SPECTACULAR WILDLIFE SAFARI
OVERVIEW
Offbeat Riding Safaris have been operating since 1990 and have a stellar reputation for providing unrivalled mobile horseback safaris amongst big game. Riding up close to elephant, lion and buffalo, or galloping with wildebeest and zebra are life changing experiences. If you are a rider, there is simply no better way to see Kenya than from the back of a well schooled and fit horse.
You’ll ride across the Masai Mara choosing the best and most adventurous routes along the way. With a traditional mobile tented safari camp that moves with your group, supported by a lorry and Land Rovers, this is the epitome of what a true 'safari' is all about. Wildlife is plentiful in all the areas that you ride and your guide is highly knowledgeable and conversant with the habits and likely reactions of the wildlife.
Let’s ride!
HIGHLIGHTS
Huge numbers of game all year around
Progressive ride through the Mara
Fast, adventurous riding
Spacious tented accommodation
Landrover game drives
Ride across the famous Mara river
Stay at two locations from the movie ‘Out of Africa’
Cessna flight over the Mara
Sporty horses (many have evented)
OVERVIEW
RIDE GUIDE
Duration: 7 nights / 8 days
Cost: From $9,870pp (2024) and $10,850 (2025)
Operator: Offbeat Riding Safaris
Where: Nairobi, Kenya
When: All year excluding APR, MAY and NOV to avoid the rain
Riding level: Intermediate to advanced. You must be comfortable at all paces in open country and able to gallop away from danger.
Min Riders: 4
Max Riders: 12
Weight limit: Maximum of 95kg/210lbs
Time in the saddle: 5 to 8 hours a day
HORSES
The horses are based at luxurious Deloraine House, and are trucked to each safari destination ahead of guests. All the safari horses are thoroughbred and thoroughbred cross and have excellent stamina as a result. They are well schooled, some play polo and event. They are therefore responsive, tough and fit. You will be pleasantly surprised!
You will ride in English General Purpose Wintec saddles and leather saddles. Some Australian stock saddles are available on request. Seat savers are available and bridles are mainly fitted with snaffle bits.
ACCOMMODATION
As you move around the Mara this is a light mobile safari with accommodation in elegantly appointed tents.
The mobile tented camp includes a mess tent for meals and spacious 9ft x 10ft sleeping tents with camp beds, mattresses, sheets & blankets. Towels, soap and torches are provided. There is a solar lamp in each tent, with hurricane lamps outside at night time. There is a long drop loo tent for every tent and hot safari bucket showers are always available.
GET IN TOUCH
WHAT'S INCLUDED
All conservation & park fees, internal flights and transfers associated with each safari, dayroom in Nairobi on last day if required, full board shared accommodation, all drinks (except champagne), all riding, game drives, walking, laundry, local airstrip transfers and Amref Flying Doctors Membership (Air Evacuation to Nairobi).
WHAT’S EXCLUDED
The price does not include international, travel insurance, or staff tips (we recommend $20 a day). Single supplement for your own room in the hotels or lodges. Full medical and holiday insurance is required to join the ride. Single Supplement: $100 per night (if not willing to share).
TRANSFERS
You will either be collected from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport or if you have arrived earlier, from your Nairobi hotel, and transferred to Wilson Airport for your 10am flight to Mara North in the Masai Mara.
Offbeat organise your domestic flights for you. Flights from Nairobi Wilson to the Masai Mara are 1 hour and you must check in at least 1 hour before your flight. If the ride begins at the River Camp you will land into Mara North Airstrip and drive 30 minutes to camp. If the ride begins at the Olare Lamun Camp you will land into Naibosho Ol Seki Airstrip and drive 30 minutes to camp.
MEALS
All meals are freshly prepared and you will enjoy English breakfasts, light lunches and 3-course dinners. You’ll often have picnics and eat in the open air if the weather is good. Ice cubes are always on hand for your drinks.
