Rhodes Land Rover Safari

[Check out their Facebook page for phone numbers & details]

Remember there are other companies offering safaris, so be sure to double-check you've got these.
Most travel operators in the South of the island have their details.

Book with Mark or Michel. These are the drivers' names.

Whenever I'm in Rhodes for more than a week I always book this trip. You get to visit unusual places and experience a different kind of Rhodes. One of Michel's friends goes every year! It doesn't matter if you've seen some of the locations previously, because they always find somewhere unique on every trip.

So what do you get for your €55?

Firstly, excellent service and a commitment to the customer and to the natural environment. They care about the countryside and their cultural traditions.

Η φυση ειναι η ζωη μας! [nature is our life]

That just about sums them up.
Mark is English. Michel is multi-national (polyethnic!) and speaks a number of languages!
Both are superb guides and will take excellent care of you, if you go.

The trip: Full Day (9 - 5)

Collection

You are collected from your hotel or designated pick-up spot at around 9.15 a.m. You are given a map with the main locations you are going to visit highlighted. Usually there will be just one of the jeeps, since the other will be picking up elsewhere. So, just two jeeps. This is fine, for difficult parking and for intimacy. You don't want to be part of a stampede in a bar!

The Meet-up (between Lardos & Gennadi)

Off you go to the meet-up place. This is probably a supermarket south of Lardos on the main road to Gennadi. This trip is for the spectacular south of the island and the rugged west coast with its nature reserve (25 miles of it). There the two jeeps meet and you meet the other driver for the first time. If you wish, you can nip into the supermarket for some drinks. Don't worry, though. There are plenty of stops and lunch is included in your day out.

Dirt-Tracking (off-road)

At around 9.40 you set off towards the southernmost tip of Rhodes, Prasonissi, where the two seas meet. Just before you visit this spectacular beach they detour through some army zones and very rough terrain for your first bumpy ride of the day. You may get to visit the bunkers from the war. They are right up on the hills overlooking the ocean. Great for spectacular photographs.
Watch your head! If it's early season there may be water, too. It's quite exhilarating being thrown around a metal box while it's moving around.
If you dare undertake the trip with a Greek hangover, then you're in for a rude awakening.

Prasonissi (Two Seas, One Beach)

Soon you're back on the main road and, as you round the final bend, you suddenly see the azure sea in the distance. It's difficult to describe the colour - Michel reckons it changes every day! It's worth the trip just to see that.

Then it's down to Prasonissi (Green Island) for the 1st stop. You get 1/2 an hour here. You can sit in one of the beach tavernas for a coffee or, if it's your first visit, you'll want to paddle in both seas. The soft sand near the water is inviting. It's a fair trek to do both, so bear in mind, if you have young children, you may not manage both! This is where you have the Mediterranean Sea on one side of the beach and the Aegean on the other. You also have thousands of kite and wind-surfers to contend with, all of whose camper-vans are parked along the beach. The tavernas must make a fortune from feeding these annual pilgrims. It's a bit of an odd spot really. 30 minutes is probably plenty.
why not relax with a coffee and take a seat in a converted boat at one of the tavernas?

Apolakkia (Lunch Stop)

Then it's off towards Apolakkia, the long stretch of coastline on the west of the island. The entire area is a protected zone and even the local residents do their bit to help the environment. 25 kilometres of wild coastline with no tourism whatsoever. This is a part of Rhodes few ever witness.

You get plenty of time to explore here, while Mark & Michel prepare the banquet. It’s very hot. Hats and sea-shoes are essential as well as sensible trainers or walking-boots. The pebbles in the sea constantly shift below your feet, making standing very tricky. On every trip I’ve seen very big, strong chaps sprinting into the sea, only to come out battered with cuts down their knees and shins! Respect the waves.

Cameras (phones) are essential. It’s a photographer’s dream.

Just look at that view!

Mark & Michel will constantly point out buildings of interest or stop to pick herbs growing by the roadside for you. The jeeps weave their way through the beach tracks until they arrive at their next stop.
Many tourists consider Rhodes a barren rock, because of their view on the east coast, with its rocky outcrops. However, as you can see below, there are rich fertile plains and valleys full of agricultural production. Water is precious, though.

The second stop is a lengthy one. Every year Mark & Michel choose a location for a beach-picnic and build a make-shift hut or lean-to. Usually this is vandalised out of season and they have to move on to avoid being picked off during the tourist-season. Sad.
Here they keep some crazy stuff for beach-entertainment, such as golf, badminton and football. You can do what you like. There's some rudimentary shade, so don't forget your hat and suntan lotion.

In the summer it could be upwards of 35 degrees. Drink plenty of water!

This is the lunch stop. While the drivers prepare a banquet of Greek goodies, it's time to visit the sea. Beware! Furthermore, the sea is wild here. Two paces in and the waves crash over your head. No place for unattended toddlers, this! Exhilarating but dangerous. The images below give an insight.

