Comfort
Camps are pitched in the most secluded and beautiful areas, offering ultimate privacy and total luxury. You will stay in spacious twin or double bedded tents, comfortably furnished with duvets and a hot water bottle to keep you warm on the cold nights. Each tent has a hot bucket shower to wash away the dust and a long drop toilet. At meal times uou will find the mess tent transformed with a fully laiden dinner table and the bar caters for all preferences with some great cocktail choices.
Meals
Professional chefs provide delicious meals prepared over open fires and served by waiters. The furnished dining tent is where camp meals are served and include a variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, fish and fowl. The food is locally sourced with hearty breakfasts, al fresco lunches and impressive candlelit dinners and freshly baked bread each day. There is even a safari freezer so you can have ice in your drinks! The 'bush bar' is stocked with imported wines and spirits local beers, soft drinks and there will be cocktails!
Special dietary requirements can be catered for with advance notice and every effort is made to accommodate special requests.
Climate
The climate in Kenya is fine all year round with little seasonal variation. During the day it will get hot while at night temperatures can drop quite sharply and it can feel cold. The long rains fall in April and May and the short rains in November.
Guide and local team
Gordie Church guides these safaris and he is a third generation Kenyan. He grew up on safari with his father Tony Church who was one of the pioneers of the long distance riding safaris in the 1970’s.
Gordie along with his wife Felicia and their experienced team offer one of the friendliest yet professional safaris in Africa.
Each riding safari is personally guided by Gordie, with Felicia on hand to assist with the horses.
Tips
Tipping in Kenya is customary so please have some small denomination notes for the porters at the airport etc. We suggest about US$ 225 per guest which is given to your main guide and then shared out amongst the staff. You may also wish to tip the professional safari guide who will be assisting Gordie with the game drives. Please note that all US$ notes must be printed after 2002. Older notes are not accepted in Kenya.
Packing list
Our Recommendations
- Please don't take a hard sided suitcase. Your luggage should be soft sided, particularly for light air transfers. There is usually a luggage limit of 15kgs including hand luggage.
- Wherever possible you should wear neutral colours, such as beige, brown or natural bush colours for riding as bright colours, such as red, yellow or white can startle the wildlife and they will see you long before you've seen them.
- Evenings are nice and relaxed, and long sleeves and light trousers are recommended to avoid mosquitoes!
- We recommend travelling in your riding boots and carrying your hat and some riding clothes in your hand luggage - then if your luggage goes astray you are still able to ride!
- Carry a copy of your passport and insurance details with you.
Head
- Equus Journeys strongly recommend that you wear a riding helmet and that you take your own to ensure a correct fit.
- Sunhat for when not riding
- Sunglasses - with a cord attached so they don't fly off when riding
- Buff or bandana
Upper body
- Long sleeved shirts provide protection from the sun and thorns
- T-shirts
- Fleece, jumper or jacket - the evenings can be cold
- Waterproof jacket - the rains can be difficult to foresee and it's better to be prepared.
- Casual clothes for the evening
Legs
- Lightweight, comfortable riding trousers or jodhpurs - we recommend riding in them at home before taking them on holiday to ensure they don't rub
- Shorts for lazy lunchtimes
- Casual clothes for the evening
Hands and Feet
- Comfortable riding boots. We recommend short boots with half chaps but you may wish to take long chaps to protect against thorns. We don't recommend taking your favourite long leather boots in case they get damaged
- Sandals, flip-flops or trainers for moving around the lodge and camp
- Gloves - your hands are particularly exposed to the sun whilst riding
Nightwear
Medical kit
- Sunscreen and lip balm - must be high factor
- Insect repellent, preferably containing deet
- Any medication you regularly take
- Blister plasters in case of any rubs
- Antiseptic cream, plasters, aspirin, anti-histamine, insect-bite salve etc...
- Spare prescription glasses/contact lenses
- Anti malarial tablets and Yellow Fever Certificate if required (check with your doctor)
Other useful items
- Binoculars for viewing game
- Camera and high capacity memory card. Spare battery.
- Bumbag for carrying your camera and small items whilst riding
- Headtorch or torch for moving around camp at night
