The Tuli Horse Safari in Botswana

You’ll arrive in OR Tambo (Johannesburg) Airport where you’ll meet your driver and the rest of your fellow adventurers at the information desk. You’ll then have a short drive to Lanseria Airport where you’ll board a light air charter flight to the Limpopo Valley Airfield in Botswana. Here you will be met and transferred to Two Mashatus stables. Welcomed by an alfresco lunch, taken on the edge of the usually dry Limpopo River – you will feel like you’ve entered paradise!

After lunch, head down to the stables to be introduced to your new four-legged adventure companion. Horizon takes great care to match horse to rider based on a guest’s riding experience and professed ability.  However, before the safari, you will have a simple riding test in order to ensure that you are suitably balanced in the saddle and are able to control your horse at all paces.  While the safari is not an endurance test, it does involve long hours in the saddle and, with the possibility of close encounters with elephant and the big cats, and riders need to be able to gently and confidently control their mounts. If you’re unsure of your horse, you’ll have the chance to swap horses.

Enjoy an introductory ride to check you are suited to your horse, before embarking on your first ride out to our Two Mashatus Camp – around 11km. This will be your first opportunity to experience the beauty of the Mashatu Game Reserve and view the wildlife on horseback. Mashatu Game Reserve is home to the largest herd of wild free-roaming elephants on private land in Africa, and, although not a guarantee, it is almost assured that there will be great viewing of these incredible creatures.

Cold drinks and warm showers await you at camp. As evening falls at Two Mashatu Camp, relax in the cool of the thatched lounge and dining areas, before enjoying a three-course dinner, listening to the sounds of the African bush.

Sunrise, the dawn chorus and tea or coffee which is brought to your tent, sounds the start of your first day. After breakfast, it’s time to mount and depart from the dense woodland that hugs the Limpopo River, and head towards the rocky hills that delineate the edges of the great river valley. As the ride traverses the heartland of Mashatu, you will encounter plentiful game: plains game, many giraffe and herd of elephants. Signs of the many predators that make these rich riverine environments their home are bountiful, and chance encounters possible.

Having meandered across the hills with vast views back towards South Africa, the ride arrives at Tree Camp in time for lunch. The ride typically takes between four and five hours, and riders start to form a true bond with their horses.

After a welcome rest in the comfort of the camp, nestled in the cooling shade of the majestic Mashatu Tree, a hearty tea will be served.  This is followed by a guided bush walk up the Majali River in search of crocodile and other game.  Kudu, warthog, klipspringer and eland are all present in the area around the camp, as are elephant, lion and hyena.  Waterfowl fly low past the camp and birdsong abounds.  This is a truly beautiful place and it is impossible not to immerse oneself in nature and experience the exceptional qualities of Africa’s wilderness areas.

Watch the sunrise from above the trees then saddle up for another day of adventure. After a quick breakfast, riders set off on the one of the journey’s longest rides – up onto the edge of the mini escarpment and then down, through the Valley of the Elephants and on towards the distant sandstone citadels guarding the Limpopo and Motloutse Rivers.

The first part of the journey is not to be hurried, as the horses wind along well worn elephant paths, past giant baobabs and the occasional shallow watering pan.  Soon, however, the country opens up and the horses can start to stretch their legs along soft ground leading to the headwaters of a stream flowing off the ridge and down towards the Limpopo.  This is prime elephant country and the guides are always on the lookout, using all their sharpened senses.  Once the path leaves the river, the terrain is once again more open and the pace faster.

Riding alongside the banks of the Motloutse River, you’ll come across the old Leadwood ‘Kgotla’ (or enclosure used for the traditional law court of a Botswana village). This open-air enclosure forms the perfect, secure camp for a night spent under the stars.

Whilst big cat sightings from horseback occasionally happen, the best opportunities to approach lion, cheetah, leopard and spotted hyena occur whilst on game drives. In the afternoon, you’ll set off on in a vehicle in search of the area’s resident lions, hyenas, and elusive leopards. Celebrate your day’s adventure with sundowners at the ancient “Amphitheatre” rocks with some of the best views of Africa. Back at the Kgotla, dinner is cooked on the large open fire and you’ll enjoy an evening enjoying incredible food and endless conversations. The night is spent with a ceiling of stars and Africa’s night-time melody to sing you to sleep; a rare experience which is just about as far away from city life and the modern world as anyone can imagine.

