Long gone are the lazy days at the beach or leisurely game drives though the vista of Africa’s national parks and game reserves. A new wave of adventures await an active traveler planning to go on safari in Africa. You can go trekking, hike through the mountains or go cycling while on safari in Africa. Here are the 5 best active adventures in Africa;
Explore the bush on foot
Tread carefully as you progress across the plains, with thrilling uncertainty at what may be staying behind each and every bush. A walking safari in the South Luangwa is the best way to get up close and personal with the wildlife, and expert guides will reveal the often-overlooked smaller details: a dung beetle skilfully rolling its vast burden, a praying mantis poised patiently on a twig, or how to discern a big cat’s age from the size and spread of their tracks. Many operators provide mobile tented camps so you can eat and sleep in the heart of the park too, serenaded by nature’s varied night song.
Climb Africa’s highest peak, Kilimanjaro
Africa’s highest mountain is certainly no walk in the park and is high up on the African adventures list. With its equatorial position and permanent snow-cap, summiting the dormant volcano is not for the faint of heart. Several days of hard-fought hiking carries you away from the plains below, landing you at 5,895 metres above sea level – just in time to take in the most spectacular sunrise you’re ever likely to witness. Hundreds of kilometres of flat savannah, shimmering silver in the slanting morning light, stretch away from your feet and add to the dizzying high of having conquered perhaps the most handsome of the ‘Seven Summits.’
Rafting on the Nile
Take Africa’s longest river, pull the plug, and watch as millions of tonnes of water sluice through. This plughole is located at Jinja in Uganda where Lake Victoria’s contents spill out, forming the Nile and some of the world’s most spectacular rapids. While on a Uganda safari, hurtle down a broiling field of spray, being flung from side to side at the mercy of age old currents, and cling on, heart in mouth, as the raft’s nose rides abruptly over a curling crest and all this with only helmet and paddle for protection. Rafting may seem frankly ludicrous to some people.
Climb an active volcano
It seems justified that the world’s largest lava lake (Mount Nyiragongo) is not easily accessible. However, with the re-opening of Virunga National Park, it can now be reached by those determined to make the journey. Standing at 3,470 metres in rarely-visited DRC, Mount Nyiragongo looks out across the Rwandan border to Lake Kivu. The hike to the rim takes six hours and there are huts for overnight stays at the top, where outside temperatures regularly drop below freezing. The tropical forests on the lower slopes are home to chimpanzees, various monkeys and bushbuck.
Track chimps in the Mahale Mountains
On the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, the Mahale Mountains National Park. resonates with the evocative sounds of its residents: the 900-plus chimpanzee. A whoop from the treetops, followed by another and then a deeper, throatier shout, taken up by several more increasingly excited voices; then comes a crashing in the branches as the troupe starts moving. Ranked amongst Africa’s foremost wildlife destinations, a trip to the Mahale Mountains to see the chimps and trek through the rainforest is a true once-in-a-lifetime adventure. We cannot forget talking about Kibale Forest National Park in Uganda normally referred to as a place for primates, chimpanzees inclusive.