Kenya Lake Victoria

Karibu, welcome! You will be picked up from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which is named after Kenya's first president post-independence. You immediately experience the hectic city life of Nairobi, full of traffic and people on the move. The city of Nairobi has a population of around 5 million people, increasing to 10 million if the suburbs are included. The city is named after the Nairobi River and is located at an altitude of 1.800 meters, which makes the temperature very pleasant and even quite cool at night in the summer months. The city was officially founded in 1899 with the arrival of the railways. Karibu, welcome! You will be picked up from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, which is named after Kenya's first president post-independence. You immediately experience the hectic city life of Nairobi, full of traffic and people on the move. The city of Nairobi has a population of around 5 million people, increasing to 10 million if the suburbs are included. The city is named after the Nairobi River and is located at an altitude of 1.800 meters, which makes the temperature very pleasant and even quite cool at night in the summer months. The city was officially founded in 1899 with the arrival of the railways.

Today you can explore the city. We will organize a city motorbike tour to get a feel of the city and of the motorbike. You have several options to do in Nairobi, such as visit the Kibera Slums, or go to Karen's Giraffe center, you can go shopping in the Maasai Market or walk along local markets. Or have a coffee/ beer and just see urban life pass you by!

Early rise to leave the city: We head north, quickly leaving the main roads and following country roads, driving through small towns. The roads will be a mix of mainly asphalt and some gravel. We will quickly leave behind construction work, buildings, and traffic jams and welcome village life, nature and lush hills. We will pass the Aberdare National Park and head to Mount Kenya. Its highest peak is 5199 meters high. It was designated in 1978 as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The mountain plays an important role in the culture of local ethnic groups that live around there, such as the Kikuyu, Ameru, Embu and Maasai...

Today our wheels will touch a lot of gravel as we ride through grassland, passing game ranches and several wildlife conservancies, all while admiring the unique fauna around us. Watch out for possible zebra crossings! But also watch out for the cattle. It is a remote area, so we need to ensure we stock sufficient snacks and drinks, and we will prepare for a simple picnic along the way. Our goal today is to end up near Lake Baringo, a birdwatcher’s paradise whose freshwaters are an oasis in the arid plains. This is the traditional home of the Njemps tribe, a unique people who are the only pastoral, cattle-herding tribe that also fish. Our accommodation is in a small trading city near the lake.

Today is a long day, where we see the landscape change: as we head toward Kisumu, the mountainous landscape transforms into lush hillsides and vibrant farmland. Kisumu is Kenya's third-largest city, situated on Lake Victoria. We can enjoy fresh fish from the lake, and sunset views over the water.

Today it is border day. Cross the border into Uganda at the Busia border post, where the journey continues along scenic roads lined with forests and farmland. Arrive in Jinja, the adventure capital of Uganda, known for the source of the Nile and wild white waters.

Today is a rest day from the motor ride, but not from adventure! You can go rafting in the Nile, bungee jump above the Nile, or do a nature walk along the Nile. You can also put adventure on a break and chill at the hotel/ camp. It is also a good spot for laundry!

We let the wheels spin again! We will ride into the central northern part of Uganda, into the countryside. We enter the great Lake Kyoga area to find a small village with boats that can take us across the lake. It will be organized in a local style and speed, so we will probably take a simple picnic brunch before the boat ride. Once we have crossed the lake, we need to take a gravel road for a while to get on the main road, we ride to the small town of Soroti. This town is often used for travelers to continue towards Gulu/ Sudan/ Congo, or into northern Uganda, where the Karamojong live - a Nilotic ethnic group, which has similarities with the Turkana from Kenya and the Maasai (Kenya/ Tanzania) and is also linked to the Dinka from Sudan.

Today, we drive the northern provinces of Uganda. This is a lowland area. We will ride through the network of small gravel roads north of the highway, and with bits of asphalt to also progress a bit. Gulu is a thriving city that has long been in the shadow of development due to a long-lasting conflict between the Ugandan Government and the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) during the 1990s up to 2008. It is the gateway to North Congo and Sudan.

