Hello there 😉
Here is the first post about our horseback adventure in the savannah, which was just a dream come true from beginning to end. From South Africa to the Okavango Delta, we loved every step of this amazing journey. In this article, I’ll talk you through the first part : 6 days on horseback from camp to camp, in the beautiful Tuli block in Botswana. And the Okavango Delta part will follow in a second article.
>> Before starting the real deal safari in Botswana, we spent several days in Waterberg in South Africa. We were in the really cute Horizon lodge owned by the specialist group which organized our trip. In this ranch -like kind of lodge, they take good care of their big herd of 80 horses ; some can be ridden and some are just enjoying a well deserved retired life. This first step in Waterberg was great as it allowed us to get back in the saddle and get used to riding horses after a long plane journey. It’s very safe and open to all as we were in a game reserve, so the owner of each place has whichever animals they want in the property. Everyone can ride the horses – even children and beginners – as there are no lions or elephants, just zebras, impalas and other gentle herbivores. There are some felines I think, like cheetahs and leopards, but they don’t attack the horses.
From camp to camp in Botswana : Choosing the horses & aptitude test..
D.DAY // First, we were dropped off at the stables, which are the starting point of the adventure. We were so excited, happy, impatient cause we had no idea how it’s going to be like .. and at the same time I was starting to get a little nervous about the riding “test” which will grant us our way into the wild..
The horses are chosen based on a form you filled in with your riding level and your preferences in terms of a horse. You need to know how to ride a horse, especially outside, to be able to do this safari. Once you are on your horse, you do a test to see if it will work for you, if you like him and, above all, whether you are able to manage it and stay in control in a potentially dangerous situation. One by one, you have to show that you can move away from the group trotting then cantering in a triangle while controlling your horse. You basically head away then you come back. Every rider knows that it’s not always easy to separate from the group – the majority of horses hate that as they live in a herd… but we all passed the test without a problem. 😉
As for me, I tried out several horses because I gave mine to Peter (my horse was the only one who wasn’t afraid of the huge camera that he wore strapped to his chest for our reportage ;-).. He ended up riding the very lovely Bossman and I spent the week with Albany, the oldest of the adventure, a lovely horse with tonnes of experience who I trusted completely. Choosing the right horse is very important as it’s your partner for the whole week so you must feel comfortable while riding it !
>>In the beginning, I was given a beautiful and strong horse, quite spirited.. I loved him a lot but it would spook for no reason and run in the opposite direction of the gallop. I didn’t feel able to manage him as I didn’t know how he would react if we came across an elephant or something else, so I decided to swap horses. You shouldn’t hesitate to talk to the person in charge of the horses if you aren’t sure as it’s not just a one-hour ride but a fairly hostile environment for one week.
Once everyone passed the test and found the perfect horse, off we went, cantering toward the first camp !
Camp n°1 : Two Mashatu Camp
Day 1 & 2. This first ride went very well and we arrived in time for sunset. We really loved this camp – it was so pretty. We slept in tents which were quite luxurious, with a bathroom which opens onto the outdoors and you can basically take a shower watching the stars – Awesome ! Each camp we slept in during this adventure was all “glamping” kind, chic & cosy with this slight “Out of Africa” vibe… And at each step, the staff dropped off our luggage to our tent.
The camp was really well organized and super cosy and we really felt at home there. Food was amazing, homemade and with vegetarian option.. At night, they dot little lamps around since there is no electricity, you just live by sunlight and candles.
We were only supposed to stay one night in this camp, but the rain changed our schedule, so we stayed there for two nights – to our delight – and the next day we gravitated around the camp on horses for a long, five-hour ride, during which we saw lots of giraffes, impalas and even lions.*
Meeting with lions…
When you do a horseback safari (unlike a game drive in a jeep) you don’t want to encounter lions as it’s too dangerous. The guides do keep track of them, but only in order to avoid them. Despite this, we regularly came across lions. On our second day of safari, we found ourselves faced with a group of them, which was really quite close. One lioness among them hid, crouching in a position ready to attack, observing us, with only her head showing. She decided to follow us and, every 5-10 metres, she slowly reached out her head from the hill across from us (like a big cat playing except that she wasn’t playing). Despite that, she made us laugh because she was so cute and she had a funny way of popping her head out. Our leader guide had us all ride in a line next to one another, while riding forward silently… We were all super impressed and we hardly breathed so as not to make a sound. The lioness continued to follow us, so we moved away with the back guide while the leader one cracked his whip several times to scare her away, which she did eventually (thankfully, as if she had attacked, the others would have done the same straight away). That day, we were well aware of the danger and our vulnerability in nature. Despite a full brief when we arrived at the stables the day before, we hadn’t quite imaged that.
