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 £4,760 or €5,400
7 nights are recommended to make the most of your trip. We can also offer 3–5-night trips if you are short on time or wish to combine with other trips so, please ask for a quote.
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Single Supplement 50% - Note: we can remove the Single Supplement, if willing to share
Suitable for non-riders.
Open all year round.
From March to November 7 night safaris start on a Saturday or Tuesday and include riding to a tree house camp and often includes 1 night in a fly camp.
From December to February, you will be based at the main Kujwana Camp.
Note: Rates are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations, please refer to our ‘Terms & Conditions’ for full details.
Includes – All the riding, accommodation, meals, drinks & alcohol, guiding and extra activities like night game drives, bush walks and boat rides in traditional ‘mokoros’ along the delta waterways (water activities only available in flood season).
Excludes – Flights, transfers & tips.
Getting There
International flights to Maun, Botswana (good connections from Johannesburg and Cape Town).
Transfer
Transfers from Maun can be done by vehicle, light winged aircraft or helicopter. We recommend helicopter for the ultimate way to travel into the Delta!
Transfer Costs (per person one way) Maun – Camp
Helicopter £310
Plane & Vehicle £215
Road & Boat £150
We can also transfer from Kasane, please ask for prices.
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.
PJ and Barney Bestelink pioneered the idea of running a luxury riding safari, in one of the most amazing and remote wildernesses of the world, the Okavango Delta… and today the Okavango Horse Safari’s remains one of the best.
Okavango Horse Safari’s is very special and operates in its own private concession on the border of the Moremi Game Reserve in the Western region of the Okavango Delta. The area includes three major river systems of the Okavango Delta, the Xudum, the Matsibie and the Kiri, and you can expect varying terrain whilst out riding, including Palm islands, grassy flood plains, mopane forests and clear streams.
On the Okavango Horse Safari’s many of the flood plains are often full and in the morning, you will be riding your horse, wading through water from island to island, enjoying some of the most scenic and best game viewing areas in the world.
Okavango Horse Safari’s, game is plentiful, and includes elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, lechwe, reedbuck, bushbuck, impala, steenbok, roan antelope, duiker, waterbuck, tsessebe, bat-eared fox, side striped and blackbacked jackals, African wildcat, vervet monkey, honey badger, spotted hyena, mongoose, meerkat, warthog, tortoise and ostrich.
Special nocturnal creatures include porcupines, aardwolf, aardvark, civet, genet, serval, springhare, and bush babies. Water babies include hippos, crocodile, cape clawless and spotted neck otters. The Delta also has plenty of predators and these include lion, leopard, cheetah and wild dog in this area.
On the Okavango Horse Safari you can expect small groups of interesting guests, and enjoy very personal attention from your hosts – this really is the ultimate riding safari, and if you had to choose just one safari to book from our range of Horse Riding Holidays Botswana, this one would have to be at the top of your list.
Horses – A large herd of Full and Part Bred Thoroughbreds, pure Arabs and Anglo Arabs, Saddle Bred Crosses, Boerperds. The horses at Okavango Horse Safari are between 14hh and 17hh, well-schooled, responsive and even-tempered. There is a wide range of horses suitable for experienced riders and riders who compete.
Level of Riding & Pace – Intermediate to Advanced.
A good level of fitness is an advantage for the Okavango Horse Safari, the morning rides are 4 – 5 hours long.
Tack – English style with very good quality English saddles (Ideals, Symonds and Barnsbys Fieldhouse) with seat savers and English snaffle bridles.
Weight Restriction – 200lbs / 14 Stone / 90kg.
There is a weight supplement of 50% if guests are above the weight limit and this is at the discretion of the company and subject to the individuals riding experience and style.
Group Size – Maximum 12
This is a luxury safari and consists of 3 camps. If you stay for 10 nights, you are likely to visit all of them!
Kujwana Camp offers spacious luxury safari tents with en-suite facilities and double or twin accommodation, with attractive furnishings, solar lighting and a deck to the front with comfortable chairs and footrests.
Mokolwane Camp has tree houses raised 2 metres off the ground, with en-suite facilities.
Qwaapo Fly Camp has meru tents with camp beds, bedrolls and duvets. Facilities are private for each tent consisting of bucket and pulley showers and bush loos.
You can also expect tent personnel on hand at all times during your stay at Okavango Horse Safari.
Okavango Horse Safari’s has been personally vetted by Zara and Jill (as have all our Horse Riding Holidays Botswana). We do this to ensure that the quality of the horse riding, accommodation, food and scenery combine to provide only the best Horse Riding Holidays in Botswana for our clients.
Don’t forget our Horse Riding Holidays GUARANTEE. You won’t find any of our Horse Riding Holidays in Botswana at a lower price through any other source… and if you do we will refund the difference.
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.
Horse Riding Holidays at the Okavango Safari is part of the Zara’s Planet Horse Riding Holidays Botswana collection.
