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South Africa
Sunshine Coast Beach Trail

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from £1,345 or €1,555

Horse Riding Holidays South Africa – Sunshine Coast Beach Trails

PRICES & DATES top

Sunshine Coast Beach Trail: Prices 2023

Suitable for intermediate plus riders. 
GBP, £ EUR, € USD, $
Choose your currency

    • 7 nights – $1,699
      • GBP: 1,345
      • EUR: 1,568
      per person sharing
    • Single supplement – $278
      • GBP: 220
      • EUR: 257
      – Single rooms available subject to availability.

Sunshine Coast Beach Trail: Dates 2023

13-20 January, 27 January – 3 February
10-17 February. 24 February – 3 March
7-14 April, 21-28 April
3-10 June, 17-24 June
1-8 July, 15-22 July, 29 July – 5 August
8-15 September, 22-29 September
6-13 October, 20-27 October
3-10 November, 17-24 November
1-8 December

Note: Rates are subject to daily exchange rate fluctuations, please refer to our ‘Terms & Conditions’ for full details.

Includes – All the riding, full board accommodation, drinks with meals & airport transfers.

Excludes – Flights, drinks & tips.

Getting There
International flight to Port Elizabeth or East London.

Transfers
Included – your driver will pick you up at the airport and it’s a 1.5 hours’ drive to Kenton on Sea.

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.

SUMMARY OF THE TRIP top

This ride is fantastic value and a great choice for budget conscious travellers who want the opportunity to ride in Africa. The accommodation and set up is not luxury, it’s camping and rustic but our clients love it and enjoy the small owner managed family team who host it. The joy is the fit horses, the unspoilt beaches, crossing rivers and great outdoor adventure…there is even one day riding in a game reserve to give you a taste of safari! Then, as the sun sets on the day, sitting around the fire with a glass of wine in hand or a beer, you will be reminiscing about your day! If this sounds like heaven this is the trail for you, following the Sunshine Coast from Kenton on Sea, riding fit, Part Bred Arab horses over sandy beaches, swimming across rivers, exploring the many coves and shipwrecks along the way. Owner Jono has a background in endurance riding and has developed this ride, he is backed up by a guide who brings you out and cook/cleaner. It’s a friendly family affair that feels like riding with friends more than a commercial operation and of course it’s a great price too. The itinerary included a day riding in a safari park as well as a visit to the famous Addo Elephant park (in a minbus) so it’s a good way to gain a taster of game viewing too. This ride is suited to good confident riders who are not looking for luxury and just want an action-packed good fun week of fast riding, swimming plus a taste of game viewing too all at fantastic value.

An exceptional way to discover this area of ever-changing landscapes, led by local guides exploring unspoilt beaches, tidal rivers, coastal forests and grasslands.

THE RIDING top

Horses – Mostly Part Bred Arabs, with some TB & Boerperd Crosses.

Level of Riding & Pace – Intermediate to Advanced. The riding is a mix of paces to suit the different terrain and is fast in places. You need to be confident riding in open spaces and in control at a fast pace. This trail is not suitable for very nervous or novice riders. There are also river crossing where you swim with your horses, so you need to be happy to do this.

Tack – Trail type saddles and snaffle bridles.

Weight Restriction – 15 1/2 stone / 100kg / 220 lbs.

Group Size – Maximum 8

ACCOMMODATION top

Accommodation along the trail is a mix of accommodation, both guest/beach houses and comfortable but rustic bush camp accommodation. All the accommodation is either on the beach or very close to it and many of the rooms a mix of twins and doubles have sea views.

The tented bush camp is very tranquil and well situated among indigenous trees and shrubs. There is a small “mess” room and dining room to retire should there be any bad weather. Note this room is quite tight if there is a full ride…Jono is planning to expand the space for 2024. There are two shared identical shower/toilet facilities with flush toilets and hot water. The tents have 2 camp beds, with duvets, pillows and viewing decks to enjoy nature. There is no electricity, so everything is solar, including phone chargers in the common room so bring a head torch!

This week-long stay includes all meals, and you can expect home-made food with picnic lunches and multi-course dinners.

Breakfast is buffet style, mostly continental, with some cooked options. Lunches are simple and packed, expect sandwiches and fruit. Dinners are wholesome, freshly prepared, with local ingredients and influences, expect at least one South African Braai. Of course there is always a decent South African table wine on tap as well as beers.

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 on the Sunshine Coast are part of the Zara’s Planet collection of Horse Riding Holidays South Africa.

Please Ask About

  • Cape Winelands riding trip
  • A riding safari in Botswana
  • Cape Town
  • Victoria Falls

SAMPLE ITINERARY top

Sunshine Coast Beach Trail Itinerary

We will meet you at the airport and drive by vehicle to Kenton and stay at the tented camp. After a short introduction briefing we will go for a short river ride followed by drinks and snacks. The evening meal is normally fresh fish.

Day 1: We have an English breakfast and then we get into the bus and drive to the start of the trail at Port Alfred. The scenery is incredibly beautiful and the beaches mostly deserted. We have a pack lunch at the rocky outcrops of the “Ship rock”. After lunch we have long canters which are often in the surf as the tide pushes in. Also popular is swimming with the horses in the lagoon. We stay overnight in Kasuga.

Day 2: After breakfast we head off on the horses to Kenton-on-Sea.  The beaches are exceptionally beautiful. Long beach canters on this day.
We swim across the Kariega River and have a picnic lunch on the banks of the Kariega River. After lunch we then head upriver to the Beachcomber’s tented camp in the late afternoon. The tented camp has fantastic views of the river and the horses are close by. We normally have a barbecue and enjoy snacks and sundowner drinks on the deck overlooking the river.

Day 3: After breakfast, we ride in the nearby game reserve. Here we will look for elephants, giraffes, buffalo and many other game animals. We ride most of the day and leave the reserve by 3pm. Weather depending, swim and sundowners at the beach.

Day 4: This day we head off to Addo Elephant national park in the minibus and spend the day driving around in the reserve looking for animals. They have all the big 5 and it is the best place in the world to see African Elephants. We return to the tented camp in the evening.

Day 5: After an English breakfast, we ride from the camp to Cannon Rocks. We must swim the horses across the Bushman’s River which is always a highlight. We will have a picnic lunch at the remote Diaz Cross. We then continue up the coast to the next overnight stop. The beaches are spectacular here. Along the way we will visit a Stone Age pottery site. The accommodation is a beach house with nice views.

Day 6: This day we ride back to the Tented camp. Sometimes it is possible to gallop on this day.  In the afternoon we do a boat trip up the Kariega River, often swimming and enjoying the tranquillity of the area. This night we will have a braai and drinks around the fire.

Day 7: We do a short morning ride depending on departure time

DESTINATION MAP top

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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