Kenya Sports & Outdoors Tips by grets

Balloon safari

For a completely different perspective of the game, try a balloon safari. From your lofty viewpoint up in the sky (usually around 100m high), you have a fantastic view of the plains below, and the animals that inhabit it.

You leave your lodge around 5.30 am, setting out for the launch site. The basket we were in held 16 people in four different compartments, and the pilot turned the basket around several times during the flight so that you were not always at the back or the front.

You take off before the sun has risen, and watching the sunrise from the balloon is quite something.

The animals may still be asleep, as was the case of a large herd of buffalo we saw. Whilst still drifting, you make no noise whatsoever, but as soon as the pilot turns the burner on, the animals will wake up and make a run for it! It is great to see 200 buffalo stampeding across the savannah!

You are usually aloft for around an hour, depending on how strong the wind is. We headed towards the Tanzanian border and were lucky that the wind was only very slight, so we were able to stay up a little longer. You are not allowed to cross the border, and the pilot has to find a suitable place for landing.

Our balloon had a small seat to perch your bottom on during the landing (this is the first time I have seen that), as it can be quite bumpy and the basket may turn over on its side.

Theme: Other

Walking safari

If you get the chance, take a guided nature walk, as there is so much to learn from the people who live in harmony with the land.

A nature walk is not so much a big game safari as an educational walk, where you will learn about the flora and fauna and how these are utilised by the people.

Theme: Hiking