The best way to see wildlife in Africa is by cycling.

There was a program of loyalty for safarisI would be a million-miler. I know the exact words of the safety speech (you should keep all your body parts in the Land Cruiser to avoid losing them), can tell the difference between a male and a female giraffe (ladies are larger and have horns), as well as how to make a perfect sundowner. (Pink tonic water makes a picture-perfect gin & tonic). I’ve been in helicopters and flown over elephant herds. BotswanaI watched kudu graze in the privacy of my own plunge pool while staying at a five star camp near Kruger National Park. If you ask me what my favorite way is to see the Big Five you might be surprised. It involves padded underwear, PBJs, Fanta and getting into ice baths colder than the African sun.

Is it safe to go on a cycling safari?

How dangerous is this? The first time I went cycling, I asked myself this question. Kyle MacIntyre our Natural Selection A safari guide from rural Botswana handed me a bike helmet with a smile. “Cycling in the bush is very natural,” he assured me, while simultaneously avoiding the question. I took comfort in the rifle—capable of taking down a bull elephant, but never needed—mounted to his mountain bike. The birds will chirp and snap twigs as you ride. You’ll also have better chances of seeing animals because they won’t be near busy roads. MacIntyre’s statement was true. In the four days that we spent camping and cycling together in the Kalahari Desert I noticed how the wildlife looked at our two-wheeled efforts with either curiosity or indifference. The animals didn’t view us as food.

Why Book a Cycling Safari?

After my first cycling safari, I prefer game drives to game rides. A game ride is not the same as a drive. The five senses must be active at the same time. Both exhilarating, and exhausting. And in the case of my most recent cycling safari this past October—the inaugural Wagora Bike Ride at Singita Explore—I made lifelong friends and pedaled for a purpose. We were not just looking at the Big Five but saving them.

“Are you ready to ride?” asked Braya Masunga, operations manager at Singita Explore. Masunga won’t say, but Singita Explore, the luxury tented camps where Leonardo DiCaprio resides when he visits Tanzania, is the place he stays. You won’t find any paparazzi in these parts—just the continent’s coolest anti-poaching unit. The five-day cycling trip we were about embark on was named after Kitaboka Wagora. He was an anti-poaching patrol who died in 2008 at the hands of a poacher. Proceeds of the Wagora Bike Ride go to the Grumeti FundA non-profit organization, employs almost 100 anti-poaching patrols that are tasked with protecting the wildlife in this section of 350,000 acres of Serengeti.

How would a typical cycling safari day look?

Game drives start early, as do game rides. In the bush, it’s not difficult to get up and go. Singita Explore cooks are brewing coffee over an open fire, and have a carbohydrate-heavy meal waiting for us. Godfrey (a Kenyan) the bicycle mechanic at the site, checks that our tires are properly inflated and ready to tackle the 20 miles of the day. The goal is for you to start cycling before sunrise. The animals are more active and cooler at this time.

With matching cycling shirts, our peloton consists of a motley bunch. I am a roadie and learned to ride from my 17-time Tour de France legend friend. George Hincapie. Rosie is barely comfortable on her beach cruiser. Skyler Nuelle—the Grumeti Fund’s head of partnerships and impact analysis—recently mountain biked up Mount Kilimanjaro Vicky Mkessa is the programs coordinator at the Grumeti Fund. She has never ridden a bicycle before. We are escorted on our journey by two people. safari guides We have at least five anti-poaching scouts who are armed and can tell us what animals we will see. Most of them do not speak English. We may not speak the same languages, but there’s something about riding in a group—taking turns breaking the wind for each other—that bonds us in ways bumping around in a vehicle never would.

In Botswana, we cycled on “elephant highways”—well-trodden paths made by Africa’s biggest five. But here, in TanzaniaWe’re riding on dirt roads and single track paths that wind through the Grumeti Game ReserveThe grasslands are home to lions and leopards as well as cheetahs. There are also zebras giraffes wildebeests buffaloes and the eastern black rhino. As we ride, we see all animals except for leopards and cheetahs. One of my favorite sights is the pair of lions that we watched through binoculars during one of our stops. Most cycling safaris feature refreshment tables—covered with orange slices, PB&Js, and soda—approximately every eight miles. You can use a tree to go to the bathroom.

I love working out. seeing wildlife римеру, I feel less guilty about the Instagram-worthy brunch that awaits us when we ride back into camp. This makes me feel less guilt about the Instagrammable brunch that awaits us once we arrive back at camp. Before we dive into the buffet, however, we take ice baths. After refueling it’s time to relax and have a massage. Then, we go on a game drive and enjoy afternoon tea. Around dark, we discuss the ride and route for the following morning over a multicourse meal fit for Mr. DiCaprio. With full bellies and sore legs but happy hearts, everyone is looking forward tomorrow’s wake-up at 5 am. We can’t wait for tomorrow’s 5 a.m. wake-up call.