Adventure Holidays in Africa
An African holiday can offer all kinds of thrills and challenges. In addition to traditional and active safaris we can offer a fast paced mix of activities such as kayaking, trekking, snorkeling, scuba diving, white water rafting and mountain biking. You don’t have to be experienced as all activities are supervised and you will be briefed by an instructor. Enthusiasm and stamina are the most vital ingredients.
We can arrange a variety of trekking trips from stunning day walks, such as Cape Town’s Table Mountain, to full on physical and mental challenges such as an ascent of Kilimanjaro, the world’s highest free standing mountain. The Drakensberg Mountains in South Africa are a great place for independent trekking, let Mahlatini book your lodges and take care of the logistics while you enjoy the trails. To really get off the beaten track head for Tanzania’s Udzungwa National Park, the three day Mwanihana Trail is a challenging hike and there’s a good chance of encountering forest elephants and buffalo.
This is one of the best ways to access remote areas. It’s a wonderful way to travel and explore the scenery and encounter wildlife in an intimate way. Our canoe expeditions vary in length from a couple of hours to several days, depending on your level of experience and enthusiasm. Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park is a spectacular location for canoeing, the scenery is magnificent and the game prolific. South Africa’s sub tropical St Lucia wetlands are best explored by canoe. Lake Malawi National Park, offers superb kayaking as you travel from one idyllic island camp to another.
Adrenaline junkies, should head straight for Victoria Falls, the adventure capital of Africa. The white water-rafting here has been classified as Grade 5, this is one of the most challenging runs in the world.
Biking holidays come in all shapes and sizes. It’s a great way to really engage with a country and its people, even in the remotest areas people can relate to you. South Africa’s Garden Route is a fine place to start. For the ultimate escape we recommend a cycling safari in Botswana’s Tuli Game Reserve, it is here that ancient elephant paths provide the cycling ‘single track’, enabling you to explore a variety of habitats from undulating savanna, riparian forest, rocky outcrops to wooded floodplains.
The African coastline offers fantastic opportunities for diving and snorkeling. The translucent warm waters of the Indian Ocean are teeming life. All you need is a pair of goggles, a snorkel and some flippers and you’re all set to explore the beautiful coral reefs. The seemingly endless tropical reefs of Zanzibar and Mozambique offer some of the worlds finest diving and snorkeling. One of the best and most popular dive sites is the reef off Zanzibar’s Mnemba Island. Mafia Island is said to offer the best diving in east Africa, the islands Chole Bay has 48 species of coral including giant table corals, delicate sea fans and huge strands of blue and pink staghorn coral.
To escape the crowds and explore pristine reefs head for Mozambique’s Bazaruto and the Quirimbas archipelago. Whilst the waters of the Cape coast are not so tropical they offer superb cage-diving with great white sharks, one of the great wildlife experiences. Visit Lake Malawi, and you will be rewarded a colourful show of freshwater species, a revelation to the most experienced of divers.
For a vulture’s eye view of the wilderness a hot air balloon safari is a must. Gliding serenely over the African plains as the sun rises is an unforgettable experience. You can be confident of seeing wildebeest and zebra. It also gives you the chance to see shy species such as bushbuck and reedbuck. The safari finishes with a champagne breaskfast in the bush.