Meet Justin Mushi

Justin Mushi is one of our newest safari guides and describes himself as a ‘guiding light with a warm smile and endless patience’. Justin began his career in tourism as many without means do, as a Kilimanjaro porter. He worked hard at his job but knew he wanted something different. After spending a few years climbing Kilimanjaro, Justin landed a job at a tented camp in the Serengeti. He started as a dishwasher but quickly worked his way up the ranks, ending his time in the Serengeti as Camp Manager.

Shifting back to Arusha during the pandemic, Justin completed a tour guide course at Mount Meru College. Hired by Alika in 2021, he spent 18 months training with our senior guide Sifuni Mungure. He accompanied Sifuni on each of his safaris during this time, learning game drive routes and accumulating vast knowledge of plants, insects, wildlife, ecology and more. A quick study, Justin has been on his own guiding our guests since 2022. He has accumulated many positive reviews in the past two years with reviewers commenting on his patience, sense of humor, and vast knowledge of Tanzania’s natural world.

Customer Testimonials

  • We were 4 older women friends reconnecting after many years and it was our expert guide Justin Mushi who made it fantastic for us! Riding in the Land Cruiser with Justin every day was like traveling with a professor with amazing knowledge of the animal kingdom.. plants and trees and insects too. And he was fun and funny, and a great driver. We always felt safe and taken care of. When it was time to leave Justin and Tanzania, we all became teary eyed.

    LuAnn - August 2024

  • Justin was so knowledgeable about the animals and the plants, so happy to share his information, and our group really loved, every part of this. He was considerate, and catered to us every step of the way. The camps were great, the people were all great, but the animals and Justin stood out among everything. Thank you to Duma, Explorer, Africa, Africa, Justin, and everyone else in the Serengeti for this awesome experience.

    — Carol - August 2024

  • Our guide was the incomparable Justin Mushi. His knowledge of the animals, plants , insects and birds was extensive. With patience and humor, Justin was so accommodating and made sure we had a prime location for observing and photographing everything within the parks we toured.

    August 2024

  • Everything was spectacular but it was made so by our wonderful guide, Justin Mushi. On the first day, I was having difficulty getting into the Land Cruiser. We stopped to pick up our lunch boxes and Justin came out carrying an empty milk crate for me to use as a step. Every time I needed to get in or out of the vehicle he ran around so my “step” was there while telling me “pule pule”. I also had trouble getting my seatbelt snapped the first day and lo and behold, on the morning of Day 2 I came out to the Land Cruiser to find a new seatbelt to accommodate me. Justin had taken the time to find a spare piece of seat belt which made my experience much more enjoyable. Justin greeted us each morning with his big smile and asked how our night was. He would go over our day’s itinerary of where we were going and what we hoped to see. I swear he has two sets of eyes as while driving he could still spot an animal lying in the brush. He clearly is very intelligent as he had a wealth of knowledge all in his head and shared interesting information on each animal or plant we saw. What is so special about Justin is his immediate connection with his tour group. We were a group of four seventy year old women who came to be very close to Justin. He joked with us and always gave us the best angle for photos. He was patient with us and let us take our time. We saw every animal that we hoped to see and many more.

    Linda - August 2024

  • Special thanks to our guide Justin for making this trip a memory of a lifetime for us. Never intrusive, always considerate & knowledgeable, Justin tried his very best to show us the best TZN safari has to offer. We've seen multiple wildebeest crossings, sighting of lions feasting, thousands of zebras, elephants, sighting of all the BIG 5. His knowledge of TZN flora & fauna, animals' features & habitats is truly invaluable, helping us to understand & appreciate what we're seeing a lot more. His attention to details & courtesy is commendable. We all feel like Justin has become a family friend after spending 2 weeks on safari together.

    Linh - June 2023

  • Awesome things about Justin: 1. He is cool as a cucumber. You can count on him to drive safely on unpaved roads and stay cool under pressure while everything around him may be chaotic due to the excitement of seeing animals or something breathtaking. Lord knows if it was me behind the wheel, I would be in an accident in no time. 2. He is very considerate and patient. For example, he waited for me and my boyfriend to finish taking pictures and would check in to make sure it was okay to move on to the next thing. Also, he'll try to get you the best angle for pictures, which I really appreciate!! 3. He has a wealth of knowledge about animals, birds, insects -you name it! I LOVED that he had books/maps in his car that you could look through for reference. 4. He knows how to joke around and have fun! 5. Great at spotting animals and utilizing his resources to find you the animals you want to see! Justin really knows the lay of the land due to his experience- we never got lost! 6. Looks out for others. For example, one day when we were on our way to Central Serengeti, there was this truck that broke down. Justin stopped and asked if the truck driver was okay. You could tell that the truck driver was just exhausted and had seen better days. Justin then gave the truck driver his lunch box and the truck driver was so happy and appreciative. This moment really stuck with me and reminded me to not be so self-involved and to take the time to look out for others. I also noticed that all the safari guides look out for each other even if they're not working for the same company (well at least Justin did). It's really nice to see the comradery. On a side note, my boyfriend and I miss eating dinner with Justin! We miss you man! Asante sana for making our first safari such a memorable one!

    Soomin - September 2023

  • Justin is extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife and nature in Tanzania. I found him to be helpful, courteous and great company. He taught me so much about the animals and nature and went out of his way to make sure I was happy at all times. To see the crossing of the Mara river by the wildebeest and zebra of the Great Migration was a particular highlight. However Justin knew how to seek out other animals and we were lucky to see 5 leopard as well as numerous lion, giraffe, cheetah, hippo and elephant. I'd highly recommend the bespoke trip I did and Duma Explorer/Alika as a company. A mass thank you to Justin for looking after me and helping make this a holiday of a lifetime! Asante!

    July 2023

  • Justin is a great guide , driver and spotter with very good knowledge of the area on the Parks and the wild life. Visited Tarangire National park , Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Will definitely recommend Duma Explorer and Justin for your great Wild Life Safari experiences!

    Karthi - September 2022