What Safari activities can a quadriplegic do?

What Safari activities can a quadriplegic do? Recently in my walk of life I crossed paths with a quadriplegic who was very enthuastic about safaris and adventures. He wanted me to tell him almost everything I have even seen is the wild. And as our conservation got deeper he asked the million dollar question, What Safari activities can a quadriplegic do?

Well, in this article we want to answer that million dollar question, but before we answer it. Here are some things you should know about Quadriplegia.

Quadriplegia affects one’s body from the neck down, causing paralysis and loss of feeling. It happens when there has been a disruption in nerve signals traveling through the spinal cord. People who have suffered Quadriplegia are usually known as quadriplegics. Because of the effect to the spine, you will find that almost 99% of quadriplegics are in a wheel chair 80% of their day to day life.

Which means that since the quadriplegic is in a wheel chair, the safari destinations and activities they are to go to and engage in should be favourable for wheelchair users; basically saying they should be accessible activities and facilities.

You should know that in east Africa most of the safari destinations have accessible provisions so anyone in a wheelchair can feely get around the park and destinations. However when it comes to safari activities mot all safari activities favour persons in a wheel chair; because of the mature of the activities. These activities include but are not limited to: – mountain gorilla trekking, Chimpanzee trekking, mountain climbing, mountain biking among others. These activities are physically demanding so they need one to be physically fit to take them on.

Other hand there are a number of safari activities that are not as physically as the ones above and these are the ones that are favourable for quadriplegics and generally persons in a wheel chair. These activities include but are not limited to:-

Game drives

On game drives as the name suggests, you are in your safari vehicle driving through the park and the wild just enjoy the flora and fauna. These game drives are done majorly in savannah parks where you find animals like the lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, impalas and others. These savannah parks in east Africa include but are not limited to masai mara national park, serengeti national park, queen Elizabeth national park, Murchison falls national park, akagera national park and others.

Boat rides

Boat rides are similar to the game drives only that this time you are riding in a boat on water as you view the water animals and land animals alike. On boat rides you get the chance to see animals like hippos, crocodiles and others up close on top of viewing the land animals from on water.

Nature walks

Nature walks in the wild to enjoy the nature and the flora I the park is also a great  activity for quadriplegics, you roll you wheel chair through the park to enjoy the nature. You should note though that note all parks will have wheel chair friendly trails, so you need to inquire before you visit the park.

Bird watching

Some places have birding spots where you can just sit in your wheel chair with your binoculars watching the birds as they fly around. but you ca also have some bird watching moments when you are on a game drive, nature walks and boat rides.

Aerial safaris

If you are quadriplegic you can also opt for an Aerial safari where you fly in one of those safari planes, viewing the animals from above it’s a really cool experience. And you stay I the comfort of you seat the whole time.

There are a number of activities that a quadriplegic can do on a safari, you just need to consult with your tour consultant to get the right information.