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Botswana - Ride Botswana, Kalahari Camp Safari
Exhilarating mobile safari in the Makgadigadi Salt pans

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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 £4,935 or €5,745

Horse Riding Holidays Botswana – Ride Botswana, Kalahari Camp

 

PRICES & DATES top

Ride Botswana, Kalahari Camp: Prices & Dates 2024

Intermediate plus riders are most suited to this ride.

Rates are quoted per person sharing. We can also tailor a 3-night safari and run a Kalahari & Okavango Delta combination ride.

5 Night Kalahari Camp Safari

GBP, £ EUR, € USD, $
Choose your currency

  • Low Season $6,235
    • GBP: 4,935
    • EUR: 5,753

    10 January – 31 March
  • Mid-Season – $6,740
    • GBP: 5,335
    • EUR: 6,219

    1 April – 30 June
    1 September – 9 January 2025
  • High Season$8,553
    • GBP: 6,770
    • EUR: 7,892

    1 July – 31 August

Single Supplement is $1875 in high season and $1625 in mid season, does not apply in the low season

Includes – All the riding and other activities like bush walks, twin accommodation, all meals and drinks.

Excludes – International flights to Maun, transfers out of Maun to Kalahari Camp Safaris and tips.

Getting There
International flight to Maun, Botswana which is usually via Johannesburg.

Transfer
Kalahari Camp Safari – return on a shared air transfer from Maun into camp. You can also transfer by road (3 hours). Prices are quoted separately.

Remember our Horse Riding Holidays GUARANTEE. You won’t find these Horse Riding Holidays (or any of our Horse Riding Holidays) at a lower price through any other source… and if you do, we will refund the difference.

SUMMARY OF THE TRIP top

David & Robyn Foot are well known safari operators in Africa and have been running Kalahari Camp for a number of years.  This safari combines really well with their exciting new for 2017 mobile safari in the Okavango Delta.

The completely unique ‘Ride Botswana, Kalahari Camp Safari’ is an exhilarating semi mobile safari in the Makgadikgadi Salt pans, which makes up part of the infamous Kalahari Desert. It’s 5 nights and uses the Kalahari Camp as a base with two nights fly camping. The ride takes in all the extraordinary attractions of the Makgadikgadi – during the dry season you may ride right out into the middle of the pans, whilst in the wet season there is a chance to ride among Botswana’s largest zebra and wildebeest migration.

The ‘Thamalakane River Safari’ is based at the Royal Tree Lodge, not far from the town of Maun. This is a great pre ‘Camp Kalahari‘ option for a couple of nights to make your trip into a 7 night or longer adventure and it’s also perfect for families with younger children or of mixed abilities as it’s not a ‘big game’ area, therefore a much safer riding environment. We recommend spending at least 3 nights here.

Or why not combine the Kalahari with the Okavango Delta, see the Desert & Delta riding options.

THE RIDING top

Horses – At Ride Botswana, Kalahari Camp, there is a good mix of twenty plus, relaxed, forward going horses including Boerperds & Boerperd Crosses (Indigenous African breed), Thoroughbred & Shire Crosses, Arabs, Friesians and Appaloosas. Their heights range from 14.2hh to 16.2hh.

Level of Riding & Pace – depending on chosen Safari, see below.

  • Novice to Advanced – Thamalakane River Safari
  • Intermediate to Advanced – Kalahari Camp Safari

Tack – Tack is English style with mostly snaffle bridles, with Wintec or Maclellan saddles. Riding groups are limited to 8 riders (though private groups of up to 12 can sometimes be catered for).

Weight Restriction – 95 kg / 210 lbs / 15 stone.

Group Size – Maximum 8 (Private groups up to 12).

ACCOMMODATION top

Ride Botswana, Kalahari Camp Safari – 3 nights are spent in the luxury Kalahari camp, which uses walk in Meru tents, with running loos and showers. It sits nestled amongst the acacias and Moklowane palms of Brown Hyena Island on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. It has a traditionally built thatch library, living and dining area and a swimming pool. The other 2 nights on this safari are spent in a much simpler ‘fly’ camp.

In the wet season both nights are in Xau Xai fly camp, on stretcher beds in 2-man dome tents and in the dry season, Xau Xai is just used for one night with the second being spent sleeping out on bedrolls under the starry Kalahari sky.

A great effort is made with safari meals, which are delicious and plentiful. Expect a mix of light and heavier breakfasts, tea, coffee and toast or full cooked breakfasts and porridge. Lunches are picnic style, with salads, pastas, quiches, cold meats and fruit and dinners are candle lit, 3 courses and absolutely delicious.

