Understand the place, not just the wildlife.
The Serengeti is a working ecosystem and the communities around it are part of it. Our guides explain how it fits together.
About Hifahamu Safari
Karibu Tanzania
A young, owner led Arusha operator for travellers who would rather be known by their guide than processed by an agency.
Our story
We built this company so that people go home knowing Tanzania.
Hifahamu Safari began in Arusha in 2025, started by Agrey William Matowo after several years working in Tanzania's tourism industry and watching the same thing happen repeatedly: travellers arriving from the other side of the world, spending a great deal of money, and going home having seen a great deal without understanding very much of it.
Hifahamu means to know something properly. To understand it rather than simply to look at it. That is the company's entire reason for existing.
We are based in Arusha, at the foot of Mount Meru and at the gateway to the northern circuit. From here it is a few hours to Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and the southern Serengeti. We also run trips to Tanzania's southern parks and to the coast, and we arrange the beach days that most people want after a week of early mornings in a safari vehicle.
We are a young company and we do not pretend otherwise. What that means in practice is that you will not be a booking reference. Every traveller who has gone out with us so far has been planned for personally, and that is going to remain true for as long as we can make it.
What we believe
Five things we will not compromise on
Small is the point.
We are not trying to become large. We are trying to be the operator a traveller recommends to a friend by name.
Tell the truth about the trip.
Long drives are long. The crater is busy in high season. March rains will change your plans. You will hear this from us before you book.
Leave the place as we found it.
No off road driving, no crowding animals, no plastic water bottles handed out in the vehicle. Refillable bottles are provided and refilled from a cooler in the vehicle.
Tanzanian jobs, Tanzanian wages.
Our guides, drivers and office staff are Tanzanian and employed directly.
Vision
To be the Tanzanian safari company that travellers recommend by name, known for guiding that teaches and for trips that are planned honestly.
Mission
To design and deliver small group safaris across Tanzania that are built around the individual traveller, guided by Tanzanians who know the country deeply, and run with complete honesty about what each journey involves.
A note from the founder
"I have met travellers at the end of a safari who could tell me how many lions they had seen and nothing else about where they had been. We built this company so that people go home knowing Tanzania, not just having photographed it. Tell me what you want from your trip and I will plan it myself.
Karibu."
Vehicles and equipment
Built for the roads we actually use
We run four wheel drive safari vehicles maintained for the roads we actually use, not the roads we wish existed.
Each vehicle has a pop up roof hatch for game viewing and photography, a guaranteed window seat for every guest, charging points for cameras and phones, a cool box with drinking water throughout the day, reference books and binoculars on board, and a comprehensive first aid kit. Our drivers carry a mobile phone and a means of contacting the office from the parks.
Safety
Remote places, planned carefully
Every guest travelling with us is covered by the vehicle and passenger insurance the law requires, and our guides hold current first aid training.
We strongly recommend that every traveller carries comprehensive travel insurance including medical evacuation cover. Tanzania's parks are remote, and an evacuation from the Serengeti is expensive without it. We can explain the options, and we will ask you for your policy details before you travel.
Our guides
Our guides speak English and Spanish, and are from northern Tanzania. They are there to explain the country: the ecology, the history, the communities you pass through, and the behaviour of what you are watching rather than just its name.
Tell us what you want to see.
There is no fixed menu here. Tell us your dates, how long you have, and what matters most to you, and we will put together a safari built around that. You will have a reply within a day, written by the person who will plan your trip.