We GUARANTEE you won't find the same horse riding holiday at a lower price through any other source... and if you do, we promise to refund the difference!
from £5,215 or €6,020
>> Kaskazi Horse Safari Brochure <<
Suitable for intermediate plus riders.
3-10 June
19-26 June Full
1-8 July
15-22 July
29 July-5 August
12-19 August
Suitable for intermediate plus riders.
11-19 January
25 January – 2 February
8-16 February
22 February- 2 March FULL
11-19 March
Included – Accommodation (shared) full board, drinks, transfers to and from Kilimanjaro international airport at set times, a qualified guide, flying doctor membership, local taxes and wildlife fees.
Excluded – International flights, gratuities, visas, medical and travel insurance.
Getting There
International flight to Kilimanjaro airport.
Transfer
We meet and transfer you to your lodge on the first day at a set time.
Note: Rates are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations, please refer to our Terms & Conditions for full details.
All our horse riding holidays hold a price guarantee. We believe in your piece of mind on price when you book one of our horse riding holidays and will refund the difference should you find the same horse riding holiday elsewhere at a lower price.
We love these rides headed up by the fantastic Jo, one of the best guides in the industry and she’s a woman…. prepare to be amazed! An absolute must if you dream to see the wildebeest migration. Jo Westermark and her partner offers these fantastic and adventurous horse-riding safaris using mobile tents in the wilderness in game rich Northern Tanzania. These rides are adventurous with lots of fast paced riding and suited for the young at heart! Some of the most outstanding game experiences as well as beautiful and varied scenery, you’ll also come across local tribes, so this is a very authentic safari. You start out at Jo’s base which is situated in an area called Kilo Bravo, just on the outskirts of Arusha, at an altitude of 1400m above sea level. This offers an excellent climate for riding. From the stables there is an incredible view of Mount Meru and on a clear day, Mount Kilimanjaro can be seen emerging from the skyline. Both safaris are fully mobile, and the horses are trucked from here to the required location, they will already be in situ, and you will meet them by way of small charter flight. What is absolutely unique about Jo’s safaris is she truly with her team scouts out the best places to see game and overnight on the fly and then camp is set up there. If you need to get further into the bush to get closer to some action, then she’ll organise to set up a very basic fly camp…it really feels like a proper adventure and if you get lucky, you’ll feel like you are in the middle of a David Attenborough movie…
There are several different rides available here including the Kilimanjaro Elephant Safari and the Serengeti Migration Safari.
Horses – The horses are a mix of local breeds and thoroughbreds. They are well trained and used to the big game, fit and perfect for the job. Size wise they range from 15-16hh.
Level of Riding & Pace – Intermediate plus riders, some walking tracking and viewing game but plenty fast cantering too depending on terrain.
Tack – Mostly snaffles bridles and African stock saddles.
Weight Restriction – 90kg / 200lbs / 14 stone.
Group Size – Minimum 2 to a maximum of 12.
Depending on the ride chosen you will stay in the lodge at the stables or while on mobile safari you will stay in very comfortable canvas tents.
The villa has en suite double and twin rooms and there is a small swimming pool. One of the camps is semi-permanent and the KD tents each with its own en suite bathroom and toilet. Meals will be provided in a large dining tent.
The food is of great standard, with professionally trained chefs, you won’t go hungry, and you’ll be amazing at what they can produce. The team create delicious dishes with a mix of local and international cuisine, based around wholesome good cooking.
Breakfast is a traditional cowboy style meal, accompanied by fresh juice and exotic local fruits. Lunch is eaten outside at a scenic location in the wilderness, such as under a shady tree – it will either be carried by the support vehicle or in saddle bags but there is always plenty and it’s deliciously fresh. Dinner is a three-course meal and is always served with freshly baked bread, salad and herbs along with tasty wine or tipple of your choice.
Drinks are locally sourced, and a good variety is provided
Kilimanjaro Elephant Safari
Arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, where you will be collected and driven c. 35mins to a private villa where you will be accommodated for the night. You will have a chance to settle into your new surroundings, enjoy the facilities on offer here and meet the other guests that are participating in the safari. The lead guide will join you for dinner and briefly introduce the itinerary for the next few days as well as answering any questions you may have.