Thamalakane River Safari – Nights are spent in the luxury Royal River Lodge close to Maun. The lodge is on a 400-acre reserve on the edge of the Thamalkane River and has 8 spacious twin / double walk-in safari tents set on teak decking. There’s also a large sitting and dining area as well as a spacious deck shaded by leadwood and bird plum trees and a lovely swimming pool.

Again, expect really great food, using fresh ingredients, daily baked bread and lots of variety – you will never feel hungry!

We have travelled the world testing a huge variety of horse riding holidays to make sure we offer you, our client, the best horse riding holiday experience possible.

Our horse riding holidays are thoroughly researched – we consider all the elements that go towards making our horse riding holidays collection the best in the world. We check the quality of the horses, if they are fit for the job, well produced and looked after. We make sure the riding terrain is good going, the countryside is interesting and, for example, on Classic Dressage horse riding holidays, the arenas are in good condition. We make sure the accommodation, whether it’s a five-star hotel, a farmhouse or camping, is clean and comfortable, and offers a great night’s sleep. The food is all important too – we take the time to make sure we tell you if it’s cordon bleu, home cooked, or regional and locally sourced – above all it has to be delicious, plentiful and nourishing. Last but not least, we choose the horse riding holidays that have the best hosts, who are friendly, warm and welcoming.

It’s only when all these elements come together that we add a horse riding holiday into our hand-picked collection of horse riding holidays.

Please Ask About

  • David and Robyn Foot also run the only mobile safari riding trip in the Okavango Delta, combined with the Kalahari you are experienced arguably the best two areas of Botswana on horseback
  • Victoria Falls add-on
  • Beach add-on to Mozambique or Mauritius
  • Cape Town add-on
  • other Horse-Riding Holidays Botswana you may be interested in

SAMPLE ITINERARY top

Ride Botswana, Kalahari Camp Safari

DAY 1

Arrive at Camp Kalahari nestled amongst the acacias and Mokolwane palms of Brown Hyena Island, on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, adjacent to the Makgadikgadi-Nxai Pans National Park. You will be greeted by your host and guide David Foot. Time to settle in then, after tea, set off for an introductory ride - primarily to match horse and rider. Return to the camp for sundowners followed by dinner perhaps accompanied by roars of the Kalahari lions.

DAY 2

Up with the dawn, a light breakfast followed by a long morning ride through the 'land of a thousand islands'. Stranded on the ancient lakebed, these sand dunes covered in palm trees are one of the most beautiful and fascinating areas of the Botswana wilderness. At the height of the migration season, the islands and adjoining grasslands are awash with zebra, wildebeest, hartebeest and ostrich - and of course the accompanying predators! The white encrusted pans between the islands provides excellent going for the horses. Night at Camp Kalahari.

DAY 3

Today is a long ride eastward to Xau Xai Fly Camp, so an early start is imperative. The journey takes you away from the edge of the Pans and through mopane and acacia woodlands interspersed with short grasslands allowing for lovely long canters. Reach the famous Greens Baobab by lunchtime, positioned next to the road that David Livingstone traversed on his journey's northwards. Continue on to Xau Xai Fly Camp for dinner and night.

DAY 4

Wake up to a steaming hot cup of coffee and a light breakfast, before heading off in search of some of the Kalahari’s most fascinating inhabitants, the meerkats. Return to Xau Xai for lunch and a refreshing shower. Set off in the late afternoon for one of the greatest adventures imaginable - a ride straight out into the middle of the ancient Lakebed - 16,000 square kilometres of baking soda! Eventually all that can be seen is the vast flatness stretching in every direction. Camp is set up here, sleeping on bedrolls under the silence of a star-studded sky!

DAY 5

As the dawn greets this extraordinary landscape the last of the stars disappear. Set off riding directly across the Pans back to Camp Kalahari. Sometimes ostriches are seen deep in the Pans and from a great distance the famous Chapman’s Baobab is visible. One of the largest trees in Africa, this great baobab was also the campsite of early explorers like Livingstone and Selous when they pioneered the area. Lunch here, then continue to Camp Kalahari in time for a refreshing shower and a final lamp lit dinner.

DAY 6

Breakfast and say goodbye to the horses, then set off on an early morning walk with Zu’hoasi Bushmen trackers. Offering a window into the past, they teach you how they have survived in this harshest of environments, using their vast and ancient knowledge of survival skills. Lunch at Camp Kalahari before your onward journey.

DESTINATION MAP top

Horse Riding Holidays at Kalahari Camp are part of the Zara’s Planet Horse Riding Holidays Botswana collection.

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.

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