Here’s why a cycling safari offers the ultimate experience for spotting the Big Five, including traveling along “elephant highways.”
If there were a loyalty program for
safaris
If I had platinum flyer status, I could quote the safety instructions word for word (“keep all limbs inside the Land Cruiser” if you wish to retain your limbs), distinguish between male and female giraffes (females sport fluffier ossicones or horns), and arrange an impressive sundowner setup (the key to a perfect pink gin and tonic lies in premium tonic water). I’ve also taken helicopter rides above elephant herds.
Botswana
, I traversed rivers teeming with hippos using a simple wooden canoe in Zambia, and observed kudus grazing right from the privacy of my personal plunge pool at an upscale camp close to Kruger National Park. However, if you inquire about my preferred method for spotting the Big Five, you might find it unexpected. This approach includes wearing thick padding, enjoying peanut butter jelly sandwiches alongside Fanta drinks, and jumping into icy baths that contrast sharply with the scorching heat of the African sun.
Are cycling safaris safe?
“How dangerous is this?” I questioned during my initial cycling safari experience. Kyle MacIntyre, our guide,
Natural Selection
The safari guide who grew up in rural Botswana gave me a helmet and grinned. “Cycling is a very natural and genuine way to experience the wilderness,” he stated, skillfully avoiding my query yet providing reassurance. The rifle mounted on his mountain bike—a weapon potent enough to bring down an elephant but never used—brought me some solace. He continued, “By bicycle, you can pick up bird alarms and twig snaps more easily since most creatures avoid trafficked paths.” And MacIntyre was right. Over four days of biking and camping in the Kalahari Desert, I observed that the local fauna viewed our bicycles with either interest or disregard. Clearly, they did not perceive us as prey.
What makes booking a cycling safari appealing?
My initial cycling safari was incredibly captivating; since then, I’ve developed a preference for game rides over traditional game drives. During a game ride, one cannot relax as freely as they would during a regular drive. Instead, all your senses must remain alert throughout. This experience combines excitement with exhaustion equally. For instance, my latest cycling safari last October marked their very first such excursion.
Wagora Bike Ride
At Singita Explore, I formed lasting friendships and cycled with a cause. Rather than merely viewing the Big Five, we were working to protect them.
“Are you prepared to embark?” questioned Braya Masunga, the operations manager,
Singita Explore
Masunga, who welcomed my cousin Rosie and me with refreshing beverages and damp towels, doesn’t mention this detail, but Singita Explore is the high-end tented camp frequented by Leonardo DiCaprio during his visits to Tanzania. There are no photographers around here; instead, you’ll encounter one of Africa’s most impressive anti-poaching teams. Interestingly, the five-day bicycle safari we were set to begin honors Kitaboka Wagora, an anti-poaching tracker killed by a poacher back in 2008. The proceeds from the Wagora Bike Ride go towards supporting their efforts.
Grumeti Fund
, a nonprofit organization that hires around 100 anti-poaching rangers responsible for safeguarding wildlife within this 350,000-acre portion of the Serengeti.
What is usually involved in a daily routine during a cycling safari?
Similar to game drives, game rides also begin at dawn. Thankfully, waking up early in the wilderness comes naturally. At Singita Explore, their chefs prepare coffee brewed over an open flame along with a carbohydrate-rich breakfast for us. Using a headlamp, Godfrey, the local Kenyan bike mechanic, ensures our tires are properly inflated and ready for today’s 20-mile journey. We aim to hit the trails shortly before sunrise as this is when temperatures are the mildest and wildlife tends to be more lively.
Dressed in identical cycling jerseys, our group is quite eclectic. I’m an enthusiastic road cyclist who picked up riding from my buddy, the celebrated 17-time champion of the Tour de France.
George Hincapie
Meanwhile, Rosie finds little comfort when riding a beach cruiser. Recently, Skyler Nuelle—who leads partnerships and impact analysis for the Grumeti Fund—took part in a mountain bike ride uphill.
Mount Kilimanjaro
In a four-day stage race, Vicky Mkessa, who works as the programs coordinator for the Grumeti Fund and has never ridden a bicycle before, joins us. We have a few escorts on bicycles.
safari guides
Who can monitor and share information about the wildlife we’ll encounter? Additionally, our team will include at least five armed anti-poaching rangers who mostly do not know English. Despite our different languages, there’s a special connection when cycling together as a pack—rotating positions to shield one another from headwinds—that brings us closer than sitting inside a car ever could.
In Botswana, we rode our bicycles along “elephant corridors”—heavily used routes created by Africa’s largest pachyderms. However, things were different here in
Tanzania
, we’re traveling along a combination of dirt roads and narrow single-track trails that twist through the
Grumeti Game Reserve
In these grasslands live lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, hyenas, zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, buffaloes, and the elusive eastern black rhinoceros. As we cycle along, we spot all animals except for leopards and cheetahs. One highlight of my trip was observing a pair of lions using binoculars during a break at one of our resting points. Many cycling safaris include refreshment stations – stocked with orange slices, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and sodas – roughly every eight miles. Should nature call, look for an appropriate tree nearby.
I enjoy exercising and
seeing wildlife
At the same moment, this thought eases my guilt as I think of the Instagram-perfect brunch awaiting our return to camp after riding. Before digging into the spread, however, we first plunge ourselves into icy cold water baths. Once replenished with food, everyone takes some time for naps and massages, then enjoys an afternoon tea session followed by a wildlife safari drive. By nightfall, we come back and talk about the following day’s cycling plan and itinerary during a multi-course meal reminiscent of what Leonardo DiCaprio might enjoy. With full stomachs, tired limbs, but joyful spirits, each one eagerly anticipates waking up at 5 a.m. for the next adventure. Being on bicycles somehow transports us back to childhood, making us excitedly look forward to feeling young once more—perhaps even living out scenes from “The Lion King” itself.
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Travel & Leisure
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