Mkomazi Wilderness Retreat is the latest Kimango project, a company founded and operated by the Axmann Family – Kim and Simone; and joined by our two sons Janush and Julian.
Simone and I always wanted to live and work in the tropics, so in 1990 after finalizing our studies in agricultural engineering we decided to move to Tanzania where my parents were posted at the German Embassy.
It took us two years to find suitable land and register our new company, Kimango Farm Enterprises Ltd. In 1992 we began to establish Mbuyuni Farm near Kingolwira Village in the Morogoro District. We rented a house on the neighbouring sisal estate where we lived for the first five years. As our crops grew, so did our family.
In November 1992 our first son Janush Amani was born. Julian Bahati followed in March 1995. Both boys grew up on the farm and later schooled in Morogoro International School.
Our motivation for the organic farming project has always been to grow healthy foods in harmony with the environment, while promoting organic farming in our region. Organic, sustainable farming for us means improving our soils in the long term, while producing enough income to provide a decent living for us and our employees. Most of our small and dedicated team of staff have been working with us for more than 15 years.
In 1997-8 we built our house and finally moved to Mbuyuni Farm where we live today. After building a small bridge across the river and finally getting phone and internet services, life became much easier for us all.
By this stage Tanzania had become our home and whenever time allowed we went on safari, camping in and around the national parks of Tanzania. Longer safaris led us to Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa and Namibia.
In 2008, we decided to try our hand at eco-tourism, constructing four stylish cottages on our Mbuyuni Farm. Creating a retreat from the hustle and bustle of life for our guests. Please feel free to visit our site; “Mbuyuni Farm Retreat” for more details and photographs.
Janush and Julian both studied environmental sciences, and Julian is now living in British Columbia, Canada, working in conservation, while Janush has returned to Tanzania to help in the Mkomazi project and running the farm.
In over 30 years, what initially started as our African adventure has become a home to our family and a viable business.
In all our years of travelling through Tanzania, we have always been particularly fond of Mkomazi. It has been fascinating and very encouraging to witness the transformation of this landscape – from a badly damaged flora and fauna due to overgrazing, bushfires and massive poaching to a beautifull wilderness with ever increasing populations of various mammals, notably elephants and ungulates.
Our passion is conservation, and it became clear that this new national park needed income from tourism to have a chance for survival. In 2016 first plans for a tented camp developed and in 2019 we finally began with the construction of Mkomazi Wilderness Retreat.
We cannot wait to share this beautiful place with our first guests – Welcome to Mkomazi Wilderness Retreat from the 1st of February 2023!!!
Special thanks go to Samantha Bowden and Savannah Miles for their help with editing this website. A Royal Geographic research study (Mkomazi: the Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation of a Tanzanian Savanna 1993-1996) provided the primary source for the scientific information discussed. All images on this website were made by the Axmann family.