Horses

In the most part they are crossbreeds from a variety that arrived in Namibia in the past century, including Thrakener, Hanovarian, Shagya Arabs, Boerperde and Cape Horses. Recently there has also been some Nooitgedacht horses added which are known for their hardiness and kind temperaments. Overall, the horses are generally smaller in body size to help survive the harsh dry and mountainous environments.

The horses are your heros on this adventure. They are fit machines trained for endurance and looked after impeccably. Each horse is fed 4 hard feeds a day, lots of lucerne and Andrew will carefully check every horse twice daily for rubs, sores or tiredness. It’s truly incredible how fit these horses are.

Level of Riding and Pace

This an extreme challenge, therefore riders must be Intermediate plus and be very fit. Don’t underestimate your fitness levels.

Tack

Comfortable skirted Endurance saddles. Each saddle is fitted with 2 specially made water bottle holders with water bottles supplied. We really recommend to bring your own seat saver for extra comfort, sheepskin or avacallo is best or some people even combine both! You are also responsible for grooming, checking over and tacking up your own horse but there is always help at hand to make sure it is done correctly.

Namib Desert Safari

Day 1

You will be met on arrival at Windhoek International Airport and transferred to River Crossing Lodge with its impressive view over Windhoek. Here you will meet the rest of your riding group for dinner and a Namibia Horse Safari Company representative will brief the group about what to expect on your adventure on The Desert Ride.

Day 2

After breakfast you depart for Sesriem (a journey of about 4 hours) via the Spreetshoogte Pass which affords the first enticing glimpse of the seemingly endless Namib Desert below. At Sesriem you will meet the horses and crew at the campsite under some ancient Camelthorn trees. This afternoon’s excursion is to Sesriem Canyon, and the terminal pan of Sossusvlei itself. You are welcome to attempt to climb the towering dunes for a spectacularly panoramic view. Enjoy sundowners in an idyllic desert setting with a sinuously curving dune crest forming a dramatic backdrop in the fading light.

Day 3

The start of The Desert Ride adventure takes you up a wide grassy valley flanked on one side by the edge of the Namib Sand Sea. Both lunch, at Tsamsvlei, and your evening camp at Namib Water are near water points which are magnets for desert-adapted game such as Oryx, Springbok, Ostrich and Wildebeest (Gnu). This evening’s camp, at the foot of a long-vegetated dune, offers the first opportunity to sleep out under the magical Milky Way.

Day 4

This morning sees you traversing the edge of the Namib Sand Sea, crossing dunes so old that vegetation has established a hold, supporting a surprising variety of wildlife in this seemingly inhospitable environment. Riding between long linear dunes which actually amount to mountains of sand, this unspoiled wilderness offers some striking scenery. In the afternoon the pace quickens as you ride across the wide plains of a riverbed before a gentle climb up to your campsite on a hill. Dinner is served in an old farm dam that has been converted into a wonderful dining room!

Day 5

This morning cross red dunes before a rugged decent into the craggy Gaub canyon where you stop for lunch. This afternoon sees you climb back out of the canyon before continuing across the wide plains to a cave with far reaching and spectacular views of the Badlands of the ephemeral Kuiseb River.

Day 6

Today you will negotiate the bizarrely rugged Kuiseb Canyon to reach your camp on the northern bank at Aruvlei. It is the Kuiseb which forms a dramatic end to the Namib Sand Sea, flowing just often enough to prevent the dunes from crossing the river. The tracks of Mountain Zebra criss-cross the steep sides of the canyon all leading to a year-round supply of precious water which is preserved by the high, narrow walls of the canyon.

Day 7

Good terrain affords some faster-paced riding towards the water-point at Ganab where Mountain Zebra, Oryx, Ostrich, Springbok and if you are lucky some desert-adapted warthogs come to drink. Here the wide grassy plains are scarred by several watercourses, some only distinguishable by the long lines of trees which mark their course, sometimes giving shelter some desert-adapted Giraffe.

Day 8

Another day which affords some faster-paced riding to Hotsas across the Tinkas and Tumas plains, which become ever less vegetated as you approach the coast. On approaching the Marble Mountain, you will often see Ostriches and Mountain Zebra running alongside you, curious about the unusual centaurs inhabiting their desert. From now on life-giving evening fog can be expected, producing 5 times as much precipitation than rainfall in this hyper arid area.

