Africa Wildlife Safari & Adventure Experiences
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A Wildlife African Safari is potentially the greatest adventure playground of all
If you are looking for wild and real experiences in Africa, whether it is remote camping safaris, challenging mountain climbs or coming face to face with Africa’s big game whilst on foot, we have the expert knowledge, contacts and experience to help you plan a safe but exciting adventure.
We are especially keen to promote superior guiding experiences, and believe that guiding becomes increasingly more crucial as you move towards more adventurous and intimate wilderness experiences.
Adventure Safari & Wilderness African Experiences
Mobile Camping Safaris
Mobile Camping Safaris
Mobile camping safaris are one of the very best ways to experience the big game regions of Africa. Quite simply, you feel closest to nature and most adventurous when you are out in the middle of the bush, sleeping in a tent and having meals around the campfire. Animals will often wander through camp, by day and at night, and you will often be lulled to sleep by the sounds of the African bush after dark. Hippos grunting in a nearby river or lagoon, hyaena ‘whooping’ and lions roaring are all sounds that let you know exactly where you are in the world! You might also learn to identify the more subtle sounds – the distinctive call of a Scops owl, the rumbling communications of an elephant herd, or the rasping ‘cough’ of a prowling leopard.
Mobile camps can vary in size and comfort, from luxury camps which provide heavy weight walk-in tents with furniture and en suite bathrooms (which need to be located in the same place for several days at a time and can take a couple of days to re-locate) to more adventurous ‘fly camps’, light weight enough to enable you to move on a daily basis. Light weight camping is often the basis of walking, canoeing or horse-riding safaris, but it can of course be undertaken anywhere.
One of the best places in Africa to combine classic game viewing and mobile camping is in Botswana, where companies such as Letaka Safaris and Golden Africa offer flexible private mobile adventures. In Tanzania mobile tented camps such as Serengeti Safari Camp and Kirirumu Serengeti are used to explore the wonderful Serengeti National Park.
In other regions, mobile camping is more likely to be associated with remote exploration or more active walking, horse-riding or canoeing trails. You can undertake some of the most remote mobile camping possible in the Kaokoland region of north-west Namibia, or the exclusive Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, whilst Karisia Walking Safaris specialise in remote walking trails through central and northern Kenya.
Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania and even South Africa all offer plenty of options to camp out in wilderness, hosted by excellent guides. If you are specifically interest in exploring on foot, please see our specialist Walking Safaris page.
If you are interested in a mobile camping safari, please contact us on +44 (0) 1787 888590 or email us your requirements via our Contact Us page. There are so many awesome options out there!
Sleeping Under The Stars
Sleeping Under The Stars
There are also many places in Africa where you can spend a night out on an adventurous platform or in a tree house of some kind. Often these ‘sleep out’ options are open to the skies, adding to the adventure (though beware a full moon can seem very bright!).
Imagine waking up in the morning to the sound of a ‘munching’ buffalo below your platform. Perhaps that might seem ‘tame’ compared with the squabbling hippo that disturbed you in the middle of the night, or the distinctive rumble of elephant as the herd passed by in the early hours. Or maybe it was the alarm calls of a nearby baboon troop that made you certain there was a leopard close by. Not every night on a sleep out platform in Africa is full of action, but the experience is always one to remember – from the tranquillity and romance of the scene to the sheer novelty of sleeping under the stars with Africa’s big game all around.
Such experiences are normally available for just a night whilst staying in very comfortable safari camps, allowing you the chance to enjoy this adventure without the need to sign up for a multi-day experience. A couple of great camps that offer this are Kanana Camp in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and Serian The Original in Kenya’s Masai Mara.
In various other places, sleep out beds are ‘attached’ to your accommodation unit and you can choose whether to sleep ‘inside’ or ‘outside’. This does tend to feel as adventurous as a genuine bush sleep out, but it has the advantage of convenience, especially if the weather is changeable.
If you are interested in spending a night out on a sleep-out platform or deck, please contact us on +44 (0) 1787 888590 or email us your requirements via our Contact Us page.
You can also take a look at our blog article Africa Under the Stars which covers a variety of adventurous sleep out options.
Walking Safaris
Walking Safaris
Being on foot in safari Africa is naturally adventurous and allows you the opportunity to experience wild Africa from ground level. More adventurous walks will either involve more challenging routes, or tracking and approaching Africa’s big game (or sometimes both). Spending the morning tracking lions through the wilderness and then approaching them on foot can be a strenuous yet thrilling adventure, and very different from a short ‘stretch your legs’ walk around the edge of camp talking about plants and birds. We offer a multitude of superb walking adventures and can tailor your walking experience to match your interests and requirements. Please see our dedicated Walking Safaris page for more information.
If you are specifically interested in trekking in the forests of East Africa to see gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates, please see our dedicate page on Gorillas & Other Primates.
