Meet Halifa Msangi

Halifa Msangi has a long history working in Tanzania’s wildlife industry. He started his career in 1991, working as a hunting guide for 8 years. After that, he shifted to photographic safaris and joined The Lord College of International Language and Tourism to study English and tourism for six months. He worked as a freelance guide from 2000 until 2004, when he joined True Africa Safari Company. In 2007, he joined Asilia and stayed at Asilia for several years until joining the Alika Africa team.

Halifa has participated in many trainings over the course of his career. These include 4 first aid courses and 7 tour guiding and wildlife courses, the most recent of which was held in 2022 at Mweka Wildlife College, East Africa’s premier wildlife education institution.

Halifa has also served as a leader for Tanzania’s safari industry, serving as Chairman of the Tanzania Tour Guides Association (TTGA) from 2017 - 2020, and as Vice Chairman before that. At TTGA, Halifa worked to promote a culture of professional, ethical and safe tour guiding among safari guides in Tanzania.

Halifa receives excellent feedback from our guests. He is known for his lively and caring personality, his deep understanding of Tanzania and its wildlife, and for his ability to tailor trips to meet the needs of photographers - sometimes staying out on game drives from 5:30am until 7pm.

Customer Testimonials

  • Our guide in Tanzania, Msangi, was the best. He was so thoughtful and knowledgeable that he made the trip for us.

    Bill - June 2024

  • Another huge thank you goes to Stacy for partnering us with our amazing guide, Halifa Msangi. (He goes by Msangi. The “g” is a hard “g”, like in “Serengeti”.) Msangi is the BEST! He is an amazing guide with an absolute wealth of knowledge. I cannot overstate how much we learned from Msangi about Tanzania (about the land, the ecosystem, history, politics, etc) about the wildlife (this man knows everything). He did an amazing job of finding wildlife, and knowing when we were witnessing something significant, that we likely would not see again in our time on safari, so that we could stay and enjoy it and soak it in. He loves Tanzania, and loves nature. We asked him what made him want to be a guide, and his answer is that he loves nature. He loves the animals. He’s passionate about it. And that’s obvious to anyone who spends even a few days with him. In addition – and maybe more importantly -- Msangi was really wonderful and patient with my family. When we arrived at JRO, he stood out amongst all of the guides waiting to pick up their guests – he had the biggest most welcoming smile and the warmest presence. He has a great sense of humor, and was able to figure out our family dynamic after only a few days with us.

    — Jason - March 2024

  • Our guide Msangi was clearly very experienced, and knowledgeable about the Serengeti and Ndutu areas. The ground was very wet when we were there, and several other vehicles got stuck - it was Msangi who always took charge of any situations, even towing vehicles out himself.

    Peter - December 2023

  • Guides: The best ! Msangi and Ebenzer were a firehose of information about animals and their behaviors. As guides they were kind, pleasant, patient, with a great sense of humor. We greatly benefited from their many years of experience as guides. We learned so much and came to appreciate all that Tanzania had to offer. Their expertise driving on the muddy roads during the short rain season was the best!

    Diane - December 2023

  • For the safari, our guide Halifa Msangi was extremely knowledgeable and great company.

    Vanessa - December 2023

  • We loved Africa. The people, the landscape, the animals were amazing. Msangi was a wonderful guide. He shared his love and knowledge of Africa with patience and enthusiasm.

    Peggy - October 2023

  • We had an unforgettable 10-day safari operated by Duma / Alika with Halifa Msangi as our incredible guide. We had three people so we paid a little extra, but we were there for photography and having the Landcruiser to ourselves was a luxury worth it for the added space and maneuverability. Without Msangi, the trip wouldn't have been the success it was. From his tracking experience to a special patience in staying at animal encounters for up to 30, 45, sometimes 60 minutes (when guides/customers all too often like to do hit and run viewing), he found us every encounter we were looking to shoot and more. Msangi also picked up on our appetite to stay out longer, and he was eager to do earlier 6 AM-starts, box lunches instead of going back to camp, and staying out until the 6 PM park close every night.

    — Anthony - September 2023

  • We were lucky enough to get Msangi as a guide, who has 28 years of experience and was once head of the association of guides in Tanzania for 8 years. He was an expert spotter, professional, and focused on getting us intimate experiences with wildlife rather than following the crowds of parked jeeps as many inexperienced guides may do. We saw almost all we wanted to see on the first day in N. Serengeti and the rest of the trip was almost all bonus!

    — Justin - September 2023

  • Our guide, Msangi, was amazing. He was so knowledgeable about all the animals, kind and generous. We have seen all of the big 5 and the wilderbeest migration, a once in a lifetime experience and Msangi knew the best places to find the animals! He went above and beyond for us and even took my sister to pick up supplies in Arusha as she was due to climb Mt Meru the next day.

    Lucy - June 2023

  • We have just finished the best week of safari and wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for organising a wonderful trip and to let you know that our guide, Msangi, was AMAZING. He was so generous, kind and knowledgeable about all the animals and made our trip an unforgettable experience. It wouldn’t have been the same without him. We can’t recommend

    Hannah - June 2023

  • Where do we start... just everything was amazing. Msangi our guide (great to re-unite after 7 years) again did an amazing job and had so many excellent humorous stories. We adore him!

    Rinske - April 2023

  • Our guide in Tanzania, Msangi was absolutely top notch, we loved spending time with him and he did his best to ensure that we had the exact experience we were looking for....true professional and fellow lover of wildlife.

    Eugene - September 2022

  • We had an excellent time and the trip consistently surpassed our expectations. Our guide, Sangi, was wonderful—he knew exactly where to go and how to structure our day to make the most of our time on safari. We saw every single animal we hoped to see, and had an overall incredible experience. Highly recommend!

    Shaun - June 2023

  • ut we had the great fortune to have the Msange as our private driver and guide. This older man seemed to know at least half of the other drivers by name but have twice the energy. It wasn't uncommon for Msange to spot a lion, leopard, or rhino before any of the other drivers. He was extremely knowledgeable about the fauna and flora of Tanzania and you could tell he really enjoyed working for Duma/Alika. He was always accommodating and respectful; I really enjoyed his laughter at our meals together. Don't hesitate to ask for Msange for your safari.

    July 2022

  • Msangi was INCREDIBLE with our three kids!!! We would stop to look at an animal. I was taking pictures while my husband was taking video. Msangi (without us asking him) would play with our baby so that we could focus. That was SO helpful!! One time we were looking at a lioness that was calling to her cubs and Msangi was playing with our baby when he accidentally honked the horn! Oops! We were all laughing so hard, including Msangi! He was even patient when the kids were tired and crying in the car. We couldn't have asked for better guides!

    Kylee - December 2015