Day 9

Today’s ride takes you through the hyper aridity of true desert-scapes where you encounter the dinosaur-like of plants, the gnarled Welwitschia Mirablis. Strange shapes form and disappear in mirages and fascinating survival devices of desert adapted creatures astound; this is a land of great antiquity and also tremendous solitude. Pass through the spectacular Moon Valley on your decent to a wonderfully sheltered campsite in the Swakop River.

Day 10

Set off on your final ride down the Swakop River to the coastal dunes, before reaching the Atlantic Ocean. See your first glimpse of a town in ten days! The last stretch of riding is along the soft white beach sand of Swakopmund. Tonight’s accommodation is a comfortable guesthouse while the horses enjoy their well-deserved rest in a large sandy paddock with a wonderful view of the sea. After sundowners, enjoy your last memorable meal together, reminiscing over an adventure unlikely to be forgotten.

Day 11

Say a fond farewell at breakfast as the transfer to Windhoek (a journey of c. 5 hours) leaves in time for the late afternoon departure flights from Windhoek International Airport.

Damara Elephant Safari

Days 1 and 2 Windhoek to Twyfelfontein

A shuttle service will collect you from Windhoek International Airport (Hosea Kutako) to your first overnight in Windhoek. Meet your fellow riders and host/riding guide Andrew Gillies for sundowners and dinner. Andrew will give you a briefing about your adventure. Early morning departure for the Aba Huab river with lunch en-route – we arrive in camp to meet the horses and crew. In the late afternoon we visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Twyfelfontein with its 5000 year-old petroglyphs.

Elephant sometimes walk through camp at night… Light sleepers be warned!

Day 3 – 6 The Great Rivers

On day three, with the rising sun at our back, we begin our westward journey to the distant Atlantic. In these ephemeral river systems, the cycles of rainfall dictate the seasonal movement of game which is not concentrated, but we can encounter elephants, rhino, oryx, springbok, and other desert-adapted game. On this day we begin and end in the Aba Huab River, taking a ‘short cut’ as the river takes a wide northward path. 

On day four we join the Huab river system, then travel up into the mountainous highlands – our camp is at the highest point between the Huab and Ugab River systems, giving a commanding view of the rugged Damaraland terrain below. Here huge glacial valleys, impressive tableland mountains exhumed by erosion, folds and fractures resulting from cataclysmic eruptions present a well-preserved snapshot of a land of great antiquity. These ephemeral rivers are dry during the time of year we ride. 

On day five we descend towards the Ugab River over undulating watercourses, through a narrow gorge and entering the Ugab river at Save The Rhino’s campsite.

Day six is mostly in the Ugab river, we negotiate reed beds associated with occasional springs from which elephant and other game drink. We finally ride up and overnight in a dry wash gorge with some impressive rock-wall sides.

Day 7 – 10 The Great Plains

Leaving the river valley’s we now cross the vastness of open plains with the striking massive of the Brandberg (burning mountain) forming a dramatic backdrop. Here undulating plains allow for some fast-paced riding as we approach the coast. Sometimes following animals tracks where the ground is stony, riding up ridges to get a commanding view of the pains below, following dry water-courses.

The substrate colour changes from deep ochre to pale grey with striking black basalt ridges and huge green and yellow lichen fields. Our last ride takes us to the ocean at last – the spectacularly formidable Skeleton Coast, apparently so called for the wrecked hulks of stranded ships which dot this coastline. The cold upwelling Benquela current results in some diverse weather conditions from hot desert easterlies to cold south Atlantic westerlies and fog – a place of extremes! We overnight in the small coastal town of Henties Bay in a wonderful private house with the most spectacular view over the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 11

Early breakfast and transfer to Windhoek (just over 6-hour commute) arriving around 13:00 – in time for departure flights from Windhoek International Airport after 15:00.

Wild Horses Safari

Days 1 and 2 Windhoek to the Namib

A shuttle service will collect you from Windhoek International Airport (Hosea Kutako) to your first overnight in Windhoek. Meet your fellow riders and host/ riding guide Andrew Gillies for sundowners and dinner. Andrew will give you a briefing about your adventure.

After breakfast on day two, there is a 5-hour commute with lunch en-route, followed by a decent down the picturesque Zaris Pass to our camp in the Tiras Biosphere Reserve. Settle in and explore your surroundings – here you will meet your crew, your horse and be instructed in how to be ‘desert savvy’.