Another dawn beckons as you enjoy coffee and fresh bread baked on the coals of last night’s fire. The riding this day is more relaxed and tailored to the group, since a different camp does not need to be reached by nightfall.

The sandstone formations, including the famed Solomon’s Wall, one of the numerous dolorite dykes in the area, are explored on horseback. Some of the oldest civilisations in southern Africa settled in this valley. Archaeological evidence in the area includes middle and late stone age tools, rock art and the legendary Mapungubwe Dynasty. Mapungubwe means “Place of the Jackal” in the Venda language and this dynasty existed around 1220 AD. The Mapungubwe topography itself is ancient and timeless, and combined with marvellous wildlife sightings, it makes for an incredible riding experience. This afternoon enjoy a short drive to the Mmamagwa Hills.For the most visually stunning and ethereal sundowner, we visit the Mmamagwa Hills.

A short climb up the sandstone ridge, brings us to the site of the Mmamagwa Ruins. After a short climb, enjoy sundowners beneath a beautiful baobab tree with a breath-taking view of the area.

Following a light and early breakfast, set out on horseback through the Mopane bush in search of elephants. On this day the journey turns northeast and follows a series of river trails on the way back to the centre of the reserve.  Life in this arid environment is always concentrated near water, and the ride promises sightings of elephant, zebra, giraffe and wildebeest.

Home to the largest herd of wild free-roaming elephants on private land in Africa, it is almost assured that there will be great viewing of these incredible creatures! Ride through Elephant Valley along ancient trails stamped into the soil by centuries of migrating elephants. Head north towards the upper reaches of the Majale River whose banks are crowned with enormous baobab trees. After an exhilarating ride through this timeless countryside, enjoy a relaxing lunch back at Tree Camp.

This afternoon the group has a choice of an afternoon guided bush walk, or an exciting game drive in search of big cats. This opportunity, while provided at an extra cost, should not be missed as the near guaranteed sightings of lion and leopard, and sometimes of cheetah, are legendary.  The guides are very knowledgeable about the structure and whereabouts of the various prides and individuals, and failure to find them is very rare indeed.

With an early departure from Tree Camp, this ride offers sweeping views to the east and south. Today’s riding promises great game viewing from horseback as we explore the Pitsane River Valley. Drinking holes, dug by elephants along the course of the Pitsane, attract thirsty herds of game. An area, where history has it, there was a skirmish during the Boer war which destroyed Bryce’s Store, an old British supply post.

There was a stagecoach line, called Zeederberg’s, that ran from the towns of the Transvaal in South Africa to the newly forged settlements of Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Those coaches crossed the broad Limpopo and followed the Pitsane River into Zimbabwe.

The final part of the ride is first across open plains with some fast canters, and then through cool riverine vegetation along the approaches to Two Mashatus Camp.   This is the original Tuli Trail camp and is beautifully situated nestled amongst giant mashatu and apple leaf trees close to the banks of the Limpopo River.  This area typically boasts the highest density of elephants in the reserve, who sometimes roam through the camp in a gentle yet determined way.  It is also excellent for lion and leopard as well as baboon, bushbuck and waterbuck.

After four to five hours in the saddle, this is the perfect place to relax.  On hot days the swimming pool is always welcoming.

Set off through scenic plains between the Majale and Pitsane rivers, with abundant game and spectacular views into the Limpopo River Valley. Explore the old fort and then ride down to the cooler wetland area for a splashy canter in the Summer months. The wetland areas attract a vast number of animals and birds that you might not have ticked off your safari checklist yet. There is time to relax in camp with a book or swim, before either a slower afternoon ride or bushwalk. Spend your last night in Botswana around the campfire chatting to your forever friends that you’ve made in the bush before falling asleep in your tent.

The last ride in the Limpopo Valley is a great opportunity to take one last picture of elephants and enjoy a long and winding canter through the scattered Mustard bush with your guides. Arriving back at the stables and reception mid-morning, there is plenty of time for a hot shower and a tasty brunch, before saying a sad farewell to your safari companions, newfound friends, and incredible horses. You’ll have a last glimpse of the bush from the air as you fly back to Lanseria Airport, followed by a short drive back to OR Tambo International Airport. Then it’s time to wave farewell to Africa as you board your flight back home (or further afield!) Book your departure flight after 20h00 to avoid missing your flight if there are any delays.