If you’ve seen the film Out of Africa, you’ve surely felt the allure of the early days of aviation when adventurer Denys Finch-Hatton treated Baroness Karen Blixen to a biplane ride above the sprawling African savannahs. You, too, can step back in time to that romantic era with your own exhilarating vintage biplane flight over the East African plains. Your light aircraft is designed to look and fly just like the original Weaver Aircraft Company Wacos which were considered the best sports biplanes of the 1920s and ‘30s, the golden age of African aviation. The biplane accommodates just two passengers and is expertly piloted to offer a truly once-in-a-lifetime flying experience high above this iconic African landscape. Make memories that will stay with you forever with this distinctive addition to your safari.
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in the shadow of Mount Kenya is the only place in the region where you can fly in a vintage biplane. The pilot, Will Craig and his family own Lewa Wilderness Lodge in a wildlife-rich corner of the conservancy. The Craig / Douglas family have run the lodge since it began as a cattle ranch in 1922 before it was opened to visitors in 1972. In 1990 Will and his wife Emma took over the running of the lodge. Will has over 5,000 hours experience flying mostly in the Lewa area, in addition to the fact that he grew up in Lewa and continues to live there, which means that he has knowledge of the landscape and it’s inhabitants, from the ground and air, that is almost unmatched by anyone else.