Beyond Horse Safaris

Cape Town & Surrounds

A melting pot of cultures, cuisines and landscapes, there is nowhere quite like Cape Town, a city crowned by the magnificent Table Mountain and the perfect city for the start or end of your African Adventure. The city is an urban playground with local markets, art galleries, intriguing history, gourmet restaurants and waterfront shopping districts. But just a short drive away, you will find some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, incredible hiking paths and underwater forests. For the adventurous, follow the lead of locals; learn to surf, go hiking, tandem-paraglide off Lion’s Head or even abseil off the top of Table Mountain. Exploring further afield, see the two oceans meet at Cape Point, go whale watching in Hermanus or explore the scenic Winelands.  You can choose to stay in swanky hotels or small boutique guesthouses – the choices are endless!

Beyond Horse Safaris – Cape Town

Cape Winelands

Within an hour from Cape Town’s magnetic mountain, you can exchange urban landscapes for the charming towns and scenic vineyards of the Cape Winelands. Here you can embark on a trail ride through the vineyards and orchards, stopping to taste some award-winning wines and enjoying gourmet meals. Or you can choose to explore this area on the Franschhoek wine tram, hopping off at whichever stop to savour the wines, cheeses and chocolates this area is famous for. This is a food lovers dream with scenery to match. Choose to stay in one of the boutique hotels in the Gourmet Captial of South Africa, or wake up to birdsong on one of the wine farms and have a mimosa with breakfast.

Beyond Horse Safaris – Cape Winelands

The Greater Kruger

The Greater Kruger area in the north-eastern part of South Africa includes the largest and most well-known national park in the country and is considered the premier safari destination in South Africa. Within this region, numerous private reserves can be found to the west of park; many without fences.  You can choose to do self-drives in the National Park itself, although we highly recommend a few nights in one of the private game reserves instead, with the Sabi Sands and Timbavati being our top picks. These reserves have high concentrations of wildlife and the ability to do off-road driving, night drives and walking safaris make for some incredible wildlife sightings with some of the best guides in the industry.  We advise at least 3 nights on safari and if time allows, 2 nights in Hoedspruit area to explore the Panorama Route.

Victoria Falls

This is one of the most spectacular Natural Wonders of the World and can be a sensory overload: the incredible views, roaring water and mist come together in an unforgettable natural show-stopper. The Local people call it “Mosi-oa-Tunya”, the smoke that thunders and there is no better way to describe the this 108-meter-high waterfall. Situated almost halfway along the Zambezi River and straddling two countries, Vic Falls and surrounding area offer travellers a range of exciting experiences. Adventure activities for the adrenaline junkies, beautiful scenery for the romantics or the perfect family holiday escape. Here there is a variety of accommodation options, from small boutique hotels to luxury riverside lodges. We would recommend at least 2-4 nights to make the most of this amazing location.

Beyond Horse Riding – Victoria Falls

The Okavango Delta, Moremi Reserve and Khwai Concessions

At the heart of Southern Africa, you will find Africa’s Eden – the Okavango Delta surrounded by a number of private concessions and reserves. This unique oasis surrounded by desert is one of the most important wildlife sanctuaries in Africa. This wetland wilderness is constantly in a state of transformation, a maze of islands, channels, seasonal flood plains and lily covered lagoons waiting to be explored on horseback, foot, mokoro and by vehicle. One of Botswana’s only constant water sources, this utopia acts as a magnet for wildlife throughout the year. There are a variety of different camps and lodges in the Delta and surrounding concessions and reserves, all offering different safari experiences. This area is spectacular on horseback and it is worth staying a few extra nights to explore further afield.  As some lodges offer water-based activities such as traditional mokoro paddles or boat trips, it is easy to combine them with more traditional safari camps to be able to experience the wonders of this area.

Chobe and Suvuti Game Reserves

Botswana’s Chobe and Savuti regions protect an area of 11,700km2. The landscape changes from desert to savanna to vast woodland forests and seasonal marshlands. The Chobe River starts its life in Angola as the Kwando River and then disappears into the swamplands of the Linyanti, reemerging as the Chobe River. During the dry winter months, this area attracts the largest population of elephants in the world! Add great herds of buffalo, notoriously fearless lion prides, secretive leopards, and over 400 bird species, and you’ve got a playground for nature-lovers that’s second to none. This area can be busier than others, but we know the lodges that offer the best wildlife escape and epic photography opportunities. You can easily spend a few nights at 2 different lodges to experience all that this area has to offer.

