Days start early. Breakfast is cooked by the leaders or laid out at camp — fruit, muesli, toast, hot drinks, sometimes a cooked breakfast — then you ride. Daily distances run from 20 km to 82 km, mostly undulating and flat with some short rolling hills. The surface is a mix of dirt, paved road and easy single track, and it can be rough, pot-holed and sandy. The support vehicle follows with lunch, snacks and water, and you can hop in whenever you want.

The route begins with a visit to the Shedrick Wildlife orphanage and a short transfer out of Nairobi, then a gentle 30 km to ease into the saddle. From there it heads across open savannah towards Amboseli National Park, with a bush camp under a big sky and a stop to meet Maasai tribespeople. Day 4 brings the first short game drive into Amboseli; Day 5 is a dawn game drive in the park, known for elephant herds and Kilimanjaro views, followed by an afternoon at a Maasai Manyatta. Day 6 crosses into Tanzania and transfers to Arusha.

After Arusha comes a day on paved roads to Mto Wa Mbu at the foot of the Rift Valley Escarpment, with a visit to the local craft markets, then a full day of game viewing in the Ngorongoro Crater. The ride then heads south past Kilimanjaro and across the Maasai Steppe, climbs into the Usambara Mountains to the old German colonial town of Lushoto, and takes a rest day for an optional hike in the mountain rainforest or helping with the tour's long-running tree planting project. The last riding days wind through remote mountain dirt roads, descend to the plains, pass sisal plantations and fishing villages, and finish at the Indian Ocean near a palm-lined beach before a final ride to Bagamoyo.

What separates this from a standard African safari is that you cover the ground by bike, on back roads away from the usual tourist routes, and camp with local families and villages along the way. The same leaders stay with the group for the whole trip, and the custom-built support vehicle — known on tour as 'The Beast' — carries all luggage and kit. The operator has run this route since 1999 and maintains its own fleet of Scott Scale 965 hardtail mountain bikes in East Africa, with four electric bikes added for 2025.

The riding is suited to people with a good level of bike fitness and some off-road experience. The operator suggests being comfortable riding three to four times a week with regular rides of 30 to 50 km, and will help with a training plan on request. A mountain bike with front suspension is the ideal bike; hire bikes come in S, M, L and XL.

What's included

- Transfer from the airport to your hotel in Nairobi - 15 nights accommodation (10 nights camping, 5 nights guesthouses and lodges) - Meals as per the tour itinerary - Two New Zealand-based Escape Adventures tour leaders - Local interpreter and driver - Purpose-made support vehicle carrying luggage, lunch, snacks and water - Camping equipment — tents and mattresses - Entry to Amboseli National Park - Entry to Ngorongoro Crater - Morning transfer to Dar es Salaam on the final day

What's not included

- Airfares, visas and airport taxes - Optional activities and excursions - One lunch and two evening meals as noted in the itinerary - Personal vaccinations and personal equipment - Bike hire (NZD $500 if required) - Electric bike hire (NZD $1,045 if required) - Single supplement of NZD $810 if you do not wish to share - Sleeping bag and travel pillow