Estate Living Magazine Estate Living Issue 29 May | Page 33

by relative beginners, and even complete novices can ride
amongst (non-predator) game. A really great option, even for
first-timers, is the one-hour, one-way Sunset Trail, where you
ride through the reserve to a hot spring for sun-downers (and
an optional soak), and then are transported back by vehicle.
www.biggameparks.org/properties/chubeka-trails-6
Delta dreams
The Okavango Delta is one of the most astonishingly beautiful
places on earth, and you just must visit here at least once
in your life. Wherever you stay, you’ll almost certainly fly in,
which may qualify as the most scenic air transfer in the world,
canyons, and ultimately, the ocean. This trip is not for
beginners, and even regular weekend riders may find new
muscles they never knew they had. But the peace and
surreal beauty of the Namib are unmatched. The gravel
plains extend for miles in every direction to distant hazy-
blue lumpy horizons, with no grass, no roads, no fences,
and the biggest stone is the size of a chickpea. You can
and it just gets better from then on. Fabulous camps with
great food, mokoro trips on gorgeous limpid, flower-strewn
waterways, wildlife, birds, and scenery, with long, hard, scenic
rides through real wilderness that are not a beginner’s option.
www.africanhorseback.com
Into the wild
put your horse into a three-quarter pace canter, stop after Zimbabwe is still a bit of a secret destination – yes, the tourism
twenty minutes and look around and nothing has changed! industry never died, it just carried on quietly and calmly, keeping
At night you sleep inside an inverted bowl of stars that reaches the economy going, contributing hugely to conservation, and
right to the horizon. The Namib will do your head in, in a good keeping thousands of families fed by creating employment.
way. www.namibiahorsesafari.com
James and Janine Varden have been running canoeing, walking
Sky trails and horseback safaris right through the not-so-good times, and
The beautiful 'Kingdom in the Sky' of Lesotho is one of the few You could ride for a week through Matobo, or opt for a 12-night
places in the world where horses are used as regular day-to- riding, walking and canoeing safari – the best of all possible
day transportation, as opposed to a diversion, and Basotho
ponies are renowned for their hardy constitution, calm nature
and sure-footedness (essential in that mountainous terrain).
Even absolute beginners can confidently head off on a ride of a
few hours – or e ven a few days. Multi-day trails usually involve
overnighting in local villages, so they can be as much a cultural
now that things seem to be picking up, it’s only getting better.
worlds. www.ridezimbabwe.com
Ride into the sunset
The well-worn cliché of riding into the sunset is a classic symbol
of a happy ending – the satisfactory conclusion of a perilous
adventure as an equestrian one. www.malealea.com adventure. Take a romantic canter along the beach at Vilanculos
Having it all face – and know that you are part of a happy ending. The
For such a tiny country, Swaziland has it all – great wildlife,
awesome scenery and fascinating cultural destinations.
Chubeka Trails based at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary offers
rides ranging from, literally, a fifteen-minute pony ride for
your toddler to four-night trails with lots of wildlife, steep,
or on Benguera Island – wind in your hair, salt-spray on your
horses at Mozambique Horse Safari are all rescued from farm
invasions in Zimbabwe, where the chances are pretty good they
would probably have ended up on the braai. Out of the frying
pan and onto the beach. (See the book One hundred and four
horses by Mandy Retzlaff.) www.mozambiquehorsesafari.com
scenic mountains, river crossings, and interaction with
local communities. The shorter overnight trails are doable
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