	Not surprisingly, 90% of the itineraries offered by local outfitters are exactly the same. On any given morning at 8am, hundreds of safari vehicles depart from Arusha, Nairobi and Kampala on the same safari circuits - using mostly the same tourist lodges. It is a well-oiled mediocre routine that's made acceptable thanks to the remarkable guides of East Africa with their positive attitudes and friendly smiles (at least on the outside)! We try to avoid these safari convoy processions.
	Our core itineraries change monthly to optimize your wildlife viewing. For example, in January and September our itineraries are quite different because of anticipated animal movements.
	We don't rush from park to park. We don't have mileage limits or other constraining rules to save money. We don't "time" our entry/departure at the parks to avoid paying the park fees for an extra 24 hours. Our guides have the resources to handle emergencies or extra park fees.

We worry about your itinerary so you don't have to! You can depend on our commitment to take you to the best areas for the best wildlife experiences at the best time of the year! For examples of our most popular itineraries, please select a month from the list on the menu to the left!

Prices

Most safari companies (local outfitters, international agents, consolidators) compete on price only! There is little to choose between the majority of these companies and their safari itineraries, so choosing the cheapest safari does not necessarily translate to the worst experience! If you are on a budget then a bit of comparative safari shopping will not hurt! But something's got to give and normally it is the age of your vehicle and your guide's salary! And some of the international tours have more than 50 participants! Ouch!

Thanks to the red-hot East Africa market, a growing number of overseas agents offer basic safari itineraries at really inflated prices (often at 150% margins!) They have colorful ads in glossy magazines, yet they outsource their safaris to local budget outfitters and use tourist lodges and lame itineraries to maximize their profits! Most of the profits never reach East Africa where it is most needed.

Only a small percentage of outfitters offer true luxury and exclusive safari experiences. The Kiliwarriors are in this elite group but thanks to lower overhead costs we offer very competitive rates! Please read our competitor reports!

Our exclusive safaris start at only $500 per person per day (2008)! Therefore a 12-day exclusive safari with the Kiliwarriors will need a minimum budget of $6000 per person.

Lodges & Camps

Honestly, we cannot think of any "bad" safari lodges/camps in East Africa. But we strongly believe there are wrong camps for the wrong persons at the wrong time!

	Many outfitters have contract agreements with only a select few preferred lodges/camps. This is good for them (higher commissions) but bad for you! With limited choices to choose from, you may get stuck at Camp A outside the Park with not an animal in sight while inside the Park, at Camp B, others are enjoying the wildlife at a waterhole in front of their tents! The Kiliwarriors can book any lodge or camp in East Africa!
	We charted the East Africa Parks in Google Earth™! We visited most camps and know their exact GPS locations! Very few people can claim the same! Since we know where the camps are, we know which is better or worst given the criteria for your safari!
	Our itineraries utilize a combination of lodges such as Ngorongoro Crater Lodge and Grumeti Sasakwa, permanent tented camps such as Gorilla Forest Camp and Sabora Plains, seasonal tented camps such as Sayari South and Suyan, and luxury mobile camps such as our own Grandeur Camp and CCAfrica Luxury Under Canvas.
	While we are best-known for our luxury tented safari camps, there are several new camps and lodges in East Africa that compliment our itineraries in refreshing new ways.

We use the best available lodge or camp for your budget and interests, the time of year and predicted proximity of wildlife.

Vehicles

You will spend many hours and long days in your safari vehicle! Our vehicles are the BEST in East Africa. Please read the section about our vehicles. PLEASE NOTE: At a few camps (Nomad and CCAfrica for example) we have to use their cars since third-party vehicles are not allowed and as a result the vehicle specifications will be different than described here.

	Open, closed or open-closed vehicles depending on your itinerary.
	Removable popup roofs to shelter you from the sun and the rain.
	Inverters to charge your electronic devices.
	12V refrigeration to keep your drinks cool in the hot African sun. We stock sweets, sodas, beer, bottled water, juices (you decide).
	Air-conditioning - wonderful when you have to close the windows to avoid dust and tsetse flies.
	Modified soft seat covers with carefully designed pockets to hold your water, film equipment, binoculars and snacks.
	Bean bags to keep your cameras still!
	First-aid kit.

We use only Land Cruiser vehicles - customized for optimum game viewing.

Knowledge

We are a Maasai-owned company in Tanzania. Partners Wilbert (Maasai) and Eben (South African) know East Africa better than most. We are supported by a network of partners who are the best in their fields!

	Please look at the various maps on this web site and our companion site www.go-safari.com . These were created by Eben and our Maasai guides.
	Our maps are the most accurate representations of East Africa parks and points of interest in the world! As the creators of the maps, we know a thing or two about East Africa parks!
	For a flat rate of $500 per day Eben will come to your home or city to meet with you in person to design your safari

Eco and Sustainable Tourism

We left this topic for last because it is so important and we want you to have a lasting impression of our work in this regard.

Many overseas safari companies use the term "ECO" as an opportunity to make money. They are very vocal and promise wonderful things, but on the ground in East Africa their safaris are no different than anyone else! They outsource their safaris to local outfitters who have no clue what it means to be eco-aware! The guides earn low wages, the safari vehicles are old with emission problems, and the accommodations are regular tourist safari lodges.

We prefer a more simple and honest approach. We recognize our shortcomings and we work hard to overcome them. But by paying above-average salaries and providing steady incomes we make an incredible difference in the lives of our partners and employees. This is a very important first step in any ecological effort and conveniently overlooked by those companies who market their eco awareness so boldly on the internet and in the media!

We asked ourselves a few tough questions and here are our answers:

	Do you invest in the areas where your business operates? Yes! We have already invested more than a hundred thousand dollars to help a local Maasai family become our business partners and we continue to invest and uplift their lives.
	Do you contribute to the preservation of resources which your company uses? Yes. On our treks we use propane for cooking and not charcoal. We use only late-model, well- maintained vehicles to reduce the black smoke so common from East Africa vehicles.
	Do you hire local staff? What sort of training do you have for your staff? Yes, except for Eben and Carol who handle the bookings, ALL our staff are local Tanzanians. We spent a lot of time teaching our team to be more environmentally friendly - from using solar panels for power to properly maintaining our vehicles to reduce harmful emissions.
	Do you source your supplies locally to support your local community? Yes, for our treks we buy many of our fruits and vegetables from one of our guides who own a small farm. We buy equipment locally when it makes sense, or from overseas suppliers with ethical manufacturing standards such as Mountain HardWear http://www.mountainhardwear.com/manufacturing.aspx
	Do you support any local projects e.g. donating a percentage of your profits to wildlife protection or social causes? Yes, we provide financial support for a local pre-school for Maasai kids - Maasai Joy Children's Center http://www.kiliwarriors.com/safari_charity.htm
	Do you make suggestions to your clients to purchase local products to support the local community? Yes. In addition we take our clients to remote areas away from the tourist routes where they can support the local villages.

An example of the Special things we do!

How do you like your bush meals?

Most people get box lunches on safari

Kiliwarrior clients are treated differently - meals are enjoyed in comfort and with style!