After a big breakfast, you will set off and take the c. 2hr drive to the mobile camp. Upon arrival the crew will welcome you with drinks and open arms, making you feel part of the team from day one. After being shown to your tents and allowed to settle in, it will be time for lunch where you will receive a short briefing. After lunch, your guide will introduce you to your horse and you will head out for an afternoon ride to get to know your mounts and settle into the saddle. The day will end with drinks around the campfire.
Today you will wake with the sun and enjoy a tasty breakfast in camp. Mounting your horse, you will head out northwards, with the impressive Mt Meru towering to your west. The day's ride will be amongst typical Tanzanian farmland in the famed Maasai steppe. You will make good use of the cooler early morning hours, trying to cover as much ground as possible. Your lunch will be served under the shade of a large acacia tree, sometimes near the dam where the Maasai herdsmen water their cattle - also an opportunity for the horses to a have drink. You will have a good 3 hour stop for lunch, with time to enjoy a siesta and regain some lost strength. The afternoon continues across open plains, ensuring you reach your overnight stop before the sun hits the horizon. The night is spent in an area known locally as Nyumbu , named after its abundant wildebeest population.
An early wakeup call will be followed by a tasty English breakfast which will set you up well for the day ahead. The safari will begin by heading out towards the Seven Sisters hill range, so called because of the seven prominent peaks. Riding over the seven hills, you will reach the Sinya Village which you will pass through in order to reach your lunch spot, under the shade of another delightful, large tree. The terrain in this area varies dramatically from open green grassland to beautiful canopy forests. This day of riding offers great chances of spotting plains game such as zebras, giraffes and wildebeests, but most importantly the shy antelope - the Gerenuk. Tonight, is spent at an astonishing location which, on a clear night, will allow you to experience the feeling of being watched over by the four powerful mountains, Mt Meru, Namanga, Longido and the most legendary of all, Mt Kilimanjaro.
Another early wake up with coffee and tea before a delicious bush breakfast is served. Today will be spent tracking the largest land-living mammal in Africa - the elephant! The terrain differs significantly from that of the previous day, with thick scrublands and beautiful desert-like flats close to the edges of the great lake. You will find plenty of opportunity to enjoy some great, fast gallops. Before sunset, you will return to the camp in order to further enjoy this remarkable setting.
Today you will be offered another chance to track the footsteps, and hopefully spot, the elephant herds. Riding around the plains, you will learn the art of recognising certain, specific tracks and markers; for the lucky, it will result in a rare chance to experience these magnificent animals up close and personal. The night will be spent at a mobile camp overlooking the pans, the perfect viewing spot to watch the herds of plains game - on constant alert for predators!
You will wake with the sun and enjoy another early start to your riding day, in order to make the most of the cooler early hours. Today you will be heading out towards the Kenyan border. The majority of the riding will take place in some very good big cat country providing a great opportunity of spotting these wonderful creatures - make sure to keep your eyes peeled. Your overnight stop will be in an entirely new location, chosen by your guides on the same morning as you leave camp. Hopefully the night will be clear, as apart from the view of the beautiful mountains in this area, the African night sky is a breath-taking sight.
A more leisurely morning as you enjoy a large breakfast and then pack your belongings for the transfer back to the airport (c. 3 hours' drive). If everyone's flight times allow then there may be a short ride first but this isn't always possible. For those departing late, a day room is available at Kili villa (where you spent the first night) and you can relax and refresh before transferring to the airport later in the day.
