Mara River Airboat Safari – Tanzania

The Mara River starts in the mountains of Kenya and runs across the Tanzanian border into Lake Victoria. The Mara River is home to one of the great natural wonders of the world. Every year, over a million wildebeest, zebra and antelope migrate across the Serengeti to drink from its waters, as the only perennial water source in the region.

Now a Tanzanian Limited Corporation provides the opportunity for visitors to experience the wild and untamed Mara River. Think of us as a modern version of the "African Queen", says Ted Rademacher. All of the romance and adventure of exploring an untouched wilderness river updated into the 21st century. It is terrifying beautiful! It is exciting! It is raw nature!

Our "Queen Mara" is ecologically sound and safe. Passengers are fitted with sight and hearing protection - if requested - and we have passed all safety inspections. The loading site is located West of the Serengeti it presents some additional interesting travel opportunities. 
We are ready, are you? interview.

Q: You are the founder Mara River Airboat Safari. How do you find yourself  founder of Mara River Airboat Safari, when and how it all begun?
Ted: My full name is Theodore Barnhart Rademacher but, most if my friends call me Ted.  I am a citizen of the USA from the state of Ohio. In our part of the country money is hard to come by and we try to get the biggest  "Bang for our Buck" when we vacation. That is why on our first trip in November of 2005 we  were on safari in the Serengeti and then also visited an orphanage  in Tanzania . We were crossing over the Mara River on the Kirumi Bridge on our way to the Angel House Orphanage in Tarime after our Serengeti animal safari and saw an amazing view into the Mara River's wetlands. 

Having traveled all over the world as a tourist I was astonished that their was no way to experience this famous river at this point of it's flowing into Lake Victoria. I recognised  the Mara River from many animal life migration TV shows I had seen in the US.

This insight was the inspiration for what was to become  Mara River Airboat Safari Ltd.

Q: Tell us more about "Mara River Airboat Safari undertaking", challenges, highlights and plans…?
Ted: Mr. Christopher Ryoba Kangoye, one of the founders of the orphanage in Tarime had met us earlier in our trip in Arusha and had grown up in the Mara River Valley. He invited us to take a break during our time at the orphanage and visit his family and lands (over 20,000 acres !!!) along the Mara. After we got to his family's lands –approx a one hour trip by car from Tarime over a gravel road maintained by a Gold mine - at the foot of a high cliff ( I did not expect this geology ! ) in the Mara Valley.

We were treated like members of his family with great hospitality. We saw round, mud huts surrounding an artistic looking wooden- limb corral in the center and no electricity (except for a solar recharge for their cell phones) or plumbing.

They are members of the Kurya tribe, known for courage in battle. The Kurya even though only a small percentage of the total population produce over 35% of the Tanzania military.

To leap ahead in my story Mr. Kangoye would become the other founder of Mara River Airboat Safari Ltd. and has just been in March of 2009 appointed by Tanzania's President Kikwete to be the new District Commissioner for Kwimba in the Mwanza Region.
                                
After much discussion about tourism possibilities I had seen in the area I suggested that a boat trip into the Mara River Wetlands would be exciting enough to draw tourism to the area. In March of 2006 I flew back over to Tanzania and we made a test trip in a locally produced wooden  boat to see if it was possible and safe to travel up into the Mara River Wetlands. We concluded that it is NOT safe or even possible with the river having too many sand bars, etc.

After returning to US and realized that the location would be perfect for the unique qualities that can only be provided by an airboat which has the ability to travel in shallow water at high speed with safety. Airboats are flat bottom boats that are pushed by a propeller in the rear and are common to many areas in the USA today that have swamps or ice covered lakes.

We thought that we could build a business with an airboat and started the process to setup our corporation. Toward the end of 2006 we were in business after having setup the business legally with all licenses and approvals and with our website on the internet.

The airboat arrived after shipment from the US at about that same time and we then flew to Tanzania from the US an expert airboat pilot trainer for our perspective employee pilots. In January of 2007 (after out pilots were trained) I flew to Tanzania again in order to experience and suggest developments / improvements for our commercial rides. It was a big improvement over my previous attempts to get into the wetlands.

I knew that we had a winner at that point and felt it could become a commercial success if we could develop a good marketing plan.
 
Q: Your slogan "Will you survive" sounds challenging enough. Can you explain?
Ted: The marketing plan for Mara River Airboat Safari Ltd. presents some interesting challenges as well as some outstanding opportunities.

An airboat ride is a tourism product new to the East Africa market. One of the challenges that we have overcome with most tour companies is the question, what is an airboat and is it safe to ride one in the Mara River ?

We have personally talked with almost every tour company in Tanzania and even carried a working model of an airboat to the Karibu tourism fair in Arusha last year. Our website has several still pictures of "Queen Mara" -the name given to our airboat- and even some video if it on the river.

We also have give many test rides for tour operators' personnel in order to help them feel comfortable selling our ride to their customers.

It is fun to ride on an airboat and everyone comes back with a smile on their face.
                                
Q: You say to think about safari as "African Queen", but it is safe?
Ted: The issue of safety is one we take very seriously. We must protect everyone: our guests, the tour companies we do business with, the locals that use the river daily, our employees, our equipment AND the animal life in the river and the rivers environment and habitat.

