Author Archives: ADKA Kenya Safaris

Hot Air Balloon Safaris in Kenya

9th April, 2019 | Article By ADKA Kenya Safaris

ActivitiesBallooningSafarisThings to doViews

On the day of your balloon flight, one of our custom safari vehicles will collect you from your camp or lodge at around 5AM to drive you to the launch site. You will arrive at the launch site by 6AM, and can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea while you watch the balloons being prepared for take-off. You will then meet your pilot, who will give you a safety briefing as well as explain what you can expect during your flight. There are basic toilet facilities available at the launch site.

You will then be loaded into your balloon basket for take-off just before sunrise, at about 6:30AM. The flight will last approximately one hour, depending on wind conditions, and the balloon will land between 7:30 and 7:45AM.

Upon landing, you can observe the complete deflation of the balloon envelope. Our vehicles will then transport you a short distance to breakfast.

Our breakfast is set up on the picturesque savannah plains of the Masai Mara Reserve, typically under the shade of a single acacia tree. You will sit down to a full bush breakfast in the Kenyan style, complete with eggs-to-order, fresh juices, waiters in traditional Swahili attire and, of course, champagne.

During breakfast, you can also peruse the photos your pilot has taken during the flight and decide whether you would like to purchase the photos, or any of the other merchandise on display.

After breakfast, at about 9AM, you will have a game drive back to your camp or lodge. Depending on what you find along the way, the game drive usually takes about one and a half hours. Our drivers are all experienced safari guides who have attained their “bronze” level guiding certificate from the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association. Our drivers have also undertaken strict in-house training to ensure the safety and enjoyment of your game drive.

By 10:30AM you should be back at your camp or lodge, already reliving the memories of the morning’s flight.

Fly Camping, Adventure at its best

19th May, 2016 | Article By ADKA Kenya Safaris

AdventureCampingGlampingNational ParksSafaris

Ultimate freedom in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania.  The Kichaka Flycamp throws off the chains of being constrained to one area in an ecosystem the size of “Switzerland”.  With one of Africa’s greatest wildernesses available to us it would be remiss to only focus on 5% of it.  With the lightweight and highly mobile flycamp, we can gain access and get a chance to explore (almost) the other 95%.

Comprised of a converted 4WD military 4 Ton truck, the flycamp is self sufficient for up to a week of safari away from its basecamp.  With state of the art solar systems, refridgeration, electrical supplies, water pumps and mobile kitchen, the flycamp has enough kit to host up to 6 guests at any time pretty much anywhere in the Park which has a road going to it.  Whilst not as luxurious as our basecamp, the flycamp still offers the usual creature comforts along with great food and comfortable tents.

The accommodation comprises of large pup tents equipped with comfortable twin cots, important for those much needed rests between walks, a fully functional bathroom with short drop loo and hot bucket shower.  When the kit is unloaded off the truck, the truck itself becomes the kitchen unit, which can supply 3 course meals as far away as it is possible to get from the closest supply outlet.

The flycamp is always packed, ready and waiting to be dispatched at a moments notice for guests staying longer than 3 nights, and who want to get further afield for some serious bushwhacking and exploration in areas of the Park where very few, if any tourists, have visited before.  Truly the experience of a lifetime.

The Great Migration at Maasai Mara

22nd June, 2015 | Article By ADKA Kenya Safaris

ActivitiesAdventureNational ParksSafarisWildlife

I am writing from the second-largest and second-most-populous continent, Africa, and in particular from Kenya,  located in the eastern part of Africa.

The Maasai Mara National Reserve is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Mara Region, Tanzania.  It is named in honor of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar: “Mara” which is Maa (Maasai language) for “spotted” is an apt description for the circles of trees, scrub, savanna, and cloud shadows that mark the area.

It is globally famous for its exceptional population of Masai lions, African leopards and Tanzanian cheetahs, and the annual migration of zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, and wildebeest to and from the Serengeti every year from July to October, known as the Great Migration.

The Maasai Mara rivals an ever-changing landscape portrait: endless, green grasslands gradually ripen into golden waves of tall oat grass, gently parted by herds of visiting wildebeest that clear the canvas for another painting. A lack of fences allows the seamless union of the Greater Mara Ecosystem in Kenya and the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania into the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem. One morning you can wake up to a herd of five hundred elephant making their way slowly through the Ol Punyata swamp in the middle of the Mara Triangle, and the next day they’ve vanished. Our large swamp, streams, salt lick, meandering Mara River, and a rainfall of up to 1,500 millimetres a year, means that there is enough food and water to keep wildlife in the Mara Triangle even during the dry months.

Masai Mara Reserve offers various activities to indulge in ranging from: unlimited game drives, hot air balloon safaris, bush meals, bush walks, lion tracking, horse riding, sundowners, to mention but a few!

Anne Kaluki is my name, born and bred in Kenya, residing in the capital city, Nairobi. I run Africa’s Adventure, Kenya’s Delight (ADKA Kenya Safaris). We very much take pleasure in painting lasting memories by planning and organizing tours to travel to the Masai Mara Reserve to witness the Great Wildebeest Migration, “The 7th wonder of the world”.  Let’s go and explore!!!