Kenya is a beautiful country, offering an incredible diversity of landscapes, cultures, wildlife and activities. Good travel infrastructure makes it easy to experience and see tropical forests, beautiful beaches, deserts, climb mountains and explore the wild. On top of all that, it is home to some great whitewater, most of which is still unexplored.
Kris Collyer of Infinity Outdoors is instrumental in the exploration and documentation of Kenya’s rivers. He offers guided tours for novice as well as experienced paddlers, so if you want to visit Kenya to paddle, make sure to get hold of Kris.
Detailed descriptions of Kenya’s rivers will be added in due course, but for a start, here are very short descriptions of 6 rivers. These are (largely) croc and hippo free rivers, with white water to keep novices to experts alike happy.
CENTRAL KENYA
- Tana River – Close to Nairobi and commercially operated with one commercial section and two other kayaking sections.
- Mathioya’s River (North and South) – Close to the Tana, these rivers have around 150kms of useable whitewater from class 2-5 and very constant water levels.
- Thiba River – Close to Mount Kenya; 40km run with an intro to whitewater section and other sections (still some first D’s waiting) with some big drops.
WESTERN KENYA
- Sondu River – Huge river draining Lake Victoria with multiple sections, first D’s waiting and home to what is possibly Kenya’s biggest rapid.
- Yala River – Running through Kakamega Forest, a mini White Nile (only brown!).
- Nandi River – Draining the Nandi Hills, a stunning river with loads of braided sections giving almost endless lines.