DOROBO
Safaris · Est. 1982

Tanzania · East Africa

The quieter way to see Africa.

Walking safaris in Tanzania · Wildlife · Culture · Since 1982

Scroll

Our promise

“It's not what you see. It's how you see it.”

The “twang” of a Hadza bowstring in the evening light, elephants like ghost trains under a full moon, the tense silence caused by the guttural growls of a lioness protecting her cubs: these are the kinds of experiences that Dorobo Safaris, from its beginning several decades ago, has tried to share with visitors to Tanzania.

Moments like these don't happen by accident. They happen because of the people leading you: guides who grew up in this bush, who read tracks in the sand and behaviour in the herd, and who know when to drive, when to walk and when to simply sit still.

Meet the people who make the difference →

01

About Dorobo

Dorobo's real niche is providing a source experience that connects with local people who are close to the land: long-term partnerships that are fair and transparent, allowing for structured but un-staged encounters, in areas with a true wilderness character.

+ Read More

We specifically design safaris that cater for individual groups, and therefore don't have set itineraries. Walking in the bush provides a great complement to the amazingly close encounters one has on traditional vehicle game-viewing drives. In addition to walking in community wilderness areas, we offer great walks in the Serengeti, Tarangire, Ruaha and Katavi National Parks.

Dorobo does its best to focus on socially responsible travel with little impact in the areas where we set up our mobile camps.

A Hadza hunter drawing his bow at sunset in the Yaeda Valley
Yaeda Valley, first light
02

Our Story

The Peterson family has been in Tanzania since the early 1950s and started to take guests on safari in the early 1980s. Since the three Peterson brothers started Dorobo, much has changed, and much hasn't.

+ Read More

Back in the day there were no websites and no brochures. For all these years we depended on word-of-mouth marketing by satisfied customers: folks heard about us from other safari-goers or a reference in a book, and we worked out a trip tailored to the season, the duration and any specific interests.

That is still how we prefer to work. Every safari begins with a conversation, not a checkout cart.

Guests and crew around a campfire beneath acacia trees at night
Stories around the fire
03

Experience & Safaris

Wildlife, walking, culture, adventure: not a catalogue of products but a philosophy of how Africa should be experienced. If it resonates, we'll create the right safari together.

Read More →

Guests and Maasai guides walking toward a granite kopje on the Maasai Steppe
Walking the Maasai Steppe
04

Our Team

After four decades we believe we have some of the best walking guides in the business: trackers, naturalists, bird experts and storytellers, backed by the camp crews, cooks and drivers who make wilderness comfortable.

Read More →

A Maasai guide dressed in a blue shuka
The people guests remember
05

The Dorobo Fund

Tourism that pays for conservation. Since 1991 our joint ventures have channelled visitor fees into village accounts, protected 250 km² of the Tarangire ecosystem, and grown into the Dorobo Fund and the Ujamaa Community Resource Trust.

Read More →

Maasai guides leading a walking safari across the steppe toward a granite kopje
Reading the land, protecting it
06

Testimonials

“We had a fantastic trip, in large part because Simon was such an amazing guide.”Amy Sobel
“The guides make the difference and our guy Douglas was the best.”Dan Wolf
“Killerai was the best guide anyone could ever imagine. He is a true gem.”Janet Talley

Read More →

Guests seated with Hadza guides as the sun sets over the plains
Word of mouth since 1982
07

Films from the field

Shot on safari, not staged for the camera.

Dorobo Safaris · 2017 Highlights

A year in the bush

Dorobo Safaris · Highlights 2019

Walking, wildlife & culture

More on our YouTube channel →

Acacia trees silhouetted against a Serengeti sunset

Begin your journey

Every safari is tailor-made. Yours starts with a conversation.