>> In any case, you don’t run away and you don’t gallop or run in front of lions, and you should never turn your back on them. As far as they are concerned, only a prey runs away. You need to stay completely still, look it in the eyes and stand as tall as you can and even shout (if you can lol )… The guides have to face up to them fearlessly, as it’s a dominant vs. dominated relationship, which is why, in the case of a meeting, the group moves away slowly with the second guide, while the leader stays and makes the lions leave with the whip.
Camp n°2 : Kgotla Open Camp
Day 3 & 4 . The 3rd day was the most difficult of the whole trip as we spent about 7 hours on horseback… in the rain, to get to the other camp. I didn’t even know it could rain so much in Africa! We were all frozen and a bit grumpy I must say as it wasn’t really nice to be soaking wet for hours .. oh and also a lots of rain means it’s too muddy to galop so we were walking super slowly.. Luckily it was the only day like that and everything was just fine at the end of the day for our little drive in the jeep to go and see the sunset on a sublime “mountain” with the baobabs.. Sun was back !
The camp number 2 was an open camp were everyone sleeps outside around the fire – which is great, apart from when it rains – ^^ We arrived drenched from our super long ride and we finished up around the fire to warm up and dry our boots, socks and pants etc.. Even though we were freezing, we still have an amazing memory as we had a lot of fun trying desperately to dry off our soaking wet things – that’s what the adventure is about 😉
So the first night, the staff set up makeshift tents for us, for the first time. Luckily, the second night, the sky cleared up and we were able to pull out the bed to sleep outside under the stars which was fabulous and we had the best sleep ever. We stayed in the camp two nights in all and it was amazing as the countryside around is absolutely breathtaking..
Camp n°3 Tree camp
Day 5 & 6 : It took us about five hours of riding to arrive in the amazing camp suspended in the trees. The place was amazing. A giant platform – all in an open space with kinds of rooms opening up to the outside, a cozy and vintage décor which was super pretty. Well, we absolutely adored this camp, – like each one – as they each had their own charm. Take a look in photos – they speak much louder than words 😉
When all the senses are awakened ..
The sounds .. The second camp was definitely my favorite one for sleeping in as you could hear all the noises of Nature, especially the second night, when we slept under the stars. Falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the savannah is a beautiful experience and I have never heard anything like it.
Have you ever heard the call of a lion ? It’s a ragged, rattling sound, which is nothing like a roar. Lions do that to call the others. It’s a powerful sound like a piercing vibration which you can hear for kilometres around. The impalas also make a strange sound. It’s indescribable and when there is a problem, for example when lions are heading for the camp, the other animals like babouins sound the alert which sparks a real cacophony. The lions visited both, us – and the horses – regularly in this camp. But the guards kept watch and made sure they went away each time. Peter and I heard them on several occasions. They would walk right up by the barriers surrounding us – it was so amazing!
The smells .. The smell of the savannah is very particular. Like the sounds, I had never smelled such a scent. It was so good, sensual, powerful and even more so after the rain, when the sun comes back and exaggerates each scent. There was a dominating smell of dry herbs and plants, especially the wild sage which smells so good. It’s nothing like our sage and is spicier, more exotic, song and all enveloping. This is joined by various, super strong animal smells (a little like in a stable but a savannah version). So it’s a mix of plants, minerals and animal smells which gives off an amazing and omnipresent natural scent and really transports you.
The colors .. During this safari, we started really early in the morning to avoid the heat. We used to ride between 4 and 6 hours and by the end of the day, we did a little walk, an outing in the jeep to see the sunset or a game drive and we got lucky to see so many things..
The landscapes were amazing, a real treat for the eyes ; it was so colorful with red and golden shades, green and yellow plants and don’t even start me on the sunset. It was like being in the Lion King decor. The trees were also gorgeous ; some of them, especially the baobabs, were very old, enormous and so majestic.