Serengeti Migration Safari
Serengeti Ride Day 1
Arrive Kilimanjaro International Airport where you will be met and transferred around 30 minutes to ‘Kili Villas’ for the first night in a comfortable private lodge. Meet up with the rest of the group and dinner and night Kili Villas. (D)
Serengeti Ride Day 2
An early start to catch a morning charter flight to Ndutu airstrip in the southern Serengeti. After the flight, usually about 40 minutes but can be up to 1 ½ hours depending on routing (you may be flown over the Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manayara or Tarangire National Park, a wonderful opportunity to see these iconic sites from the air), you will be met by a safari vehicle at Ndutu. A short wait whilst you are checked-in at the National Park registration post, then set off driving through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park, past impressive rocky outcrops known as “kopjes”, river courses and across the Serengeti’s famous ‘short grass plains. Prime grazing area for migrating wildebeest during the early months of the year, with luck (always dependant on the weather!) the plains may be thick with wildebeest which arrive in their thousands after the rains to make the most of the fresh grass. The plains are also the wildebeests’ favoured birthing spot – it is one of nature’s miracles that females delay giving birth until the rains and grass arrive in an effort to ensure their newly born young get the best start in life, a chance to build their strength on lush new grass before setting off on the long march north to Kenya’s Mara plains. Leave the National Park and NCA and after a drive of about 2 hours in all, eventually arrive at the spot chosen for the first camp in the shade of a lovely flat-topped acacia. Meet the team of support staff, settle into your tents and a welcome lunch in the shade of the mess tent. Then, a short siesta, before meeting the horses and their grooms, and time allowing, an evening ride to try them. Return to camp at sun set for hot showers, drinks by the campfire and your first dinner together in the bush, before tomorrow when the adventure really starts! (B, L, D)
Serengeti Ride Day 3
Woken at about 7am with tea or coffee brought to your tent, then breakfast in the mess tent before heading to the horses to mount up at around 8am. Depending on the weather and movement of game, you might ride out for a long morning today returning to camp for lunch and another ride or a game drive in the late afternoon – or you might head out for a full day ride, meeting the back-up team for lunch out in the bush. Either way you should have a good chance of seeing the gathering herds of wildebeest for which the area is famous, as well as giraffe browsing in the acacia scrub, zebra and perhaps predators such as hyena and jackal. Dinner and night in camp (B, L, D)
Serengeti Ride Day 4
Today might be the first moving day. An early wake up at dawn gives you time to pack up before breakfast, then mount up to set off to a new camp, riding through areas that have rarely been visited on a horse, perhaps passing Maasai herdsmen or their small settlements, where tribesmen live off the land as they have done for centuries. After about 4 hours riding, meet the back-up crew for an al- fresco lunch in the bush and time to rest in the heat of the day, before heading off again, aiming to reach the new camp by teatime. Set up ahead by the back-up, tonight’s camp might be spectacularly situated in the middle of the vast open plains, where, at peak migration time, the air will be filled with the braying and mesmerizing grunts of wildebeest. A cup of tea or a cold beer when you arrive in camp, followed by hot showers & dinner, listening to the sounds of the bush (B,L,D)
Serengeti Ride Day 5- 8
Four more days to explore, riding across the open plains, into grassy valleys dotted with picturesque granite outcrops, swathes of whistling thorn and typically East African flat toped acacia trees. The route and arrangements each day will vary with the weather and movement of game but your guide will aim to ride to at least one more camp so you can discover another new area and you may (weather allowing) also be able to spend a night in a lightweight fly camp, sleeping under mosquito nets. One day there will also be a long game drive with a picnic or BBQ lunch, into the Serengeti National Park itself crossing the short grass plains and looking out for cats such as cheetah, lion and leopard which thrive here, as well as elephant and the flamingo which gather on the area’s soda lakes. Dinner, with a chance to chat through the next day’s plans, and 4 nights in camp (B, L, D every day)
Serengeti Ride Day 9
An early wake-up call for breakfast and a farewell to your horses and support team before heading back through the Serengeti National Park to Ndutu airstrip for your return charter flight to Arusha Airport (about an hour’s flight). Lunch in Arusha and time to shop for souvenirs if you wish before your vehicle transfer back to Kilimanjaro International Airport for onward flights. (B)
NOTE – Please note that although this is an example of the itinerary planned it is only an example and day-by-day arrangements, camp locations and routes will be varied by your guide in her absolute discretion according to the weather, game movements or if other local conditions require. This is left to the experience and discretion of your guide.
Zara’s Planet Horse Riding Holidays Guarantee:
All our horse riding holidays hold a price guarantee. We believe in your piece of mind on price when you book one of our horse riding holidays and will refund the difference should you find the same horse riding holiday elsewhere at a lower price.
If you are having trouble finding exactly the right horse riding holiday for you from our horse riding holidays collection, please contact us directly using the form below and tell us in your own words what you would like to do and we will use our extensive knowledge to make sure we find that perfect horse riding holiday.
· Zara's Planet · Web Design and SEO by New World Digital