Alternatively, please call us on +44 (0) 1787 888590 to speak to one of our specialists about the different walking options, or email us your requirements via our Contact Us page.
Mountain Trekking including Kilimanjaro
Mountain Trekking including Kilimanjaro
Africa offers various adventurous trekking opportunities, from mystical mountain ranges to iconic individual climbs such as Mount Kilimanjaro. For more detailed information on trekking options and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or Mount Kenya please see our dedicated Mountain trekking including Kilimanjaro page.
Horse Riding
Safaris
Horse Riding Safaris
Horse-riding options in Africa are varied but for the experienced and adventurous rider there are several fantastic options to consider. Please see our dedicated page on horse-riding safaris for more details on the different options.
Canoeing
Safaris
Canoeing Safaris
Canoeing safaris have always been considered a fairly adventurous safari activity, not least because of the element of danger associated with the local residents of the water courses of Africa – hippo and crocs. However, where they are possible, they offer a beautiful way to explore the wilderness and approach big game.
The best canoeing safaris operate in Zambia/Zimbabwe on the Zambezi River, and when water levels allow in Botswana on the Selinda Spillway.
In Zimbabwe, the Mana Pools shoreline of the Lower Zambezi has always been a great destination to consider for a canoeing adventure and it is still possible to canoe the river with experienced guides. However, for various reasons the conditions are a little more dangerous than in the past, with respect to crocodiles and hippo, and we would therefore suggest that it is an activity only suitable for adventurous safari travellers, and we would always advise you to only canoe with a qualified local guide that knows the river well.
Across the river on the Zambian shores of the river is the Lower Zambezi National Park, where the river is deeper and we consider canoeing on this side of the river a little less of an ‘adventurous activity’.
Canoeing is also possible from several camps on the Upper Zambezi River near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
Quad-Biking
ADVENTURES
Quad-Biking
Some of the best quad-biking adventures are possible in the deserts of Namibia and Botswana.
In Namibia, various lodges offer quad-biking as a way of exploring the wilderness, both in the Namib Desert near Sossusvlei and up near the Kunene River in Kaokoland. It is also possible to enjoy quad-biking in the sand dunes outside Swakopmund on the coast.
In Botswana, quad-biking on the spectacular Makgadikgadi Pans is possible from Jacks Camp, San Camp and Camp Kalahari. These camps offer half day activities and more in depth multi-day quad-biking expeditions, however it is only possible to quad-bike on the pans during the dry season from May to October.
Mountain Biking &
Cycle Safaris
Mountain Biking & Cycle Safaris
Mountain biking is available throughout South Africa but in safari terms options are limited. Two places where it is possible to mountain bike through big game territory are Tafika Camp in Zambia’s South Luangwa and Mashatu Tent Camp in the Tuli Block in south-east Botswana.
White Water
Rafting
White Water Rafting
The two best and most exciting white-water rafting adventures in Africa are on the Zambezi River below Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe/Zambia) and on the Nile River below the town of Jinja in south-east Uganda. Both rivers offer adrenalin thrilled Grade 4 and 5 rapids as well as a scenic adventure. Whilst it is most common to undertake day (or half day) rafting excursions, limited multi-day trips are possible, especially on the Zambezi.
4×4 Self Drive Safaris
4×4 Self Drive Safaris
In southern Africa (Namibia, Botswana and Zambia in particular), self-contained 4×4 vehicles are available to hire for self-drive travellers who have the spirit of adventure to explore some of the more remote regions on their own. These vehicles are normally well-equipped and include roof-top and/or lightweight tents, camping equipment and even fridges, and although no previous 4×4 experience is required, it is strongly recommended (consider taking a course before you travel).
Most of Namibia is accessible to self-drive travellers and a self-contained 4×4 will allow you to travel at your own pace through some magnificent scenery. However, access to the more remote and adventurous region of Kaokoland in the north-west should only be undertaken by either very experienced self-drive travellers in convoy (minimum two vehicles) or with a local guide who knows the area intimately.
In Botswana, adventurous 4×4 self-drive safaris through the big game areas of Moremi, Savuti and Chobe are fantastic. To do this you need to be comfortable driving through deep sand, using a high-lift jack, and have the confidence to drive and camp in big game territory.
In Zambia, being self-contained will allow exploration of the remote areas not serviced by air transfer services.
It is also possible to self-drive through northern Tanzania’s famous northern parks, though it is a great help if you have prior experience of self-drive in Africa and the region itself.
Most of the self-drive holidays we arrange take place in South Africa and Namibia which are really suited to self-drive. Self-driving in these countries does not require the same level of experience as self-driving through Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania. We recommend 4×4 or ‘high clearance’ vehicles in Namibia, but most of South Africa can be explored by normal saloon car.