Shopping aside, you can now have out-of-town adventure at the mall
Adrenaline junkies now do not have to go to dimly lit forests or pack for off-road adventures anymore. The Hub Karen in Nairobi has introduced an out-of-town adventure and thrill reserved for forests as malls compete for footfall.
Twin zip lines, climbing wall, leap of faith, air-bag jump, abseiling and a giant swing, are some of the activities one can look forward to at Jump, the aerial adventure spot set up at The Hub Karen shopping mall.
Five of these activities are happening from the tall four-floor tower, while the giant swing stands on a separate structure next to it. The “Adrenaline Hub” includes high speed racing zip lines, free-fall jumping into a giant air-bag from as high as the third floor of the tower, and a giant swing that flings three people a time through a 10-metre arc. Adults with a sense of adventure (while being over 1.4 metres tall and under 120 kilos) can enjoy these activities and more.
Abseiling, also known as rappelling, sees you lower yourself down a 13-metre climbing wall. Or you can try climbing the 13-metre artificial rock-climbing wall with easy, medium, and hard routes. A session of wall climbing typically lasts 30 minutes, as an instructor belays you (holds the safety rope) on both sides of the wall, depending on the group size, which is a maximum of 12.
Azalea Holdings Limited, the company that owns The Hub Karen, is one of the firms under Janus Continental Group (JCG) – an international conglomerate comprising of market-leading companies in the energy, hospitality and real estate sectors.
The CEO of Azalea, Mr Sameh Ibrahim, says that the idea was to bring entertainment to the mall in general and was supposed to have taken off two years ago, but was put on hold after the pandemic hit.
“We brought in an operator who has more than 14 years’ experience in this business – Flying Fox; operating in different continents of the world. We have two launch towers; one pair is 180 metres and the other 140 in length. This is the same bag Redbull are using for their stunts, and it is the first one in a mall and in East Africa,” says Mr Ibrahim, adding that they wanted to bring in something that would work.
According to him, 50 people could enjoy all the different activities at the same time and they are targeting up to 120 people every four hours.
Frankie Kiarie (JustGymIt) does an airbag jump at The Hub Karen. The adventure site was launched on April 2.
“When you look at The Hub, whatever we do as a launch or a project, we’re bringing a lifestyle,” he says.
Flying Fox have East Africa's longest zip line tour. They offer over 2.2 kilometres of flight across the lush Kereita forest and is operated at the highest international standards. The firm started in 2009 in India by founder and managing director Jono Walter, who was also present at the launch.
“We’re about making adventure acceptable. We’ve had children as young as eight and people over 80 enjoy activities; it’s not just for adrenaline seekers,” said Mr Walter.
Jump had a grand opening on April 2, ahead of its official opening on Sunday, with some influencers and creators like Makena Njeri, Frankie Kiarie (JustGymIt), Chiki Onukwe (Kuruka), Shiksha Arora, Georgie Ndirangu, Colombian artist Alvaro Daza Hernández and TikTok dancing phenomenon Lucy Smiles sampling the adventures.
Despite the pomp, with music from DJ Adrian and food and drink in plenty, later on, it was literally man versus steel and many people’s nerves were not made of metal. The high adrenaline activities saw some who thought they were up to it give up before they even started.
It was hilarious having to wait for Makena and Georgie to try out the leap of faith. This leap is from the 14-metre top platform whilst attached to a TruBlue auto belay device (a safety device that uses magnetic braking to lower you automatically to the ground) and try to kick or grab the punch bag positioned three to four metres away from the platform. In the end, Chiki, after having tried to cheer them on the whole while, would climb the tower and jump off in just a few minutes.
Mr Ibrahim says this is the first phase of their “Adrenaline Hub” which will cater for thrill-seekers. The second phase will also be a collaboration with Flying Fox, expected to be up in two years’ time. The near future action is to create tournaments and championships around the activities on offer, as well as a school to train instructors. BY DAILY NATION


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