Bread is baked daily on open fires. Dinners are hearty with fresh fish, ravioli pasta, beef steaks, gammon ham, fresh vegetables and desserts like banoffi pie, brandy snaps, fruit and cream! All house wines, beers and spirits are included, except champagne.
Please let us know in your rider form if you have any dietary requirements or preferences ahead of time so that we can try to cater for you. Vegetarians and those on a gluten free diet are very welcome.
WHAT TO PACK
Refer to ’What to Pack’ for a general guide on what to bring on a horse riding safari or download the specific Offbeat packing list here.
Domestic flights have a weight allowance of maximum 15 kilos including hand luggage. A soft duffle bag is preferable to a hard case on safari.
Laundry will be washed by hand on non-moving days whilst you are on safari and dried in the sun.
Helmets are not provided. Please bring your own if you choose to wear one.
INTERNET
There is no wifi available on safari, however there is intermittent ‘Safaricom’ 3G signal across the Masai Mara. Nairobi hotels mostly have wifi and signal.
Download an e-sim from Airalo and install before you arrive to have data in some areas on the Estancia and in urban areas.
Use our code BLACKS3976 to receive $3 off your e-sim credit.
There are UK 3 point plug charging points in the lorry, which can be used when in camp. Otherwise there are USB charging points in the game drive vehicles. We recommend bringing a fully charged battery bank with you.
VISAS & VACCINES
You may now enter Kenya without a covid-19 vaccine but you must have a negative PCR test if not.
Every visitor to Kenya needs a tourist visa. These cost around $51 and take from 24 hours to two weeks to process.
We will share comprehensive guidance on how to apply for you visa and collate your border entry documentation once your booking is confirmed.
PRICE & AVAILABILITY
Departures run all year excluding April, May and November.
2024 - US$9,870 pp
Safari dates are confirmed with a minimum of 4 riders
15 - 22 June 2024
22 - 29 June 2024
06 - 13 July 2024
10 - 17 or 17 - 24 Aug 2024
07 - 14 Sept 2024
05 - 12 or 12 - 19 Oct 2024
07 - 14 Dec 2024
2025 - US$10,850 pp
Reserve your saddle by submitting an obligation free rider form.
WHEN TO GO
The Great Migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra across the Mara occurs between Late July and mid September. Be aware that riding amongst the large herds can’t be guaranteed.
Kenya is on the equator so the weather is ideal for riding most of the year apart from April, May and November when the rains come and Offbeat is closed. Come anytime outside those months for incredible wildlife!
Solo riders welcome, bring a friend or come as a group!
Complete an obligation free Rider Form and we will be in touch with availability.
Tailor made bespoke safaris can be organised for those wishing for a more private experience.
ITINERARY
Departures run all year excluding April, May and November when the rains arrive.
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You will either be collected from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport or if you have arrived earlier, from your Nairobi hotel, and transferred to Wilson Airport for your 10am flight to Mara North in the Masai Mara.
Your guides will meet you and drive you to your first camp, set up on the banks of the Mara River adjacent to a teeming hippo pool.
Lunch will be served and you will have a little time to relax before meeting your horses and setting off on your first gentle evening ride.
2 Hours Riding
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We begin the day with an early morning ride, crossing the Mara River for the first time, returning to camp for a light breakfast.
After breakfast a game drive will be on offer, driving provides better photographic opportunities than from a horse and exploring more of this Northern part of the Mara has much to offer. We will return in time for lunch and a siesta before setting off on an afternoon ride.
We will be back in good time to shower and maybe set off in the vehicles once more for a sun downer and a short night game drive before supper.
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We leave camp after breakfast at about 9am, heading south towards the park boundary where we meet the river again at one of the famous wildebeest crossings. We cross the river and head southwest across the Mara Triangle, meeting the car with our picnic lunch at around 12:30.
After lunch and a siesta we set off at about 16:00 and ascend the Soit Olololol Escarpment. We reach our camp at about 17:30 on the edge of the escarpment and spend the night overlooking the whole Mara ecosystem.