Mushatu Game Reserve

Located in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve of Botswana which is situated between the Tuli Safari Area, a national park in Zimbabwe and the Mapungubwe National Park, a World Heritage Site in South Africa. Mashatu shares unfenced borders with both the South African and Zimbabwean national parks in the south and north respectively. This vast area forms part of a cross-boundary wildlife conservation area protecting the substantial biodiversity of fauna and flora in this region. Part of the magic is the exclusive adventure safaris which, over and above the vehicle safaris, feature horse-back safaris, cycling safaris and walks in the wild. Photographic hides add an aspect to the adventure safari, which is unique and thrilling to professional photographers or lovers of wildlife. These added adventures are guaranteed to bring visitors into intimate contact with the remarkable wilderness found at Mashatu.

Makgadikgadi Salt Pans

Whether you explore this area on the back of a horse or want a break from the saddle, the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans is a unique destination that should be on everyone’s bucket lists. A visit to the salt pans is something out of the ordinary and while it attracts a number of desert-adapted wildlife, it is the landscape that makes it so unique. Vast open white salt pans littered with golden grass islands and an endless blue sky. Summer rains transform the desert landscape and attract herds of zebra and wildebeest – and the ever-looming predators. Flamingos and migratory birds also arrive in their thousands and, just like that, the desert comes alive.  Besides the normal safari activities, you can embark on horse riding adventures, venture out on a bushwalk and learn about the desert traditions from the local San bushmen, spend a morning up close and personal with meerkats and go quad biking into the middle of nowhere. A highlight is a sleepout in the desert with nothing but an ocean of stars above you!

Zanzibar

For those on an East African horse safari, Zanzibar offers the ultimate beach escape just a short flight away.  Unguja, also known as Zanzibar Island, is the main island in this Tanzanian archipelago. The name alone conjures up images of spice markets, palm-fringed beaches and white-sailed dhows on a turquoise sea – and happily, the reality is even better than anything you can imagine. Here you can be as active or as relaxed as you like, soaking in the sun on the beaches or wandering the cobbled streets of the capital’s old quarter, a World Heritage Site buzzing with colourful back-street markets and local flavours. And then of course there is Zanzibar’s underwater wonderland, with some incredible dive sites. There is a variety of accommodation from boutique hotels in Stone Town to lodges with direct beach access.

Northern Tanzania Circuit

Few destinations in Africa can rival Tanzania’s diversity of wildlife and landscapes. From the classic savannahs of the Serengeti, the tree-climbing lions of the Tarangire or seeing the ancient Ngorongoro Crater filled with wildlife, a Tanzania safari delivers one massive experience after another. Tanzania offers the perfect escape for a horse riding adventure but there is always so much more to explore and overland or fly-in safaris allow you to discover more of this incredible country. The traditional safari circuit starts in Arusha and does a loop to include Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and ending with the great wildebeest migration in the Serengeti. Chat to us about adding a few extra nights after your horse riding adventure to really discover this amazing country.

Masai Mara – Wildebeest Migration

The Masai Mara is found in south-west Kenya and is one of Africa’s greatest treasures. Together with the Serengeti National Park, providing an important sanctuary for some of Africa’s most spectacular wildlife. The Mara offers an idyllic setting for an unforgettable ride-of-a-lifetime safari following the great wildebeest migration – witness millions of wildebeest, zebra and antelope as they cross raging rivers and predator filled plains. While never guaranteed, a vehicle safari often offers the best chance to see this spectacle as the animals don’t follow human calendars or schedules. While seeing millions of wildebeest take death-defying leaps over crocodile-infested rivers is on everyone’s bucket lists, this area has amazing wildlife sightings no matter what time of year you visit, including some incredible predator encounters.

Gorilla Trekking in Uganda

The perfect add on to a River Nile Horse Safari is Gorilla trekking the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Central Africa has long held a fascination for the intrepid and the curious, far off the beaten track, this is for the more adventurous. Beginning in Entebbe on the shores of Lake Victoria, your journey then takes you into the rich forest of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Home to nearly half the world’s threatened mountain gorillas, you will get the chance to see these majestic animals up close and in their natural environment. A rare privilege, this incredible encounter takes some level of fitness and a little luck, with up to a 5-hour hike to find them. There are 3, 4 and 6-night itineraries which can include other highlights of Uganda, including chimp trekking in Kibale and seeing the tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park.