SkyNomad Kenya organizes s a guided tour for autonomous pilots. Your guide suggests the travel itinerary in order to maximize flying. He recommends hotels to stay, restaurants to eat, things to see or buy. The guide briefs you daily about the weather forecast, site features and conditions. He suggests cross-country directions and retrieve possibilities. He launches first to check conditions  or last to assist with difficult take offs. Then we try to fly together along the proposed route or improvise according to the conditions via radio communication. Keep in mind that most of Kenya is exposed to moderate easterly winds, so waiting for each other is often not possible. That’s why you need to be an autonomous pilot – able to take off, fly, make decisions and land on your own. The radio equipped retrieve driver is familiar with live tracking and paragliding cross-country flights. Before each flight he is briefed about the possible retrieve routes, but after landing, you are the one who needs to activate and direct him, as others might still be flying. The generous Kenyan conditions can produce long flights with much longer retrieves. Therefore, it is recommended to use local transport in order to speed up your and other pilots retrieves. The good thing in Kenya is that your landing almost always attracts people with motorbikes (boda) who come and offer you transport. Practice your dealing skills and let them drive you to the nearest tarmac road, shop or restaurant. Give some money to local economy and warm impression towards paragliding pilots among local people. Once on the tarmac, you can continue your self-retrieve by using the common and often crowded vans (matatu). When in Rome do like Romans, but with the privilege to have a retrieve car. Keep in mind that driving at night is not safe in Africa due to drunkards or banditry. In extreme circumstances (it didn’t happen yet 😉 you may land very far and then it’s better to sleep in a local hotel and think about retrieve and joining others the next morning. This adventure tour is not for pilots who expect western service and comfort. Even, on contrary it may bring you out of your comfort zone, but this is when we learn new things about flying, others, ourselves… Kenya is a new destination with new cross country routes waiting to be explored, requiring improvisation, flexibility, tolerance. Different pilots share the same tour, the same sky. Some will fly farther, others shorter but all share the same transport expenses. It might be a selfishness test but also an opportunity to be happy from other’s flights. Knowledge is the key!

• Tour name: Kenya Cross Country Paragliding Adventure Tour
• Guide: Nikolay Yotov/ Isaac Makimei
• Dates: Usually in last 2 weeks of January and then first two weeks of February. Check SkyNomad calendar for exact dates.
• Duration: 12 days, Monday to next week Friday.
• Start/End: The tour starts in Naivasha and ends in Naivasha. SkyNomad organizes 24/7 transfers from Nairobi Airport to Naivasha for $80 but you can also take public transport from Nairobi to Naivasha or Uber taxi. It’s good to arrive in Kenya on Saturday to buy Safaricom SIM card and register it to Mpesa service. Mpesa is phone payment system used everywhere in Kenya. Other option is to use eSIM and withdraw cash for payments later.
• Maximum number of pilots: 9
• Pilot’s level: Experienced. More than 400 hours/flights. Min 50 km Personal Best. Recent SIV recommended. Good take off and landing skills for narrow places. Fit for 2 hours hike to some take offs. Adaptive to various situations and friendly with local people.
• Flying sites: Iten, Kerio valley; lake Naivasha area, Kijabe; East of Nairobi: Machakos area; Chiylu hills National Park ($63 entry fee with camping).
• Accommodation: private room with en suite bathroom in 2 star hotels. $15-30 per night or about $300 for 12 days; camping at Chyulu hills National Park (SkyNomad provides tents and sleeping bags but you can bring your own).
• Food: standard local food is about $15-20 per day or about $200 for 12 days
• Guiding: €360 for 12 days per participant
• Transport: A Toyota 4WD van with driver is $150 per day or about $400 per person for 12 days. The fuel is shared by the participants. Obviously, the exact price depends on flown distances and number of participants but $150 for 12 days would be an average guess. The cars start the tour in Naivasha with full tank and have to be filled in Naivasha at the end of the tour.
• Other expenses: Paragliding Association of Kenya 30 days membership fee of $20. Some communities and land owners charge $5 per takeoff. Motorbike (boda) and minibus (matatu) self-retrieves, depending on the distances. Drinks. Souvenirs.
• Total price: is about $1500, excluding flights to Nairobi

 

SkyNomad can organize Safari Tours and Indian Ocean beach holiday for your non-flying family members.

 

• Clothing: The terrains we fly vary from 1000 to 2000 m above sea level. It might be hot in lowlands but still use long trousers and sleeves to protect your skin from thorns, sunburn and mosquitoes. Comfortable hiking shoes and 2 pairs of socks, underwear and T-shirts. Flying gloves as it becomes cold at 4k. Sunscreen. Sunglasses. Warm jacket for flying. Buff for breathing protection on dusty roads. Ear plugs when sleeping in noisy hotels.
• Equipment: Conditions in Kenya are usually stronger than your home place, so use a trusty paraglider. The harness should have sufficient protection. Bring spare lines and ripstop tape as some take offs and landings are bushy and thorny. 2m radio (144-146 Mhz), preferably quiality brands like Yeasu, Icon, Kenwood (avoid Baofeng). Reliable communication can save your life! Bring also a powerbank with cables for your phone.  Head lamp or torch if hiking in the dark. Pepper spray against dogs or wild animals. Universal pocket knife.
• Health. No need of vaccines for those who come from Europe or America. There is not much malaria in Kenya during the dry season (Jan-Feb), especially at highlands above 2000 m,  but you can buy locally pre-medication. The best is to prevention by using shoes with high socks, long trousers and sleeves. Bring mosquito repellent with DEET. Hotel beds are usually covered with mosquito nets. Local food can cause diarrhea to tender western stomachs, but you can buy locally enterol “FloraNorm” (saccharomyces boulardii). There is a good health care and helicopter rescue in Kenya.

 

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Testimonials:

“Great (challenging) flying, great sites, great group to fly with.” – Gavin, UK

“A fantastic trip & a real adventure. Been dusty, sweaty and tired much of the time but have loved it.” – Gill, UK

“This trip was fantastic. Great group of awesome pilots.” – Gussi, Iceland

“Wonderful adventure” – Marek, Poland

“Fantastic experience” – Simon, Romania

 

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