The first time I rode on the airboat far upriver we employed an armed ranger to ride with us. We have found out thru experience that this is not necessary and the only injury to guests we have noticed is sunburn on longer trips where the guests do not take our advice to cover up and put on lots of sunscreen lotion.

We have at least two of our personnel on all of our longer tours. The highly trained and experienced pilot is tasked with safety and the tour director helps to educate and answer questions. All tour directors can pilot the airboat in a emergency also.

Cell phones are backed up with wireless radio and our shallow draft fishing boat can get to all places that the airboat gets to on standard trips.
                                
In our decision process for choosing our first airboat we went with an American manufacturer that has a solid  reputation of  designing and building dependable and rugged boats. We also wanted a large one that would enhance the safety aspects and give us more pricing flexibility.  We have been very satisfied with our choice.

We restrict the total number of passengers we could carry in order to give our boat more performance.

Q: Besides Mara River Airboat Safari what other exploration tours or activities are possible?
Ted: Mara River Airboat Safari is know for it's famous airboat ride into the Mara River Wetalnds of Tanzania but, we have several other options that we have made  ready to please and inform at our loading site near the Kirumi Bridge over the Mara River.

Sport fishing is a BIG recreational activity in the USA and Tanzania has the second largest fresh water lake in the WORLD. But Lake Victoria has gotten  bad press, I live in Ohio and I can remember when we have had rivers CATCH ON FIRE in the past. Lake Victoria is  - beautiful - and practically untouristed to my eyes. 

Sport fishing when done correctly does not involve killing the fish that are caught. This makes no sense to Tanzanians until they realize that Western tourists will PAY for the pleasure of the hunt- not to kill the fish, just to spend time in a beautiful place fishing. If Tanzania as a country in conjunction with Kenya and Uganda would help to develop this as an option to the standard land safari they could extend the tourists stay and take some pressure off the Serengeti. It would also be a boon to the cities around the Lake that are feeling the decline in commercial fishing.

We had a solid wooden boat made in Musoma instead and now offer Sport fishing into the Mara River and Mara Bay. It is a start and we are getting better at it.
                                     
Then there is a mountain overlooking our loading site that is aprox. 1000 feet high and I started to climb it one afternoon on one of my early visits to see what was visible from the top. I came up with the name of Maramanjaro for this mountain. The views from the overlooks toward the top are excellent and we added this as an additional option for our guests. And it does not take 5 days like a Kili climb, total time will be approx 3 hours.

We provide the water and guides and a porter. If done in the morning, it makes an excellent way to stretch your legs and have a wonderful box lunch at the overlooks.
                                     
Another option we have available at our loading site (we have to know in advance that you will want to do this option) is a lecture/cultural study on the fishing that is and has been done on the Mara and into Lake Victoria. We have live examples of the fish that were just caught by a local fisherman and how, where and why they catch them. If an airboat ride is in order for this group they may also get to see the floating camp in the weeds of this fisherman.

It is very interesting, informative and unique.
                                       
Q: The ultimate experience of your Mara River Airboat Safari undertaking…?
Ted: Since we are an add-on product to a standard safari package we fell that we have an enhanced appeal to tour companies during this difficult economic time. We give tour companies a way to maximize their profit on each customer that they sell one of our rides to in addition to the great appeal the customer has in riding an airboat on the Mara. .
                                
We can fill a day for tour company customers at our site and save them from having to spend their gas driving. The animals do not pay a commission !!! - so we can become the most profitable day of their customers safari vacation for the tour companies.
                                
Q: You work out of Musoma, what are the advantages for your undertaking?
Ted: Precision Airline flies into Musoma ,Tanzania from Dar and Kilimanjaro airports several days per week. This enables the tour company to sell our addon products at the beginning or end of a safari thru the entire Serengeti. Thus saving valuable vacation time for their clients.

Our loading site for the airboat ride is 35 minutes from Musoma.

Q: Useful trips, info, blogs, diaries…?
Ted: Our website is just search Google or Yahoo with " Mara River Airboat " and we come to the top of the search answers. By -the-way , we often show up toward the top of a search on just  "Mara River" .
                              
In the section called Photo Gallery- at the bottom -one can click to get to the section with some active videos. Or one can go out to YouTube and search using Mara River Airboat to get to several animal videos that I took on my first safari and one video taken while riding on the airboat .

Q: Final thought thoughts, words, invitations,,,?
Ted: All of the time, effort and money (some could say -blood, sweat and tears) spent in order to get Mara River Airboat Safari Ltd to this stage of it's development grew from a need to start an indigenous source of funding for the orphanage started by Mr. Kangoye in Tarime. 

We  have also realized that the Mara River Wetlands is an under-appreciated jewel in Tanzania's crown of natural wonders and are happy to open this wonderland (which is only approx. one hours drive from the Ndbaka/ Western gate to the Serengeti Park) to the world.
                       
Ted Rademacher in Musoma, Tanzania thank you. 

Image:  On Safari in Mara

Mara River Airboat Safari
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