Exercising while on Safari?
I am on the October 19 K&T classic safari. I am also signed up for a half-Ironman triathlon in December! It does not look like any of the hotels have fitness rooms, is that correct? I can certainly swim in the pools, and I will not worry about biking, unless a local wants to lend me their bike! Any thoughts on whether it is possible to go running, even just around the perimeter of the hotel grounds? It also looks like some of the hotels offer nature walks, maybe I can just run those routes? Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
Sharon
0
Comments
I have a friend who went on a non Tauck Safari who is an avid runner. In some of the camps she stayed in she was able to arrange for one of the staff to run with her. But when will you run? You are awoken before dawn to go on early safaris, then in the daytime it might be too hot. The evening safaris don't get back until dark in general. Their are more hotels rather than camps since we last took the tour. So there might be easier opportunities for you to get exercise. We managed to swim quite a bit. Most people find the pools are too cold but that doesn’t usually bother us. Wear plenty of sunscreen though.
There are fitness centers in the Four Seasons (2 nights) and the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club (2 nights). In addition, the Safari Club has a pool which might be suitable for a workout (though no straight walls) and they supposedly have BMW bikes to rent, other than that you will be pretty much out of luck on all accounts- little time and no place to safely run during the day and little time and no place to run safely at night. None of the hotels has a pool deep enough, long enough or with straight end walls to do any kind of decent swimming workout. The days are long and meals are late so it will be difficult to find time to workout anyway. Your biggest exercise will be stress on legs and core while absorbing the bumps in the safari vehicles during game drives and knife, fork, and jaw exercises at the dinner table or doing "push-aways."
The info below was available online when I Googled "Fitness Center at XXXX" it may not be on the hotel's website and may not be current.
The Four Seasons Serengeti has a fitness center, lower level in the main building which is open 24 hours:
"Relax, tone and challenge yourself in our luxurious 72-square-metre (775-square-foot) Fitness Centre overlooking the pool and the great Serengeti plains. The fitness studio includes a complete range of free weights and extensive cardiovascular equipment. Choose from a selection of treadmills, bikes and elliptical trainers, or work on strength training as you take in stunning views of the pool and the Serengeti."
The Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club has a gym which closes at 8 pm:
"Fitted with the latest cutting edge Technogym equipment, including cardiovascular and isotonic machines, the Fitness Center is located in a modern air conditioned venue, naturally lit and skillfully managed by our professionally trained, personal instructor. It also houses male & female changing rooms and lockers, with full amenities and a well-appointed resting lounge. If you enjoy the outdoors, we have BMW bikes for hire, or complimentary to FPC members. Our heated Swimming Pool, Tennis & Basketball Courts are also available for use."
Contrary to their claims I didn't find any of the pools to be heated. Due to the high elevation and evaporative cooling, the water temps were quite cool and took my breath away at the Four Seasons.
So Alan has the info on the hotels I haven’t stayed in. The Africa tours have so little exercise, we always feel ready for our long walks when we get home. It’s the time differences that make us tired.. but on all the Tauck tours we get less than half the walking exercise we get at home and these days walking slowly on them is tiring on our backs and we don’t normally have back issues. I don’t know if anyone else finds this.
There is a trail that goes down to the lake at Arusha, not much at Ngorongoro, Mt. Kenya Safari Club has lots of places to run, (recommend the horseback riding), trails to tents at Masai Mara, and as said the Four Seasons, Mt. Kenya, and Amboseli all have pools ... but you might want your dive skins.
Thank you all for your kind and informative comments! I know that the training will not be ideal, but I only need 20-30 minutes each day to hold me over. Sounds like running might be iffy, depending on the location - I may be running circles around the hotel building! It is fortunate that the two hotels with Fitness Centers are spread out in the itinerary (days 4-5 and days 8-9). And the pools will be helpful - if I can't swim actual laps, I can certainly do aquajogging. Yes, I am a weeny when it comes to pool temperatures - Sealord, bringing my skinsuit is a great idea! It takes up no room, and will be a great insulator. Again, thank you all for your help - I am looking forward to a fabulous trip!
I was also concerned about this bc I work out almost daily. In Arusha, I went on a bike ride. It was on a mountain bike and we could go as fast as I wanted but it was quite bumpy. I was thinking that I could have also gone for a run on the same trail. You could speak with the front desk about this. At the lodge in Ngorongoro , there is a slow nature walk available but you aren’t allowed to go off on your own. But this hotel is quite large with a lot of non enclosed stair cases and hallways throughout. So I ran up stairs, did walking lunges, etc through the property. At the Four Seasons and Mount Kenya, they have weights and cardio machines (treadmill and stationary bike). It was harder in Amboseli and in Masai Mara. The pools are not very long. You could bring a jump rope or do bodyweight high intensity interval training to keep up with cardio. But I could always find time to workout and have fun too.
Thank you xosteph - those are great ideas as well!