In the past this was a long route along gravel paths. Today it is mainly tarmac we see; Oil has been found in Lake Albert, and that gave a commercial incentive to improve the roads. The roads are, however, not very busy, and will take us to pass through rolling hills and many banana fields and villages. There is a spectacular view on the Nile: turn on the GOPRO, as we are not allowed to stop for pictures near the famous Karuma Dam. Hoima is a lively town, we stay on the outskirts.

Today we cross the center of Uganda, driving from north to south, closer to the Congo border. We swindle our way through the tranquil Ugandan countryside, where rolling hills and lush vegetation create a serene backdrop. We ride through small towns and vibrant markets, absorbing local life along the way. As we approach your destination, the terrain becomes more rugged, leading you to the unique crater lake areas of Uganda. We stay at one of the many crater lakes, at a guesthouse site managed by the local community. There are lots of monkeys of different species running around the premises.

We start with a short gravel road loop around the crater lakes. Back on the main road, we shortly stop at the Kazinga Channel. We will take time for a boat trip over the channel. Many kinds of wildlife can be seen in the shade of the channel. We follow the main road south and branch off using a gravel road for the last bit to Dave the Cave, a local family run Ecolodge and campsite, situated at one of the twin lakes. The owner, Dave, can share stories about the community and several initiatives they work on to empower the people. There is an option to join a Chimpanzee track either in Kibale Forest (in the morning) or Buhoma Forrest (in the afternoon), but it could impact the rest of the day’s program.

Uganda is still the only country in Africa where you can ride through some nature parks with a motorbike, and today, we start the morning riding. A long, unpaved road runs through Queen Elisabeth National Park. We follow this route and almost certainly see wildlife on the way. After lunch, we get our way into dense rainforest: Our last kilometers will be on a gravel road riding on the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, home of an immense diversity of species but most famous for its Mountain Gorillas. About 459 Gorillas live in the forest, which makes up almost half of all the mountain gorillas in the world.

We will spend the entire day visiting the Gorillas. We will have arranged the necessary permits in advance for those who requested. Only twelve people per day are allowed to visit one of three gorilla families. We can stay with the family for a maximum of one hour. A family sleeps in a different place every night. In the early morning, so-called 'trackers' are sent to locate the family. The group of visitors, led by a guide and a few rangers, will then be guided through the dense forest to the family via GPS coordinates. How long we must walk to get to the gorillas is therefore entirely dependent on where the family is. But this unique hour with the gorillas is worth every walk. Alternatively, you can stay relaxing at our nice hotel, walk around the forest village where we stay, or do a guided nature tour.

We leave the lush Bwindi Impenetrable Forest via a gravel mountain road. The road winds through remote villages and lush hillsides. After an hour or so, we hit the asphalt. Then we curl our way to Lake Bunyonyi. The last bit we take a small gravel trail, along the lake’s coastline. The lake’s crystal-clear waters, surrounded by lush islands, offer a tranquil escape, a perfect spot for relaxation after your rugged journey through Uganda’s wilderness. In the afternoon, there is time for a canoe ride or a village walk.

We start the engines again and head south to the border – weather permitted we take an adventurous shortcut. After the border, we quickly leave the highway and ride into the tea plantations region. Depending on the border crossing time, we either ride between two lakes or around two lakes. With clear skies, we have a good view on the first volcanoes.

We had to go to Lake Kivu, ride alongside the many volcanoes of the Volcanoes National Park. This gives way to spectacular scenery. Once we arrive at the Lake, we descend south following the coastline. Lake Kivu is believed to be one to five million years old and has a depth of 485 meters. Straddling the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kivu is one of a string of lakes lining the East African Rift Valley where the African continent is being slowly pulled apart by tectonic forces. The resulting stresses thin the Earth’s crust and trigger volcanic activity, creating hot springs below Kivu that feed hot water, carbon dioxide, and methane into the lake’s bottom layers. We will spend a while riding the notorious Congo-Nile trail while our support car follows another route. We stay at the Lake.

We head east to Rwanda’s capital. Our journey takes us through the countryside and village life. We will stop for a simple lunch and slowly get used to more traffic on the way – we approach urban life! Kigali is a big city with friendly inhabitants. The city is scattered over several hills. It is developing rapidly, with shopping malls and office buildings. It is a safe city, and many claim it to be the tidiest urban area in Africa. You are not allowed to bring in plastic bags, and it is inconsiderate to litter on the streets. We stay in a nice hotel to refresh and re-energize ourselves from the long journey so far.

