relax,rejuvenate and enjoy your Trip to Kenya
Biking holiday in Kenya & Tanzania
- COUNTRY:
- Kenya, Tanzania
- HOLIDAY TYPE:
- Adventurous mountain biking holidays
- DEPARTURES:
- 2012: 2 Jun, 30 Jun, 21 Jul, 11 Aug, 1 Sep
- PRICE:
- From NZ $4,190 (EU €2,415) (16 days), depending on year of travel. Local payment US $300 (EU €218) , local bike hire US $200 (EU €145) . Price includes transport, meals, accommodation and activities.
Biking holiday in Kenya & Tanzania
On our 16 day biking adventure we travel from Nairobi in Kenya through Tanzania to Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast; or the reverse journey (see itineraries below). Biking far from busy roads and main tourist routes you will experience a different face of Africa - local villages and traditional tribesmen, breathtaking scenery and wildlife grazing on the plains. We travel through open savannah, desert, mountain rain forest and tropical coastline. We follow the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro with its snow-covered peaks and camp in the wilderness under a cloudless African sky.
We take a break from our bikes to view Amboseli and Ngorognoro Crater, to give you the wildlife experience that East Africa is famous for. Enjoy a day hike and visit a local school in the unspoilt Usambara Mountains. Biking through the Usambara Mountains and down to the tropical coastal forest and villages brings us finally to Dar es Salaam, “Haven of Peace”.
- 12 days biking - 90% on dirt and 4x4 roads, some paved roads, and a wee bit of non-technical single track.
- From 25km to 120km per day. Total distance approximately 550km.
- 100% vehicle supported. Our trusty support vehicle carries all your luggage, helps you up those hills (if you like) and always has lunch, snacks and water at hand.
- Two Game parks included, Amboseli National Park (Kenya) and Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania) included.
- Group size minimum 4, maximum 10 plus Escape leaders and local crew.
- Accommodation is twin share - three nights in hotels; and single or double for 12 nights camping. (Upgrades to rooms are available at some campsites at your own expense).
- Food includes 3 meals per day from dinner on Day 1 to breakfast Day 16. This excludes 2 lunches and 2 evening meals which are at your own expense to give you the opportunity to experience local cuisine.
- Includes visit to a rural primary school in Tanzania.
Day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive in Nairobi |
| Day 2: | Departing the city we begin our biking across open savannah into a game corridor. |
| Day 3-4: | We continue riding through Maasai tribal country towards Mt Kilimanjaro and Amboseli National Park. |
| Day 5: | Game viewing in Amboseli National Park, short ride to visit and camp with a Maasai family. |
| Day 6: | Last day in Kenya - open savannah leads into scrublands and out to the Tanzanian border. |
| Day 7: | Transfer day and Arusha City. |
| Day 8: | A day on smooth fast sealed road out into the Great Rift Valley. |
| Day 9: | Game drive in Ngorongoro Crater. |
| Day 10: | Vehicle transfer west, followed by an afternoon bike to secluded river campsite. |
| Day 11-13: | Bike and explore the Usambara Mountains, plus school visit. |
| Day 14: | Getting warmer and more tropical now we ride out to the Indian Ocean coast. |
| Day 15: | Bike from Dar es Salaam city out to our beach destination. |
| Day 16: | Fly out or relax by the ocean. |
How this holiday makes a difference
During this trip we visit a very small Maasai Pre-School under the shade of an acacia tree in Kenya. Our main goal of the visit is a mutual social exchange where children and bikers open their minds and learn more about the other’s way of life. Our bikers can also support the school by donating basic stationery if they like.
We camp with two different local families. As well as the fantastic social and cultural exchange experienced by visitors and locals alike, our visit also brings a regular income to the two communities (by paying for camping and other services).
In Tanzania we have a relationship with a Primary School in the Usambara Mountains. Again there is always a fantastic social and cultural exchange experienced by both the school pupils and our bikers. Over the past years money donated by our bikers has been used to employ local carpenters to build much needed school desks and more recently we have assisted with materials for the schools' new toilet block.
As a company we are committed to running our tours in a responsible manner as highlighted below:
- Small group size – Our groups really are small! With a maximum of 10 in any one group we minimize our impact on the small communities that we visit.
- Support local economies – buy locally made products, use local accommodations, restaurants, markets and support small businesses. (Buying locally made products also decreases the environmental cost of importing). We also employ local drivers and guides in the countries we visit.
- Encourage positive interaction and social exchange – again by supporting locally run businesses (and by travelling by bike!) we develop relationships with local communities and families on our trips where our clients from all over the world can meet and engage one to one with local folk; Also by learning the local languages.
- Educate our bikers – about the effects of buying products that come from endangered species, or products that are destructive to wildlife or the environment. We also like to think about – “What are the short and long term effects of aid/charity on local communities?”, “Who benefits?”
- Waste/rubbish management – when we travel we should treat our surrounding as we would treat our home (or better!). We do our best to avoid ‘single use packaging’ only using reusable or recyclable packaging. We recycle what can be, and manage any rubbish in the best possible way e.g. in Africa – all of our organic waste is feed to local domestic pigs and goats, and we always leave our campsites as we find them (or better!).
- Environmentally conscious office – To avoid paper waste we aim to use as much computer technology as possible in our office. We only produce a minimum of hard copy advertising/brochures/flyers etc… and we consider the source of materials used.
- For every person who joins us on one of our longer multi-day trips we donate 10 trees to a reforestation project.
