The Ultimate Adventure: Kenya Bike Safari
This is the ultimate adventure. Visitors who wish to get to know the environment, the towns and their culture up close. It is really exciting to ride a bike and have a view of a herd of giraffes, zebras or gazelles passing in front of you. This type of trip offers a unique opportunity for those who want to see Africa from more than just the window of a bus or the balcony of a hostel. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
The first day would be from Nairobi after breakfast. Depart from a Nairobi hotel for a scenic drive along the Great North Highway to Lake Naivasha. Stop along the way at Great Rift Valley viewpoints for stunning views reaching Naivasha Hell gate National Park mid-morning for a bike ride in the park. During the bike tour you will be able to observe more than 450 species of birds that have been registered here. Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Naivasha.
The second day would be a similar cycling experience but now in a more rural setting. This would involve cycling from Naivasha to Nakuru Menegai Crater, but first with a one hour ride. It would be that, in the morning, leave Naivasha and head for Nakuru; this would be one last trip to the Menegai crater by bike and explore the colorful city. Travel to the ridge of Menegai Crater for panoramic views of the Nakuru region. You will then have the opportunity to interact with the locals as you tour the vicinity of their homes. Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Nakuru.
The third day would be a 3 hour drive to Nanyuki after an early morning breakfast via Nyahururu, Aberdare and on to the Mount Kenya region where you will spend the night at a base camp in the foothills of Mount Kenya. In the evening you will surely have a riding session in the forest to test the terrain.
The last and last day would be a mountain biking competition and the last one a 3 hour drive to Nairobi. The itinerary for the day would look like this; Early in the morning grab your bikes and head to Mount Kenya national park where you will enjoy a ride up to 3300M. Arriving at 3300m, which is in the old Moses Camp, you will have a snack for lunch and then cycle down to the park gate where you will be met by a vehicle to return to Nairobi. You will arrive early in the afternoon and check into a hotel for which you needed to rest.
The best thing about this king tour is that I include all meals, bikes, transportation, park fee, lodging, and a professional biking guide/ornithologist. It is also a very good ecotourism safari and the ecological disturbance is minimized and the benefits of tourism are felt by the locals who own the bikes and those who play the role of guide. But to ensure quality, they must be trained and certified by the ministry of tourism here in Kenya. Another plus is that, a guide will lead the way and a bike mechanic will ride in the back to attend to any punctures etc. and a backup vehicle combine to give you peace of mind and allow you to enjoy the trip to the fullest. It offers the opportunity to get off the beaten track onto remote and little-used dirt roads as much as possible.
Sometimes the safari uses paved roads and also sometimes a single track, the latter without too much technical difficulty. Sometimes there is an opportunity to get off the main trails and into more serious off-road riding. Water is always at hand. Being a bike safari, one can have a break from the saddle. The only downside to this king of nature enjoyment is that a reasonable level of fitness is required to make your ride more enjoyable.