Maji Magic

You may or NOT be familiar with the popular game show Total Wipeout, which used to be aired on DSTV. The premise is simple: adrenaline-fuelled contestants race each other across an assault course over a large pool of water, tackling obstacles with menacing names like ‘Shapeshifter’ and ‘The Motivator’. I’ve enjoyed many lazy mornings watching people faceplant into these obstacles and tumble head over heels into the water. You can imagine my excitement, then, when I found out that Nairobi has its own Wipeout style assault course, at the new Waterfront Mall in Karen. Maji Magic Aqua Park is the first of its kind in Kenya! Its main feature is the Aquaglide inflatable sports park: a circuit of inflatable slides, climbing walls, swings, monkey bars, and other obstacles anchored to the floor of the lake in front of the mall. They also offer stand-up paddle boarding sessions. We were keen to try out the inflatable sports park, so we booked a session with a group of friends. We were advised to arrive 30-45 minutes early to give enough time for a short briefing, and to change into our wetsuits and lifejackets, which were provided. Safety is clearly a priority for the team at Maji Magic. The lakebed is lined to avoid contamination, and the water is chlorinated every few days, so is safe to swim in. A filtration system is also being fitted to remove all of the sediment from the lake to make it clear. The park’s lifeguards are qualified by the Kenya Life Saving Federation, and recently completed a UK lifesaving open water course specific to lakes and aqua parks. Once we were briefed and fully wetsuited up, we hopped into the water and swam a short distance to the inflatable obstacle course. Eager to get around it at record speed, I clambered over the first obstacle, called ‘Thunderdome’, and raced towards a loosely connected platform called ‘Walk on Water. I learned very quickly that I couldn’t in fact walk on water, and as I crashed into the lake I developed a newfound respect for contestants. Over the next 50 minutes, we slid our way across the course, tackling climbing walls, bouncing on trampolines, and swinging from monkey bars. My confidence grew but vanished abruptly when I face-flopped into the water attempting a backflip on the giant swing. We spent most of the session playing on my personal favorite obstacle, the big inflatable dome called ‘Kaos’. We took it in turns to lie flat at the top of the dome and get propelled in the air as the others jumped into its center. One can book a 50 minute session on the inflatable obstacle course, or a 75 minute stand up paddle boarding session. Depending on the activity it will costs you between 500- Ksh 3000 per person, including the wetsuit and lifejacket hire. The aqua park can also be booked exclusively for large groups – for corporate team building activities, birthday parties and school trips. Maji magic is a super fun family activity in the heat of the nairobi sun. The fun is endless and the team there are very nice, patient and friendly. We call it Aqua safe heaven! Try it out you will NOT rgret

I like this place. The amount of fun I have every time I go there is crazy. It is located at Karen Waterfront, 15 km from the CBD. A cab costs KES550 from Nairobi City Center. If you love water be it swimming or slide, this is the place for you. There was so much fun when it opened and I decided to go there with a couple of friends. I can’t remember a time I had so much fun. It’s in a huge space and the number of activities is endless. This makes a perfect spot for team building. The game I enjoyed the most is the blaster boats. If you love bumper cars, you will enjoy this one. Plus it costs only KES500 per round. This place great for everyone. There is something for everyone.