Today is a rest day. You can organize our photos, clean your clothes, stay at the swimming pool, or enjoy other hotel facilities. You can also go out and explore the city, stretch your legs, visit the genocide museum, and the hotel Milles Collines (hotel Rwanda from the film of the same name).

Today the adventure on wheels continues! Set off from Kigali on a ride through Rwanda’s vibrant eastern landscapes. We ride past terraced hills, bustling roadside markets, and tranquil villages. We will get close to near the Akagera Plains, Rwanda’s largest National Park.

An early rise to make our first border crossing, and experience the changing landscape: from the wild savannahs of Akagera to the valleys of Biharamulo. We ride through highlands, bustling towns, and remote mountain passes as we make our way into Tanzania. We stay in a simple guesthouse in a small town.

We ride along the southeast of Lake Victoria, it is a smooth ride asphalt ride through vibrant Tanzanian towns, and we explore some small tracks along the main road to visit fishermen's villages. Lake Victoria is Africa’s largest lake by area, and the world's largest tropical lake, and 2nd largest freshwater lake. We will take a ferry just before Mwanza and then check into our accommodation for the night.

The journey continues! Our longest distance day, so an early rise to jump on our bikes, and head towards Kenya. We ride through quiet fishing villages, lush banana groves, and rolling countryside. We cross the Tanzanian Kenyan border at Isebania, where vibrant market scenes greet you. The border formalities normally go much smoother going into the country of origin of motorbikes. We continue to Migori, a bustling town in Kenya’s green highlands. We stay in a friendly family guesthouse.

An adventurous day today! We head east and ride most of the journey over the gravel roads of Maasai County! We drive through a vast part of the homeland of the Maasai tribe. The Maasai are pastoralists and have a reputation as fearsome warriors and cattle rustlers The Maasai territory reached its largest size in the mid-19th century and covered almost all of the Great Rift Valley and adjacent lands from Mount Marsabit in the north near the Ethiopian border to Dodoma in the center of Tanzania. The landscape opens into vast grasslands dotted with acacia trees and grazing livestock. We will pass several conservancies, and you can spot wildlife. We will stay in a self-contained tent camp with views of the Sekenani Plains.

People are not allowed to live in a National Park. It is hardly fenced. Apparently, that is enough for a rich animal life. The landscape in the Maasai Mara is splendid. We leave the motors partly at rest and take an optional car safari: You will encounter large herds of buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, and antelopes, as well as giraffes and lions crossing the road. We can ride around until late in this magnificent wild park of Kenya. There is an option of a motor safari too! Bring enough power and memory cards for your camera because it is beautiful. The real safari experience!

We leave early to spin the wheels of our motorbikes again. In the morning, there are a lot of games along the road. We will follow a long dirt road to reach the asphalt in Narok. Then we get into green country again - the green highlands – as we make our muddy/sandy way to Lake Naivasha. The lake and its surroundings are rich in natural bounty, and the fertile soils and water supply have made this one of Kenya’s prime agricultural regions. You can find many (Dutch) flower farmers here. We will stay at the lake.

Our last day, but not least. We start with an optional boat ride, enjoying bird life and visiting a hypo-pool. Then we start the engines again. We will ride on a mix of asphalt, spectacular tracks, and dirt roads towards Nairobi. We will pass Mount Suswa Conservancy and ride around Ngong Hills Natural Reserve. The closer we get to Nairobi, the busier it becomes. Air pollution, traffic jams, high buildings and people on the move. On arrival at Nairobi, we relax with a well-deserved drink to celebrate and share our memories.

Depending on the time of your flight, you either leave very early or you have the day to explore Nairobi. If exploring Nairobi, there are a range of activities to enjoy, from visiting the Maasai Market or one of the big malls for souvenir shopping, admiring more animals at Nairobi National Park, partaking in a slum tour, or just relaxing in the hotel. Then it is time to say goodbye, kwaheri!