The game drive is the backbone of a safari and for good reason. However, those who think that a safari is just sitting in a car are missing out on half of what Kenya has to offer. If you’re a fan of getting active, the country offers a more active way to get around, and the best trips fit these moments in between the driving.
Walking safaris alter the whole dynamic of the bush. With an armed guide, the scale changes when walking. You read tracks, follow dung, see the insects and plants a vehicle rolls past and experience the real tension of sharing the ground with big animals on their terms. Walking isn’t about the Big Five, it’s about seeing how the whole system works at ground level. Some conservancies and camps specialise in it, and a morning stroll and afternoon drive provide a day of range. Fitting activities like this together is the work of a licensed Kenya tour operator.
The hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara is at the top of many lists and for good reason. One of the great travel experiences anywhere is lifting off before dawn, drifting in silence over the plains as the herds wake and the light turns gold, then landing to a breakfast laid out on the grass. It’s not adrenaline, it’s calm, but it’s the country from a perspective that no vehicle can get.
If you’re looking for a heart-pumping experience, Kenya has you covered. Hell’s Gate National Park is unusual in that it permits cycling and walking with the wildlife, and gorges for hiking and cliffs for climbers. The second highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kenya is a serious mountain, with multi-day treks through the different zones of forest, moorland and alpine rock, and is a favourite among trekkers who prefer it to its taller neighbour. The Rift Valley lakes offer boat trips and the coast offers diving and snorkeling on coral reefs.
Culture is a form of active travel. A visit to a Maasai village, conducted with respect through a community that welcomes it, opens a window onto a way of life that revolves around cattle and open country. The most successful of these visits are two-way, not a performance, but a conversation, and they bring a human dimension to an animal trip. Markets, music and food in Nairobi and along the coast complete the picture of a country that is more than its parks.
Water expands the possibilities even more. Lake Naivasha offers boat trips which will take you up close with hippo and lots of birds. Diving, snorkelling, kite surfing and dhow sailing on the Indian Ocean are available around Diani and Watamu. A few days of activity on the water combined with a safari makes a wildlife trip a true adventure holiday.
Mount Kenya is a worthy of a fuller word, since it is a serious objective that many trekkers underrate. There are several peaks on the mountain, the highest of which requires technical climbing, but the trekking peak of Point Lenana (c. 4,985 metres) is accessible to fit walkers in 3-5 days. As it rises, it passes through farmland, thick forest, open moorland dotted with bizarre giant plants, and finally cold alpine rock. It’s not the walking that’s the problem, it’s the altitude, so it’s more important to take a slower pace that allows the body to acclimatise than fitness. A few days on the mountain, combined with a safari, provide an entirely new level of accomplishment to a wildlife trip.
There are rules to walking safaris and they are there for a reason. Within the public national parks, it is usually not allowed to leave the vehicle and guided walking takes place in the private conservancies and in areas where it is allowed, with an armed, licensed guide. Groups remain small, walk quietly, approach from downwind and maintain a respectful distance. The idea is not to stalk dangerous animals, but to read the smaller signs of the bush, the tracks, the birds, the plants, at a speed that a vehicle cannot keep up. It is the closest most travellers get to the country as the first inhabitants knew it.
The coast offers much more to active travellers than just lying on sand. The reefs off Diani and Watamu provide diving and snorkeling opportunities in the coral, turtles and reef fish, and the marine park at Watamu is one of the best. The consistent wind during the season attracts kite surfers. Dhow sailing at sunset is a change from adrenaline to calm. The old Swahili towns along the coast are full of Indian Ocean trading history in their streets and food. A couple of days of activity here make the end of a trip a trip in itself.
These threads are only pulled into one trip by the local knowledge of the good operators, who know which conservancies allow walking, which camps offer balloon flights and how to fit a Mount Kenya trek or a Hell’s Gate day into a larger trip without unnecessary driving. It is much more difficult to put together a trip from outside Kenya piece by piece, as a licensed tour operator with active tours can create a cohesive trip that includes game drives, walking, cycling, trekking and coast time. When booked through one team, transfers, permits and guides for each activity are also booked together.
Honesty is due when it comes to fitness and safety. Walking safaris and short hikes are suitable for most reasonably fit travellers, but a Mount Kenya trek is a real climb and requires preparation and acclimatisation. There are precautions associated with water activities. A responsible operator will match the activity to the traveller’s fitness and never push anyone beyond it, and a good guide is the difference between a safe adventure and a risky one.
Going active is rewarded with a fuller picture of the country. Just sit in the car and you’re in the presence of Kenya’s wildlife. Walk, climb, paddle and cycle through it and you feel the place, the ground under your boots, the wind off the lake, the thin air of the mountain, the reef under your fins. The main attraction of the trip is the game drives. It’s the active days that make a safari an adventure in your body, not just your camera.
