Horse Riding Safari Trails
We are delighted to be able to offer horse out-rides into game country. Experienced riders can spend time on 1,000 hectares of Private Reserve with excellent viewing of plains game and rhino possible. In the hot season, morning and evening rides are available, or you can opt for an overnight package. In Winter, we offer greater flexibility when the heat of the sun is less onerous.
The joy of riding a fine responsive horse through the African bush alongside a herd of impala or sitting in the saddle under the lofty stare of a giraffe bull is an exciting and memorable event. The safaris are run on a game farm adjacent to the Private Game Reserves of the central Greater Kruger Park and under the distant ancient face of the Transvaal Drakensberg.
The horses are habituated to the game and graze side by side with the various species of African wildlife found on the farm. Most are tough bush horses of a local breed: the Boerperd cross. However they are individual, well schooled and alert. The daily schedule is flexible and makes the most of the seasons and what they have to offer.
To add an out-ride as an option to your trip, please specify your interest when contacting the office.
Add to this delight by over-nighting cowboy style under the stars with your trusty steed softly chomping on grass close by. At sunset the riding party arrive at the welcoming overnight camp to ice cold drinks and dinner on the fire. After a meal of venison and fresh vegetables, the crackling camp fire warms a pot of coffee and the elevated beds under mosquito netting beacon to weary riders. The sleep out brings a night filled with sounds of the bush, distant lions roaring from across the river with the whoop of a lonely hyena locating her clan and the repetitive call of an owl close by.
The dawn brings the building up of the campfire for hot drinks before saddling up for a ride out into the bright new day.
OVERNIGHT OPTIONS
OPTION ONE
Guests arrive at the farm and are checked in to wooden bandas with separate bathroom facilities. We later gather at the paddock and there guests meet the horses and guides will suggest a mount for each individual. Back at the lodge, high tea is served before the afternoon introductory ride. This is the opportunity the riders have to familiarise themselves with their horses and the terrain. We meet at the fire for drinks and a traditional South African braai with added fresh vegetables.
We rise at dawn and meet for tea and a snack while the horses are tacked up. The morning ride pauses along the way for a bush breakfast served under the trees and then meanders back to camp.
During the heat of the day guests can take a day trip to surrounding attractions or relax at the pool.
The sleep out camp is prepared weather permitting.
The riding party leaves the homestead after tea and takes a longer extended ride with opportunities for new game sighting and some exciting riding for the more experienced riders.
The riding party arrives at the sleep out hide as the evening sets in to a welcoming fire and chilled drinks. The horses are accommodated in an overnight paddock adjacent to the camp. They are settled, fed and watered by attending grooms. The guests are shown individual elevated sleep out platforms with linen and mosquito nets. The menu includes a traditional meal of venison fresh vegetables and desert off the fire. Good South African port, woollen beanies and hot water bottles keep out the chill while the stars filled skies and plentiful night sounds fill the night-time with new discoveries. Lions roar from neighbouring reserves and hyena calls echo from across the river. Night apes and owls proclaim their territories from tree tops close by. Basic ablution facilities like canvas basins and a bush pit latrine are on site.
At dawn we gather around the fire for hot drinks and snacks while the horses are saddled. The morning ride winds its way back to the home stead where a cooked breakfast is prepared. Horses and riders say their good byes, till we meet again.
OPTION TWO
We can also arrange a combination of a horse back safari with a night in a tented camp in the Timbavati Reserve. We will collect you from a lodge or from the airport servicing the Kruger to Canyons area that is just 7 km from the River Horse game farm. A light lunch/ tea is served before an out ride of 2 hours with birding and game-viewing as you go.
The animals are familiar with the horses and allow the riders to get really close. The ever curious giraffe provide an excellent backdrop for your horse safari photos, and a small herd of wildebeest might just challenge you to a short race across the plains. The ride gets back to camp just before sundown, and you are then transferred by vehicle the short distance to a quaint bush pub on the banks of the Klaserie River which is en-route to our overnight camp in the heart of the Greater Kruger Park.
The viewing deck is set over a water hole which is often frequented by breeding herds of elephants, grumpy old buffalo bulls and graceful bushbuck. After a quick sundowner we set off for the tented bush camp. We are immediately in big game country and may pick up some of the big cats by the light of the spot or encounter some of the smaller nocturnal animals like porcupine and civet that are out foraging as darkness falls.
The camp fire beckons as the open safari vehicle arrives at camp. Drinks are shared around the fire before a meal by candle light in the dining tent. The tents are solid structures erected on a deck below a thatched roof. The cozy beds and linen are not the stuff of camping and a solar powered lantern on your bedside table makes it all so easy. Beyond the canvas the night goes on and the sounds of the African bush make the day complete.
Morning brings an early start to meet around the coals for hot drinks, traditional rusks and fruit before taking a game drive in an open safari vehicle to explore the area and experience the wildlife. We are out for a good 3 hours and may even get out on foot to follow the spoor and experience the bush from yet another perspective. Your guide is an armed and highly experienced interpreter of all there is to discover about the bush. A cooked breakfast is served back at camp before a transfer back out or to the next destination in the Kruger to Canyons area.
READ MORE
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- See lodges in the Manyeleti Reserve.