As the soft evening light descends we’ll enjoy sundowners as the spectacular Milky Way appears overhead. Our first camping night is on a game-rich reserve – so expect some good sightings on the first two days.

Days 3 – 8 Tiras Mountains to the Desert Plains

We set off up the rugged Tiras Mountains via one of the meandering dry washes coming down from the plateau above. This unspoiled landscape has forced landowners to find sensitive ways to utilise this fragile area which is generally left to be natural. Boasting exceptional panoramic views from above – sentinel inselbergs (island mountains) dot the desertscape below with the distant dune sea towards which we are heading. Desert adapted game are encountered during the day and open country with good going allows for some fast-paced riding. 

Lunch is enjoyed under a convenient tree or interesting spot with a good view. Overnight camps are chosen for their spectacular views – sleeping under the magnificent starry sky is a must – it has its own kind of magic. Few places on earth afford so little light pollution – allowing for an incomparable view of the magnificent southern constellation.

Our route may vary depending on weather conditions, or other circumstances but be assured every day will be memorable.

Crossing the dune sea is an experience in itself and you will come to appreciate why we chose this route – the remarkable desert-scapes on the far side are as true Namib as one can get.

Days 9 and 10 Luderitz and the Wild Horses

From our last night camp in Geistershlucht (Ghost valley) we visit the waterhole of the Namib’s – the wild horses of the Namib and the coastal town of Luderitz, visiting the historic ghost town of Kolmanskop – the colonial mining town the desert is reclaiming.

Day 11

Early breakfast and transfer to Windhoek from Klein Aus gets us to Windhoek International Airport in time for flights leaving after 18:00.

Skeleton Damara Safari

Days 1 – 3 Windhoek to the Skeleton Coast

A shuttle service will collect you from Windhoek International Airport (Hosea Kutako) to your first overnight in Windhoek. Meet your fellow riders and host/riding guide Andrew Gillies for sundowners and dinner. Andrew will give you a briefing about your adventure. Early breakfast and then the journey to the rugged Skeleton Coast – approximately 4 hours to our lunch spot in the charming town of Swakopmund, and then a further 3 hours up the coast to our camp. We visit the Cape Cross Fur Seal Colony on the way. The abundance of oxygen will surely knock you out for a good nights sleep tonight while the Atlantic Ocean roars in the background.

Our first riding day begins with a saddling briefing and getting acquainted with your horse. The landscape changes all the time and the pace quickens as the terrain allows.

As the soft evening light descends we get into camp in time to enjoy sundowners as the spectacular Milky Way appears overhead. Here, where there is no light pollution, the stars are simply magnificent and sitting around a companionable campfire with new acquaintances, sharing the experiences of the day is a joy. The aroma of dinner cooking in large black pots on the fire stirs the imagination of what could possibly smell that good!

Days 4 – 9 Canyons, Plains and back to the Coast

Negotiating a landscape which look like they belong on another planet – have your camera ready – we cross undulating terrain, dry river washes and interesting geological formations. Damaraland has a violent geological history, leaving a legacy of unusual land shapes. 

Finally reaching the huge Ugab ephemeral river. These rivers only flow seasonally and sometimes not for years, but when they do flow, its best not to be in them as flash flooding is common here! We see the well-known folded rock structures called the Ugab Folds along the way before coming out of the river valley onto the wide plains above.

Our last ride takes us across huge desert plains to the ocean at last – the Skeleton Coast, apparently so called for the wrecked hulks of stranded ships that dot this coastline. We overnight in the small coastal town of Henties Bay in a wonderful private house with the most spectacular view over the Atlantic Ocean. What a trip THAT was!

Day 10

Early breakfast and transfer to Windhoek (just over 5-hour commute) arriving around 13:00 – in time for departure flights from Windhoek International Airport after 15:00.

Please note: Itinerary routes and accommodation are subject to change, due to circumstances unforeseen and beyond our control.

Please ssk about

• Many guests extend their Namibia experience from this point with an add-on itinerary. Local attractions include the highest dunes in the world – the spectacular Sossusvlei. Go dune sand boarding, desert sky diving, dolphin cruising or surf fishing.

• If it‘s big game viewing you’re after, take a short charter flight to world famous Etosha Pan and experience African luxury in a unique treetop camp or a desert fort. We can easily make these onward arrangements for you.