Adventure Holidays Our adventure holidays provide a superb range of activities that offer a mixture between fitness, health and the acquisition of new skills. Allow yourself to step out of your comfort-zone and explore nature, challenge yourself physically and mentally, and engage with exciting and unique environments.
NAIROBI
The capital of Kenya, calls itself the City in the Sun, and a visit can be as pleasant as that sounds. Most outsiders drop in for two reasons: business and animals. A short flight from spectacular wildlife parks such as the Maasai Mara, Nairobi has also become a magnet for some of the world’s biggest corporations trying to gain a foothold in Africa. The city is surprisingly beautiful with flowering trees and the perfect climate: 70s and 80s, sunny, low humidity — almost every day. It’s a palpably multicultural place, encapsulating what is happening in Africa better than any other city on the continent. Picture new construction, a lot of people, intense traffic, and more and more Western businesses. Yet you can still feed giraffes and baby elephants from within the city limits and see Maasai warriors ordering lattes in red-checkered blankets.
Three nights at Segera on safari on the Laikipia Plateau
Excursions
Segera is located in the heart of the Laikipia Highlands, and its surrounding diverse landscapes, incredible views, easy access to the Aberdare Mountain Range, majestic Mount Kenya, the Rift Valley and Great Lakes make it the perfect base for helicopter excursions.
Together with our flying partners Tropic Air, we offer guests the opportunity to discover and experience these various regions and highlights of Kenya. Tropic Air’s helictopers are perfectly adapted to fly in East Africa’s hot and high environments, while guests enjoy the company of professional private pilot guides. These aircraft are fitted with satellite tracking software, pilots are trained in ‘first person on scene’ first aid, and all possible precautions are carried out to ensure guests’ maximum safety and comfort.
While it might have been the gorillas that entice you to Rwanda, it’s the people of Rwanda who will keep you coming back. Ancient traditions of honour and hospitality run strong here, and anybody who takes the time to discover Rwandan culture for themselves will find a proud and unique people, happy to welcome you into their lives and introduce you to their traditions. Music and dance play an indispensable role in everyday life here, and performances range from dashing demonstrations of bravery and prowess to humorous songs, light-hearted dances, and rural artistry with roots in traditional agriculture.
Gorilla Tracking Rwanda is one of only three countries in the world where the critically endangered mountain gorillas live.
Gorilla tracking in Rwanda is often described as “life changing” and with good reason. With only an estimated 880 Gorillas left in the world, to see these gentle creatures in their natural habitat is a truly unique moment.
Gorillas make their homes in and amongst the bamboo-covered slopes of the Virunga Mountains in the Volcanoes National Park in northern Rwanda. Trek to see them and you’ll be introduced by your expert trackers and guides to one of the fully-habituated families of mountain gorillas and you can stay with them for an awe-inspiring hour, often crouching just a few feet away, whilst the gorillas go about their daily lives.
Hikes in the mountains can last anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours + depending on the family allocated to your group and their location. The journey back can take just as long, but you are often carried along by the euphoria you feel at seeing the gorillas!
Expert guides give a pre-trek briefing on specific protocols and rules for visiting the gorillas that live within an altitude of 2500 and 4000m. Porters are available to help carry backpacks and cameras, as well as helping you with your footing along your hike which can be hard work, but well worth it.
WATER SPORTS
Rubavu marks the beginning of the Congo Nile Trail, which extends 227 km to Rusizi, and has plenty of biking and hiking trails to fulfill those who crave the some more adventure. Rubavu is also known for its agrotourism experiences, with many tea and coffee plantations nearby.
THE CONGO NILE
227 km (141 miles) of beautiful landscapes, including rolling hills and clear water. The entire trek can be completed in a 10- day hike. However, the trip can be done in sections if travelers do not have the time to complete the entire trail. Trails give stunning views of the Lake Kivu coastline and offer adventurous travelers an exciting way to discover Rwanda.
Biking the Congo Nile Trail can be completed in 5 days, with rich views and immersive cultural experiences along the way. This trail appeals to adventure travelers and is a great way to experience Rwanda. The trail can also be split up if visitors do not have the time to commit to the 5 day journey. However, it is an experience worth selling to those who crave an off the beaten path adventure.
VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK
HISTORY
The park was founded in 1925 by King Albert I of Belgium and originally known as Albert National Park. Virunga was the first national park on the continent of Africa. The park was founded primarily to protect the mountain gorillas living in the forests of the Virunga Massif that were controlled by the Belgian Congo. Later, Virunga was expanded north to include the Rwindi Plains, Lake Edward, and the Rwenzori Mountains.
In the first 35 years, poaching was kept to a minimum and sustainable tourism thrived due to the work of a large body of hand picked Congolese rangers and dedicated wardens. Land remuneration and the use of park resources, such as fishing and hunting by the local population, became an ever-increasing problem.
When the Belgians granted Congo independence in 1960, the new state deteriorated rapidly, and so did Virunga. It wasn’t until 1969 when President Mobutu began to take a personal interest in conservation, that
the park was revived. In the process, it was renamed Virunga National Park and the first Congolese Wildlife Authority was established. Institut Congolais pour le Conservation de la Nature or ICCN, is still in charge of Congo’s protected areas to this day.
Virunga fared well for the better part of the 1970s. Foreign investment helped improve the park’s infrastructure and training facilities, and the park became a popular destination for tourists. During this period, Virunga welcomed an average of 6500 visitors per year. In 1979, UNESCO designated the park as a World Heritage Site.
In the mid-1980s the Mobutu regime began to lose its hold on power and the country began a long slide into chaos. Virunga suffered terribly. Poaching depleted the park’s large mammal populations, infrastructure was destroyed, and many rangers were killed. The Congolese Wildlife Authority slowly lost control of Virunga and UNESCO changed the World Heritage Site status to “endangered.”
Over the twenty-five years that followed, the park staff endured an almost uninterrupted series of trials that included a refugee crisis from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, which contributed to the severe destruction of park forests, and the proliferation of armed militias throughout the park. The Kivu War, the most recent of Congo’s conflicts, centered exactly on the park, with rebel forces occupying the park headquarters and evicting the park’s staff. By the end of 2008 it seemed as if Virunga was finished.
The political situation in the DRC has changed exponentially since then. The park is back in the hands of the ICCN and enjoying the greatest resurgence of tourism and development in its history. International donors are investing in the development of the park’s infrastructure at unprecedented levels. Virunga’s management is efficient and transparent, and morale among the rangers is at an all-time high.
Join us in our effort to protect Africa’s oldest park. Born of a Congolese commitment to the protection of Virunga National Park, the Virunga Alliance aims to foster peace and prosperity through the responsible economic development of natural resources for four million people who live within a day’s walk of the park’s borders.
- The source of 60,000 new and sustainable employments
- 4 million people with an improved quality of life through significantly increased access to drinking water, education, and health services.
- 4 million people with improved job prospects, thus reducing the ability of armed groups to lure new recruits.
- The park’s ecosystems and wildlife populations protected and flourishing.
- Virunga becomes one of the world’s greates travel destinations.
- The park is a major driver of peace and prosperity in the region.
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