This is not Tsambika or Lindos. The beach does not shelve gently into the sea. There are pebbles which are huge and shift beneath your feet every time a wave collapses around you. The waves.....are enormous. They tend to be six feet minimum and some will come crashing in at over ten feet. A man can struggle to stay upright in this and the swell can pull you under in seconds. Just be aware. It's worth the plunge to escape the heat. And to whet that appetite.

The Banquet

There’s plenty of iced water on offer. You can drink ouzo, too, if you wish. Mixed with water, it’s very pleasant. Again, like the sea, it’s fantastic in moderation. Get smashed at your peril.

The food is just right. Something for everyone.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, apples, oranges, peaches.

A variety of cheeses and hams.

A range of dips, such as tsatsiki & houmus.

You can make your own sandwiches from a variety of fresh bread. Delicious.

Most people are pleasantly surprised that Mark & Michel provide such good quality in these surroundings. It’s definitely one of the highlights of the trip. You get to meet your fellow-travellers, too. For those with a hangover, it’s crunch time!

Want more fruit? Try the water-melon (karpouzi) and honey-melon. The hospitality is excellent.

Time for a nap? Relax in a hammock with Mark’s home-made Bo Diddley guitar?

After an hour or so it’s time to move on. More sight-seeing, wine-tasting & shopping!
Once you've packed up (don't leave anything behind) it's time to move on.

The Afternoon

More unusual sight-seeing after lunch. There's always a stop at some high vantage points for photo-opportunities and more dirt-tracking to shift the ham sandwiches and ouzo around. You may catch a glimpse of the old castle at Monolithi or see some of the smaller islands lying off the west coast of Rhodes.

The third main stop will be an old traditional Rhodian village up in the mountains. This may be either Emponas (Embona) or somewhere like Siana. It depends on the mood or prior plans of the drivers. If you’ve been with them previously they will avoid repetition as much as is logistically possible.

This will allow for wine/souma/honey tasting. It gives you a chance to wander around an old place and meet some locals. They are usually very hospitable, especially if you start buying some of the local produce. It's worth picking up some wine, the fire-water souma (like the Cretan raki) and any other stuff you fancy. It's ridiculously cheap in some places. I put souma in my gravy every week once I return to the UK. Everyone says it tastes nice.

It’s quite a lengthy stop. There's always a bar, a toilet and plenty of shade.

Embona & Siana (Honey & Wine-tasting)

Embona is high up in the hills near the highest mountain in Rhodes, Atabyros. You’ll stop at a roadside shack for the wine & honey-tasting. Again the views are spectacular. We met some friendly locals, Ilias & Kyriakos, who met up with us all later at their village bar in Embona, when we’d finished buying wine and honey. The two men had been working on the roads and had stopped at the shack for a well-deserved beer. They had some more in the village later.

Siana is very traditional and quiet. The cafeteria there doubles as the tourist-shop. It’s a place that’s worth strolling around. Again the prices were very reasonable.

Embona (Ilias & Kiriakos)

Ilias is in the red top, while Kyriakos sports green, as he chats to Michel, the driver. That’s my finger obscuring the frame.

Michel is waving (above) & Mark is sitting down (below) looking knackered.

Siana (More traditional fares)

Olive oil running low? Short of souma? Here’s your chance to stock up. Don’t forget to take an empty rucksack for your shopping!

The crew take a well-earned break.

The owner of the shop (below) looks like a beaten man.

The Great Lake (which feeds the South)

If you go to Siana, you will pass the huge reservoir which feeds the entire south of the island. It’s a bit of a shock to see so much water in such a supposedly barren place. It’s huge. Michel will stop for photos and a chat about the environment. Michel occasionally will stop suddenly, as if for no reason. Then he’ll leap out and pick some herbs growing at the roadside for you. Sometimes he finds wild tea growing there, a local treat.

The Cliffs of Navarone (above Pefkos)

Of course, this is not Navarone at all. But it is where it was filmed. The cliffs above Pefkos were deemed the most suitable for the memorable scenes in the film, Guns of Navarone. Now the locals have formed a climbing club abd use the cliffs for leisure. The view over the next bay is awesome. The sea is where Janno takes his Glassbottom Boat for his punters to bathe in. It’s turquoise.

Time for more photos and water!

Be careful not to go too close to the edge. There’s no fence.

Pefkos is loaded with tourists, yet few will know that the path to the top of these cliffs is at the end of the resort. Awesome. What a way to finish the day. All you need now is a cool beer back at your hotel.

The final pitstop

The return journey could potentially be a bore, but the drivers take a different route and stop whenever something unusual is spotted or if you want to take photos.
Here we are high up on the clifftops. Vertigo time! It's a great view.
I'd also recommend a bathe in that bay. But that's another trip and another tale.
At around 4.30 p.m., after a memorable day, you'll be delivered safely back at your hotel and the noise and bustle will feel quite strange. You're back in the (un)real world of the tourist resort and the i-phone!