Big Mountain Launches an African Mountain Bike Safari

“One more,” I pleaded Johan our guide as the African sun cast its final pastel orange beams across the landscape. He looked away silently as he scanned the horizon with his senses keenly tuned. The light was on fire and it brought the earth and plants alive. I just wanted to get one more photograph. I set my camera up quickly and captured the image then we hopped on our bikes and ripped back to camp on a super-buffed elephant path.Around the campfire that night he reminded me of the dangers that lurk once the sun goes down. “It’s a different world when lion, hyena and leopard start hunting,” Johan said, “all the animals come alive.” As if on cue, a hyena called out in the distance and we stopped talking and listened. A cross between a screeching puppy and a howling wolf, the hyena sounds eerie, almost human. I tossed another log on the fire as the cacophony of sounds continued around us beneath a blanket of stars.

Our small group consisted of friends, all Canadians, from Pemberton BC to Montreal. Of course the African safari was on everyone’s life’s to-do list but no one had ever heard of a mountain bike safari. One’s first reaction is obvious: are you nuts? Why would someone in their right mind want to pedal and camp in a 70,000-acre reserve amongst some of the fiercest predators on the planet? Good question.


The good new was, our guides are very experienced. They are conservationists and trackers and know their domain, its wildlife and plant life, intimately. And they carry guns, big .457 caliber guns with bullets the size of your thumb. What they taught us adventurous Canucks is that their dangerous animals don’t bother humans if they are near a campfire at night. And, during the day, predators are rarely seen as humans on bikes are very foreign and they’re long gone before we pedal past. Thanks, predators, we like it that way.

The notion of getting eaten aside, the mountain bike safari is an unbelievable experience. Most of us have probably watched enough National Geographic nature shows to last us a lifetime and we have our pre-conceived notion of Africa. On a bike you’d be pedaling along and see a heard of zebra and impala skip across the horizon and then ten ostrich run past two minutes later and then stop to watch a dozen giraffe forging on leaves. Then, the guide would stop and show you jackal tracks, or white hyena shit from chewed bone and proceed to call an owl to a nearby tree by whistling its song. The fact that you are on their level, in their domain breathing their air is a degree of connectedness that is unique and exhilarating. It’s like being within the zoo’s cages except that it’s the real thing and there’s no cotton candy or peanuts.


The traditional game drive safari in an open-air Land Cruiser is definitely worth doing. In a vehicle you can safely get within five feet of many animals as they are used to having trucks around. Being this close provides great opportunities for photographs and viewing. Typically on this type of safari you’ll be staying at a high-end disconnected compound with an army of staff at your beck and call with all the comforts of home and more, which is fine for some. The camping that we experienced was unreal. We’d roll into camp at the end of the day to unlimited cold beers and cocktails, tents already set up, solar showers ready with hot water, a fire burning and delicious gourmet meals to top it off. No dishes or setting up tents, the staff of five would take care of all the details. We even stayed in higher-end camps with well-appointed tents with big beds and bedside tables, electricity and a pool nearby. This was straight out of a magazine and there were definitely no noisy neighbors with their fifty-foot RV parked twenty feet away.

Later that night around the campfire after more drinks and conversation, our group drew straws for night watch. At this particular camp we were sleeping on cots under the stars and needed to take turns keeping the fire stoked. “I got the 4am to 5am shift,” said Allen, a lawyer from Toronto. “There better be firewood left by that time.” The group laughed somewhat nervously as they each thought about the reality of sitting around the campfire alone in the middle of Africa while listening to the animals hunting in the darkness.

Big Mountain Bike Adventures offers their 10-day Rhythm of Africa trip monthly from March until November. The cost: $2395 CAD. Check it out at www.ridebig.com.