Please Ask About
There are 3 ride options to choose from – a 5-, 7- or 10-night itinerary. The following is a sample 10-day itinerary, which may vary according to water levels and game movements.
Kujwana Camp - You are met at Maun Airport by our representative and transferred by light aircraft to Xudum airstrip, a 25-minute flight. You are then driven into the camp by vehicle, which takes approximately 1 hour (Game viewing). Alternatively, you would be transferred by light aircraft to Xaxaba Airstrip where you would be met by the helicopter, a 10-minute scenic flight bringing you directly into camp. Lunch and an introduction talk with demonstration on tack and advice on game viewing from horseback. This is followed by an orientation ride for approximately 1 - 2 hours.
Kujwana Camp - Morning game ride in the Xudum area. Wake up is 1 hour before dawn to ensure best game viewing, wading through lush green malapos that lead you from island to island, surprising a timid reedbuck out his dense cover on a heavily wooded island, or enjoy the herds of lechwe and zebra moving through the open spaces. Return to camp for lunch followed by a siesta. Afternoon game drive with sunset drinks and evening night drive with a spotlight to end, returning to camp for a three-course candlelit meal.
Qwaapo Camp - (Fly Camp) A morning ride east towards Beacon and Lion Island. These are two very large islands in the area, which are cut off from Kujwana by the Qwaapu River. The area is criss-crossed with game paths leading you through a chain of rain pans. This is a great contrast to the open flood plains. Mopane forests and acacia woodlands offer a good variety of food for elephant, kudu and giraffe. Breeding herds of elephant enjoy the security of the dense forest and should the pans be holding water, zebra, wildebeest and buffalo will also be found. Animal tracks abound telling you what has been and gone - or what you might still find. Afternoon bird walk, with the opportunity to learn more about the traditional uses of the plants and trees of the area.
Qwaapo Camp - (Fly Camp) A full days ride, heading south into the edge of the floodwaters. Large open areas are ideal for plains game. Large herds of zebra, impala and wildebeest are seen in this area. With the plains game come the predators, wild dog and cheetah are often seen from this camp. The shallow waters also make it a birder's paradise with many waders seen here. Break for a vehicle supported picnic lunch under a shady fig tree, with a siesta. Mount up for an afternoon ride along the Qwaapo River to camp.
Kujwana Camp - A morning ride moving from Qwaapo to Kujwana camp. Shady rain pans and thick riverine forest make this ride an ideal time to track a breeding herd of elephants. Break for a chocolate bar on the edge of a hippo pool, before riding on into more open areas with the chance of picking up a herd of buffalo moving through. Afternoon mokoro allows for a relaxing trip being poled through the watery wilderness surrounding Kujwana.
Kujwana Camp - A rest day for the guests riding for 10 days. There is the option to game drive, walk, mokoro or view a water hole from the hide. Afternoon ride. Two-hour dawn game ride for guests on a five- or seven-night itinerary, returning to camp for breakfast. Guests joining the safari do an orientation ride in the cool of the afternoon as the wildlife stirs from the heat of the day (2 hours ride).
Kujwana Camp - A full morning ride exploring the western Baobab area. Small islands linked by numerous hippo channels eventually lead you onto Baobab Island. A good habitat for Cheetah and breeding grounds for Carmine Bee eaters, our summer visitor. Baobab Island has thick riverine forest and is a good area for general game viewing (and the unexpected). Afternoon game/night drive.
Mokolwane Camp - Move from Kujwana to Mokolwane camp. This is approximately 30km ride heading northwest. The route moves through open floodplains and scattered islands towards the Matsebe river system. A picnic lunch is served on a shady island 2 hours ride from Mokolwane camp. Arrive at sunset. Guests on a 7-night itinerary would ride for 2 hours, returning to camp for a cooked breakfast, flight times permitting.
Mokolwane - Morning game ride. This camp is on the Matsebe river system and features wide open flood plains interspersed with Mokolwane palms, favourite food of elephant and baboon. Good area for plains' game. Afternoon: 1 - 2 hours mokoro experience.
Kujwana Camp - A full days ride from Mokolwane to Kujwana with a picnic lunch along away. A 35 Km ride with 4 hours ridden in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. This ride moves through a variety of game areas fording the Xudum River at numerous hippo channels. Picnic lunch arriving at Kujwana at sunset.
Early morning game ride out of Kujwana camp if flight times permit. Guests leave after breakfast. One hour's game drive to the nearest airstrip for transfer by light aircraft into Maun.
There are fixed departure dates 5,7- and 10-night safaris offering the opportunity to explore the three main river systems in this area, the Xudum, Matsebi and the Kiri River. An area of over 2500 sq. km it is rich in wildlife and variety of fauna and flora. The areas between the three rivers contrast greatly and support different species of game and birds.
Mokoros and fishing are offered as an activity depending on water levels.
10-night itineraries - on day 6 the horses are rested, and other activities are offered, for instance, mokoro with picnic lunch, game drive or bird walk, or a short afternoon ride.
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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