An Adventure Tour Across Maasai Lands (Tanzania)

Nine nights across northern Tanzania on a Royal Enfield Himalayan, roughly two thirds of it off road, running from Arusha into the Great Rift Valley and back. It is the hardest trip in the operator’s African range.

Arusha opens it below Mount Meru, then Matadi in the foothills, where Kilimanjaro occasionally clears. Lake Natron follows across Rift Valley desert plains, and the lake is a strange place: shallow, highly alkaline, hot enough to deter almost everything, and for that reason the only regular breeding site in East Africa for lesser flamingos, which gather in very large numbers when conditions suit. Antelope, giraffe and zebra are about on the plains, though nothing can be promised.

Two days at Natron take in the Ngare Sero gorge and a Maasai village, with the active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai in view. Karatu follows across the Maasai steppes by way of Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro crater rim, then Lake Eyasi, where a visit to the Hadzabe is arranged. They are among the last hunter-gatherer communities in Africa and have lived in this basin for thousands of years.

Lake Burunge comes next on a technical track of sand and rock lined with baobabs, with a switchback descent of the Rift escarpment. The bikes are then left behind for a full day of 4×4 safari in Tarangire National Park, which has the elephant numbers and the lions the region is known for, and a farewell feast closes the trip back at Arusha. Bike rental is included and the price is quoted per person. This one asks for real off-road competence rather than enthusiasm alone.