Botswana Riding Safari

Gallop into the wild on this journey across Botswana’s wildernesses. A riding safari boasts encounters that cannot be had on foot or by vehicle. Watch elephants ford the waterways of the Okavango, unnoticed on horseback. Admire the sweeping desert and endless views of the Kalahari as you traverse the grasslands of Botswana’s deserts. For riders, this is the ultimate adventure led by expert guides who put yours and your horse’s safety first – get off the map as you ride into the African bush.

1. Fly to Maun

2. Days 1-6: Okavango Delta and Moremi

   Getting to Botswana’s wild places is a breeze with overnight flights to Johannesburg and direct flights to Maun, gateway to the Kalahari and Okavango. You are met at the airport and guided to your final journey, a light aircraft hop over the famous inland delta – watch out for elephants on the way! Macatoo Camp sits overlooking a floodplain on the western side of the Okavango Delta, raised above the ground so the panoramas are fully enjoyed. Each of the airy eight tents overlooks the bush, best enjoyed swinging gently from in a hammock from the dappled shade of your deck. Evenings are spent relaxing around a fire, exchanging stories and enjoying the sounds of the bush.  
   
   Days are spent exploring the surrounding bush on horseback, setting out in the cool of the dawn, with different routes each time so you can truly appreciate the magic of the Okavango Delta and spot the wildlife that makes this Africa’s best. From its lily strewn lagoons where hippos snort away to the palm fringed islands, no two days are the same. The horses at Macatoo are carefully chosen, schooled and cared for, and each guest will change animals a few times to allow rest time between rides. Cool off in the midday at the camp’s pool, or for those wishing to rest the legs you can still go out on game drives, night drives, boating safaris, mokoro rides and walks. For seriously special view, soar over the channels on a scenic helicopter flight (an additional cost), where you can realise the sheer size of this dreamlike landscape. 

   Accommodation: Macatoo Camp (5 nights)

3. Fly home from Maun

   Your last morning is spent on walk into the past with Kalahari bushmen, where you discover the traditional ways that people have lived and survived in the harshest of environments.  A window to another world. It’s a sad return to reality after this - a short flight back to Maun where you catch your flight to Johannesburg and onwards to your final destination. 

4. Days 6-11: Makgadikgadi Pans

   This morning you leave the lush Okavango behind as you fly south to the dry salt pans and sweeping plains of the Kalahari. Your home for the next five nights varies from laidback camps to sleeping on roll mats under the heavens, a true adventure. Ride Botswana meet you at the airstrip and take you to Camp Kalahari on the fringes of the Makgadikgadi-Nxai Pans National Park. The eclectic African style harmoniously matches the surroundings, with the twelve tented rooms all sat in prime position for watching the world go by. Escape the desert heat in the pool or simply sit and gaze out over the moonlike vistas of the Makgadikgadi. 
   
   The first two days are spent traversing the salt pans and desert, spotting the wildlife that lives in this harsh environment. Keep your eyes out for oryx, cheetah, brown hyena, and the famous Kalahari lions. If the evening set out in the darkness to search for elusive nocturnal prowlers like the honey badger, aardwolf, porcupines and more. On the third day the adventure truly begins as you spend the day crossing the pans stopping the famous Green’s baobab on the way, where David Livingstone long ago sat. By the afternoon you reach Xau Xai Fly Camp, a mobile camp set on the flats of the desert, for a back-to-basics night under the stars. It’s an early start the next day on foot, to spend an enchanting morning with the Kalahari’s most enigmatic locals, meerkats. A gentle afternoon ride to the heart of the salt pans where your night is spent under the blazing Milky Way, sleeping on the pan itself for an experience not to be matched. The fun ends back at Camp Kalahari for one final night round the crackling fire perhaps with a glass of Amarula in hand. 

   Accommodation: Uncharted Africa Riding Safari (5 nights)

Botswana