The abundance of animals was impressive : lions, zebras, elephants, cheetahs, leopards, impalas, wildebeests, baboons, jackals and many others. We saw everything and there were lots of little ones. With the different game drives and the legs on horseback we were really spoiled. It was just magical !
Safety
- We had 2 guards – non-armed – but each with a whip. The leader guide rode ahead and the second followed up behind. Nothing happened to us – some elephants could have charged but the guide calmed them down with the whip. There was also the lioness episod but apart from that everything went well.
- You never really gallop on safari, instead you “canter”, which is a smaller, more controlled gallop, as you can never be sure what you might encounter. At one point, we found ourselves facing a group of elephants and we stopped clean and turned straight around – which would have been much more complicated if we were full on galloping.
- Single file .. in general, we moved in single file without leaving too much space between the horses. You don’t overtake each other to prevent the horses from being tempted to race, and you never go ahead of the leader guide. When walking you can walk side by side.
- You need to keep silent when you get close to elephants or any other “dangerous” animal. Elephants can sense the vibrations on the ground as well as detecting smells so you move softly and avoid wearing perfume. It’s best to forget perfume altogether when you’re on safari as animals will smell you 100 meters away.
- The guides give you a complete security briefing before leaving, including how to act with a particular animal but basically you follow their advice to the letter. If they say to lie down on the ground, you lie down on the ground, and if they tell you to run, you run – it’s not complicated. ^^
- At nightfall, you never go anywhere alone in the camps. As they are open camps, the animals can access them. So, in the evening, the guides accompany everyone to their tents or elsewhere after dinner.
- Be careful of holes. There are lots in the ground because of the animals, the rain and plenty of other reasons. When you gallop you need to be careful about the state of the ground and where your horse is galloping… In general, you’ll be galloping in safe places but you never know…
How to get there :
>>There are Air France or KlM flightS direct from Paris, Amsterdam to Johannesburg (about 12 hours). For this trip, we tried premium economy class which is pretty cool as you have a lot of space. You can have 2 x 23kg bags per person in the hold and two cabin bags (which was quite good as with the riding boots, photographic materials etc. our luggages were super heavy). The other nice thing about premium economy is that you are priority for checking in, boarding and leaving the plane and the cases are also the first to arrive at baggage reclaim – it’s basically really great. ;)… And for those that want to make a stop at Cape Town before or after the safari (we went there before and after) there are also direct AF or KlM flights to Cape Town from Paris or Amsterdam. Afterwards, you just need to get a local flight to Johannesburg (about an hour).
>> Once you get to Johannesburg, it’s time to head to the Waterberg lodge if you are spending a few days there (about a four-hour drive) or to Botswana if you are heading straight for the Tuli Safari (about 6 hours drive). The transfers are managed by Saddlebag, the super transfer company which is a partner of the lodge. They pick you up at the Joburg airport with a little sign with you name on arrival 😉
Rates & infos :
We went with Horizon Horseback ; they are one of the best, in terms of organisation, quality of the offer, upkeep of the horses, the team and everything else. They organized everything, from trips to transfers and this tailor-made trip they’ve made for us was just perfect! The magic and the adrenaline kept on going. It was so cool that with HH, we decided to propose this special package to you, and this offer is exclusively for our readers & followers.
We called this 12n & 13d itinerary “Magic of Botswana”,and it goes as follow :
- 2 nights Horizon Lodge (Waterberg – Southerner Africa)
- 1 night Mashatu Main camp (Botswana)
- 6 Nights Tuli Safari ( Tuli Block – Botswana)
- 3 nights Macatoo ( Okavango – Botswana)
- Transfers
Total rate is £6180 per person, based on two pax sharing ( around 7200 euros). Everything is included (road & plane transferts, food, beverages, activities ) except international flights. Magic of Botswana itinerary can be modified, shortened or whatever, regarding your budget, wishes & schedule ( I think there are even some options avail for the non riders also)
If you’re interested in this trip or if you have any questions, send an email here : themagicsaddle@gmail.com , object : Magic of Botswana.
Ps : As for the period, try to avoid rainy season (December-January). May till end of November is good. I’ll do another article on what to bring as well, but I’ll stop here for now as this article is already way too long ^^ Anyway, I hope that you liked this post and the next is on the way soon. 😉
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