5 Hours Riding
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We descend the escarpment after breakfast at about 9am and ride across to the same wildebeest crossing on the river. We head in a westerly direction and descend into the enchanting Olare Orok Valley with a picnic lunch and siesta from about 12:30-15:30 on the way.
Reaching our camp in time at about 17:00 in time for tea, there should also be time to do an evening game drive and sundowners, before supper under the stars.
5 Hours Riding
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Here we will have a full day of exploring this glorious area on horseback, car and possibly on foot.
You will have excellent photo opportunities, getting close to buffalo, elephant, lion and maybe cheetah or leopard.
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Our third moving day and we break camp in good time as it the longest ride of the trip covering nearly 50kms.
Setting off at 7.00am, we have a picnic breakfast stopping from about 10-11am. We continue on until 13:30 where we break again for lunch and a siesta after reaching Ol Kinyei Conservancy.
At 16:00 we head to our last camp, arriving at Olare Lamun (the rhino salt lick) nestled in a grove of acacia trees by a small stream at the southern edge of the Loita Plains.
7 - 8 Hours Riding
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After an early wake up we will set off for a morning ride before returning to camp for a light breakfast.
We will then set out for a game drive and beautiful walk up the nearby hill called Oloiburmut, returning to camp for a lunch and a siesta.
At around 4pm we will drive or ride to visit the local Masai Village.
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Our last morning ride before saying goodbye to our horses. After a final breakfast you will drive to the airstrip and fly back to Nairobi around 11am, landing into Wilson at 12noon.
We will organise for a taxi to pick you up and either take you around Nairobi to do some shopping/visits, or to a Hotel day room (included), before taking you on to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in time for your evening flight home, or your onward destination.
THE HISTORY OF OFFBEAT
One of history’s great adventurers, Tristan Voorspuy, started Offbeat Riding Safaris with his wife Cindy in 1990.
Tristan was born in South Africa but raised in the United Kingdom. After serving in the British Cavalry he set off on an epic motorbike ride from Cairo to Cape Town, pausing in Kenya to work.
Kenya called him back and he began working for Tony Church, guiding horse riding safaris and working on the film ‘Out of Africa’. Tristan eventually set up on his own offering adventurous, thrilling, safaris that Offbeat is still famous for.
Tristan’s life was tragically taken in 2017. His legacy continues as Simon Kenyon heads up the safaris supported by Jakob von Plessen and Daisy Soames, all of whom worked as back up guides for Tristan. These three, along with Simon’s wife Rosy, bought Offbeat Riding Safaris from the Voorspuy family in August 2023.
Tristan was a larger than life character in every way, from buying a small plane in England and flying it back to Kenya, to his great passion for conservation which ultimately cost him his life. We recommend anyone who is curious about riding with Offbeat, booked in, or already been and dreaming of Kenya, to read his biography ‘Life on the Edge’ by Adrian Danger.
Available for purchase on Amazon.
THE MASAI MARA
Being on the equator the weather and daily sunshine hours are quite consistant in the Masai Mara. Offbeat closes it’s door for the long rains from April to May and the short rains in November.
Currency is Kenyan Shillings. Most shops in Nairobi will take a credit card. Offbeat Safaris T shirts and caps are available as well as local Masai goods which can be paid for on a cash only basis in US Dollars or Kenyan shillings (small denominations are advisable).
Time Zone: Eastern African Time/GMT +3
WEATHER AND CLIMATE
The most popular time of year is between July and October when the Great Migration brings masses of wildebeest and zebra to the plains but there is always great wildlife viewing and at other times of the year you will enjoy dramatically lower numbers of other tourists.
February has an average maximum temperature of 28°C and is the hottest month of the year.
The coolest month is July with an average maximum temperature of 27°C. July is the driest month with 11 mm of precipitation.
HOW TO BOOK
1) Complete an obligation free Rider Form
2) We will confirm availability
3) Secure your saddle with a 20% deposit. The balance is due 90 days before departure.
