Most of us rarely if ever spend time in proximity with wild animals, and the average African safari holiday preserves that distance. Get out of the vehicle and strike out on horseback in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, however, and you’ll become aware of every rustle in the savannah, said Sophy Roberts in the FT. You may feel “vulnerable”, or “high on adrenaline”, but you’ll definitely feel part of something larger than yourself. It’s a pursuit for “competent and confident” riders only – particularly during the wildebeest migration, when the game is so ubiquitous you need to be ready to “turn on a dime”. Of course it helps to have excellent guides – such as those with Offbeat Safaris.
You cover up to 50km per day – which is testing; but the experience is “softened” by having people to tend the horses and set up camp each night. Accommodation is simple but comfortable, with decent camp beds, long-drop loos, and oil lanterns for light. Fires burn all night, to help keep predators away from the horses.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
You might spot the great tide of wildebeest arriving from the Serengeti as you climb the Oloololo Escarpment, or see a smaller migrating herd at the foot of the Loita Hills. But it scarcely matters if you miss them. In “the authentic pulse of the Mara ecosystem”, there are a hundred other thrills, from riding alongside a herd of giraffes (a curiously “mesmeric” experience) to sleeping in a forest “presided over” by lions – and, if necessary, galloping away from a charging elephant.
A seven-night trip costs from $8,970pp, excluding flights (rideworldwide.com).
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
‘It’s another clarifying moment in our age of moral collapse’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
-
Frank Gehry: the architect who made buildings flow like waterFeature The revered building master died at the age of 96
-
6 lovely barn homesFeature Featuring a New Jersey homestead on 63 acres and California property with a silo watchtower
-
Film reviews: ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Is This Thing On?’Feature A born grifter chases his table tennis dreams and a dad turns to stand-up to fight off heartbreak
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
It Was Just an Accident: a ‘striking’ attack on the Iranian regimeThe Week Recommends Jafar Panahi’s furious Palme d’Or-winning revenge thriller was made in secret
-
Singin’ in the Rain: fun Christmas show is ‘pure bottled sunshine’The Week Recommends Raz Shaw’s take on the classic musical is ‘gloriously cheering’
-
Holbein: ‘a superb and groundbreaking biography’The Week Recommends Elizabeth Goldring’s ‘definitive account’ brings the German artist ‘vividly to life’
-
The Sound of Music: a ‘richly entertaining’ festive treatThe Week Recommends Nikolai Foster’s captivating and beautifully designed revival ‘ripples with feeling’
