African Safari Consultants

African Horseback Safari Camp
(Okavango-Botswana)

Location:

Home to a kaleidoscope of almost every creature in Africa, the Okavango Delta transcends the rules of mother nature by lying in the heart of the scorched drylands of the Kalahari.

Situated in the south-western Okavango, The Horseback Safari Camp stands proudly on a palm fringed island, surrounded by infinite grassy plains, punctuated with water meadows and seasonal lagoons.

Intimate and comfortable, the Camp's attention to detail allows you to relax and enjoy yourself

Accommodations:

Our Classic Hemmingway style camp provides you with the creature comforts of life whilst allowing you to experience the wild beauty of the African bush .

The camp features large twin bedded tents, each with their own en-suite shower and loo. Centrally there is a large furnished mess tent.

Each tent is secluded with a spacious verandah and armchairs overlooking the flood plain dotted with palm trees. Tucked away in the trees is a small pool.
 Recommended Stay:
 
To explore the Delta and enjoy the true splendor of being out in the wilderness, we recommend that guests stay for 5 nights, which gives you the opportunity of spending a few nights at our seasonal fly camps.

Neutral colors, hard hat or a broad brimmed hat which must stay on firmly, riding trousers, riding gloves, jersey or warm jacket (especially June-August), shorts, long-sleeve shirts, T-shirts, swimsuit, socks, raincoat (seasonal), sunglasses, sunblock, insect repellant, camera and plenty of film, binoculars, light weight riding boots (we have a selection of half chaps available as heavy riding boots are not advisable) and Malaria prophylactics.

Riding Ability:

Need to be reasonably competent, feel comfortable and secure in the saddle and able to control a horse at all paces.

Riders Weight Limit:
210 lbs or 95 kg

Luggage Limit:
12 kg per person for small aircraft transfers.

Tack:
Choice of good English or Western styled trail saddles.

Number of Riders:
Limited to groups of 10 or less.

Horses:
Range from 140 cm and 165 cm in height and are either Namibian Hanoverians, Kalahari Crossbreeds, South African Boerperde, and Moroccan Barb Arabs.

Weather Conditions:
Summer months are November to March. The rains can start in October with the occasional thunder shower. The temperatures vary from 12 to 38 C mid-day. Winter is May to the end of August with no rain. Evening and early mornings are cold. The temperature varies from 8 C to 24 C mid-day. Due to the rainy season, Horseback Safari Camp is closed from 15 December to the end of February.

Game Viewing / Activities:

As dawn breaks, fresh tea and coffee is served to you at your bedside. And while the sun rises over the floodplain, you watch the wildlife shed its misty morning shroud.

Bursting with life, the bush continuously shifts and transforms as you ride from island to island. With rider, horse and game becoming one, you thunder through the shallows, stirring up plumes of cooling spray as a herd of red lechwe drum through the deeper waters.

Emerging from the shallows, you hear the sound of hooves hitting land and reverberating off a nearby lagoon. With a great love for the wilderness, your hostess Sarah-Jane Gullick orchestrates this exciting adventure by drawing on her years of experience and implementing an interactive approach to the Horseback Safaris. Game drives (day and night), Bird Walks,  and Seasonal Mekoro  (Canoes).

Rates:

AFRICAN HORSEBACK SAFARIS, run by Sarah Jane Gullick, is one of the smallest, most intimate camps in the Delta. With a maximum of 10 guests, additional activities range from walking trails and game drives, to mekoro trails (seasonal) utilizing horseback camp.

Package rates include all accommodation, meals, bar and safari activities.

 Please note that the rates are quoted in GB Pounds Sterling

The new "Secret Green Season"
 (Jan, Feb, March, April & Nov, Dec)

 GBP250 per person per night

Mid Season
 May, June, July & October

GBP300 per person per night

Peak Season 
(Aug & Sept)

GBP375 per person per night

(Maximum 10 clients, minimum stay 3 nights)

Single Supplement:  50% of daily rate will be waived if you share

Charter Flight: Maun to Horseback camp one way:

GBP115 per person


Recommended Stay: 

5 nights or longer, minimum stay 3 nights.  Arrival and departures on Tuesday and Fridays.

Prices Include:
Accommodation in tented bush camp and fly camps.
Services of horse guides and trained camp staff.
All meals and drinks (within reason)
Daily laundry and ironing services in main camp.
Comprehensive first aid kits and radio contact with Maun.
Transfer to and from the airstrip to camp.

Prices Exclude:

 Visa's travel and medical insurance which is essential.
Transport from your home to Maun and return.
Charter flight from Maun to camp.
Gratuities and items of a personal nature.


African Horseback Safari Camp
(Okavango-Botswana)
Sample Itinerary
 of a 7 night / 8 day horseback adventure with African Horseback Safaris and Sarah Jane Gullick.

Day 1
On arrival in Maun you are met and transferred by plane and a game drive to our camp which overlooks a seasonally flooded lagoon.  After lunch under the trees there is time for a rest before the evening ride where you can get to know your horse.  We return, as every evening, to a candle-lit dinner.
Day 2
The sun rises at your feet as you enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in bed.  After a light breakfast we ride westwards following elephant trails from one palm island to another. through seas of grass into the backcountry.  After lunch and a siesta we ride out into the plains, later enjoying a drink while the sun goes down.
Day 3
We leave camp early to investigate fresh game tracks, joining semi-aquatic red lechwe as they thunder through the water meadows.  A champagne breakfast is waiting for us under large ebony trees.  The evening ride is spent exploring the upper flood plains where elephant often gather at Lion Pool.  As dusk closes in we have drinks around the fire.
Day 4
We ride through different country, making our way through clouds of bushman hair grass to an elephant graveyard.  We might encounter giraffe or shyer antelope while passing through acacia woodlands.  Our pace increases as we break out into the flood plains, often disturbing troops of baboons.  Returning to the camp for an afternoon spent at leisure we leave in the evening for the Baobab and a night drive by spotlight.
 

Day 5
While staff pack up we leave for our fly camp, riding into drier Kalahari country. On reaching another river system we find our fly camp looking out over a hippo pool.    Here we stay for two nights.  The afternoon may be spent swimming or walking.   Fires are lit at night to create a strong human presence to keep marauding animals away for the horses.  Night watches are fun and the guests usually join in.
 
Day 6
Having kept watch under the stars the next morning we splash through water on the vast open plains, home to cheetah and giraffe.  The riding may be fast as we approach deep reedy areas full of bird life.  After a picnic lunch we venture out again to the large lagoon to listen and watch as the night draws in and a lion starts to call.
 
Day 7
After breakfast we ride back to base camp along the myriad of waterways lined with    large trees.  We canter through the shallow flood plains avoiding deeper pools of lilies.  Here the buffalo gather in numbers and we have to creep up to them using islands for cover.  The evening offers a last quiet ride with memorable smells of sage as the sun goes down.
 
Day 8
For your final ride we will go along some of the high palm islands which offer great vistas.  We'll maybe take a final exhilarating gallop and run with the game before returning to camp to prepare for your onward travel.

African Safari Consultants
 1042 Willow Creek Road # A101 - 240
 Prescott, AZ 86301

T O L L     F R E E     ( 8 6 6 )     S E E   -   G A M E
T O L L     F R E E     ( 8 6 6 )     7 3 3   -  

4

 2 6 3