Book a call with a safari expert

phone icon

Client reviews

5 star icon
safari experts, since 1991
Book a call with a safari expert Book a call
Client reviews Client reviews
×
SEARCH OUR STORIES
SEARCH OUR SAFARIS
Africa Geographic Travel

Kenya’s Tana River is murky with hot-chocolate-coloured waters, and at the time of the year I visited, the water was low – but that didn’t stop me from enjoying a spot of white water rafting.


Tana River African safari
©Samuel Mwaturi

After the safety drills presented by Thomas, our guide, we hit the water and paddled according to his instructions, accompanied by the safety of guided kayaks.

kayak-tana-river-kenya

Our first big rapid was ‘Captain’s Folly’. We followed Thomas’ instructions and easily cleared it. Next up was ‘Fish-Eye’.

Tana River African safari
©Samuel Mwaturi

“Since we’re the only boat on the river today,” Thomas said, “we can stop here and surf.”

Surf? I perked up. The word took me back to the last time I had ridden a wave on the shores of Dias Beach in the small town of Mossel Bay, South Africa. But I wasn’t really sure what Thomas meant as we hadn’t packed any surfboards.

©Samuel Mwaturi
©Samuel Mwaturi

We ran the rapid and landed straight in the eddy. Thomas paddled us to the bank where we disposed of our paddles. He then guided the raft directly into the thundering waters of the rapid. The boat locked in parallel to the crashing water, and lo and behold we were surfing.

Tana River African safari
©Samuel Mwaturi

We spent the next half hour surfing the rapid. Each time we got tossed out, sucked under and spat out. On the third attempt the boat went up on its rail and I fell in, getting sucked under.

Tana River African safari
©Samuel Mwaturi

Thinking I’d be spat out instantly, I became a little concerned when I realised that the surge of water was holding me down. I opened my eyes and could only see darkness. I began to think that this was it. My life and adventures would end in the brown waters of the Tana River.

Finally I popped up, sucking in a lungful of air and river water.

“Are you okay?” Thomas asked me.

“I’m fine,” I coughed up some brown water. “Let’s go again.”

I was only under for less than 10 seconds, but it felt like a lifetime.

African safari
©Samuel Mwaturi

After the fifth attempt at surfing, we continued to paddle downriver, twisting into ‘The Gorge’ and going around the 28-foot ‘Mission’s Falls’ through ‘St Joseph’s’ before stopping by the ‘Devil’s Water Bowl’, where we hopped out of the raft and slid down the rock into the toilet-like whirlpool.

©Samuel Mwaturi
©Samuel Mwaturi
Tana River
©Samuel Mwaturi
kayaking-tana-river-kenya

From here it was a calm paddle back to camp.

Although the rapids weren’t as big as rafting on the Zambezi, the Tana River is a much more technical challenge.

©Samuel Mwaturi
©Samuel Mwaturi

And now I have a renewed appreciation of life …


Find out about a Kenya safari – find a ready-made safari, or ask us to build one just for you.


 

To comment on this story: Login (or sign up) to our app here - it's a troll-free safe place 🙂.


Africa Geographic Travel
African safari

Why choose us to craft your safari?

Handcrafted experiential safaris since 1991.

Travel in Africa is about knowing when and where to go, and with whom. A few weeks too early/late or a few kilometres off course, and you could miss the greatest show on Earth. And wouldn’t that be a pity?

African travel

Trust & Safety

Client safari payments remain in a third-party TRUST ACCOUNT until they return from safari - protecting them in the unlikely event of a financial setback on our part.

See what travellers say about us

Responsible safari

Make a difference

We donate a portion of the revenue from every safari sold to carefully selected conservation projects that make a significant difference at ground level.

YOUR safari choice does make a difference - thank you!

[wpforms id="152903"]
<div class="wpforms-container wpforms-container-full" id="wpforms-152903"><form id="wpforms-form-152903" class="wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form" data-formid="152903" method="post" enctype="multipart/form-data" action="/stories/white-water-rafting-kenyas-tana-river/" data-token="3b1f4f8a0f192584754c8815482a9a7f"><noscript class="wpforms-error-noscript">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.</noscript><div class="wpforms-field-container"><div id="wpforms-152903-field_1-container" class="wpforms-field wpforms-field-email" data-field-id="1"><label class="wpforms-field-label wpforms-label-hide" for="wpforms-152903-field_1">Email Address <span class="wpforms-required-label">*</span></label><input type="email" id="wpforms-152903-field_1" class="wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required" name="wpforms[fields][1]" placeholder="Email " required></div></div><div class="wpforms-submit-container"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[id]" value="152903"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[author]" value="249"><input type="hidden" name="wpforms[post_id]" value="69591"><button type="submit" name="wpforms[submit]" id="wpforms-submit-152903" class="wpforms-submit" data-alt-text="Sending..." data-submit-text="Subscribe" aria-live="assertive" value="wpforms-submit">Subscribe</button><img src="https://africageographic.com/wp-content/plugins/wpforms/assets/images/submit-spin.svg" class="wpforms-submit-spinner" style="display: none;" width="26" height="26" alt="Loading"></div></form></div> <!-- .wpforms-container -->