Tuesday, September 20, 2011 | Thomas Ritt | Africa
The Kilimanjaro Tour came to an adventurous end as the group arrived in Diani Beach, Kenya, yesterday. Rain, mud, a slow, tiring border crossing and ninety minutes of riding in total darkness - Africa threw everything at us during the last day. But we made it to Diani, and the rest day in this tropical paradise is well deserved. Memories of Africa will linger for a long time - you can't just forget a tour like this!
From the Tanzanian side you can hardly ever see Mount Kilimanjaro. We considered ourselves lucky to get a glimpse of the peak, only for a few minutes before it disappeared in the clouds again. Uli marvels at the fantastic view from Irente Cliff lookout. This GS tells of the hardships that the bikes went through on this tour. A tour in Africa is not a walk in the park. It's AFRICA! The Maasai Mara is one of the most popular game parks in Africa. Still, the access road is a rough dirt track. This is Africa... This is Carl from Pennsylvania, enjoying a balloon ride over the Mara. A once-in-a-lifetime experience! To break the long ride from Maasai Mara to Amboseli we spent the night at Lake Naivasha. The sunset was, once again, spectacular. Lake Naivasha is home to a large hippo population and more than 400 species of birds, like this Kingfisher. At the Giraffe Centre outside of Nairobi you can get up close and personal with these unusual animals. You can pet them as long as you like, or as long as there is food in your hand. This is Laura and her new friends from Canada. In Amboseli National Park you can see hundreds of elephants. There is an electric fence around our lodge in Amboseli to keep the elephants from walking through. Foreigners on big bikes attract a lot of attention. And the questions are always the same: from where, where to, how fast, how much? Ngorongoro Crater is the last game park on our itinerary. At 20 km across it is the world's largest unbroken and unflooded volcanic caldera. This is the sunset as viewed from our crater rim lodge. The crater is full of wildlife and you can get really close. The black rhino is one of the most endangered animals in the world. Around 30 live in the crater, but you still have to be lucky to see them. We were lucky! At 100 km/h, support van driver Benni hit a gazelle. It smashed through the windshield and landed on his lap. Benni put his helmet on and continued. These Africans are hard to impress..."Big Five" refers to the five most iconic animal species in Africa: lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard. After Lake Nakuru we could already check rhino and buffalo off the list, and elephants and lions are quite easy to spot in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. But - would we see a leopard?
YES, we did!!! This is Alex. THE Alex! And here are the elephants. Check, mission "Big Five" is accomplished!The "Adventure Kilimanjaro Tour" is in full swing. After starting in Nairobi last Sunday we arrived at the shores of Lake Victoria today. Look at the pictures, they say more than words.
This is the only Edelweiss Tour that crosses the equator. As you can see, the group was very happy to be here. Carlos from Costa Rica received a certificate that confirms that he was here, at 0° North. Or 0° South. Or Both. The first riding day wasn't very long, but the Tusker was still well deserved. Brad from Canada samples the local bananas. Verdict: much better than the Canadian ones... Lake Nakuru National Park, the first major highlight of the tour. Lake Nakuru NP is famous for its population of rhinos. We saw eight of them during our first game drive. They are the most amazing animals! This baboon baby had lots of fun climbing on and dangling from a branch, just three feet from our Safari vehicle. But don't get too close, otherwise... ... his Dad will teach you a lesson! Here is Carlos again, all excited about the wonderful wildlife experience. Buffaloes are reputedly the most dangerous animals in Africa. Don't even think about getting out of your car! Lake Victoria is the third largest lake in the world. The sunsets are just amazing!