Makgadikgadi Horse Riding Safari
Duration: 6 Days
Start: Camp Kalahari, Makgadikgadi Pans
End: Camp Kalahari, Makgadikgadi Pans
Languages: English
Explore one of the most extraordinary and mezmerising parts of Botswana from a different perspective – high up on horseback!
The six-day trip combines three nights at Camp Kalahari with two nights fly camping in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans.
You’ll explore this vast and mysterious area on horseback, just as the earliest explorers, hunters and missionaries did. There’s also the chance to get up close and personal with the habituated meerkats of the Makgadikgadi, meet the Bushmen who call the desert their home, and search for rare and elusive desert-adapted species.
Day 1: Arrive at Camp Kalahari, Makgadikgadi Pans
Today you’ll meet your host and guide at Camp Kalahari. You’ll be matched with your four-legged companion, before getting stuck straight into the action with an afternoon horse ride across the plains.
This journey begins at Camp Kalahari on Brown Hyena Island at the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. The camp is laidback, quirky and fun. As well as six twin tents and four doubles, there’s also a family unit with two tents and an inter-leading bathroom, perfect if you’re travelling with younger kids. The swimming pool is the ideal spot for some siesta-splashing.
Overnight at Camp Kalahari
Day 2: Makgadikgadi Pans
Kick off the day with a lengthy ride through the ancient lakebed, grasslands and sand dunes. In the afternoon, the horses will have a break as you head out on a game drive to search for the desert-adapted species.
Overnight at Camp Kalahari
Day 3: Makgadikgadi Pans, Xau Xai Fly Camp
It will take most of the day to reach Xau Xai Fly Camp by horseback. You’ll canter through mopane and acacia woodlands, stop at the famous Green’s Baobab for lunch, and search for ancient hunting tools in Gutsa Pan, before arriving at the fly camp as the sun sets.
During your time at Xau Xai Fly Camp, you’ll be staying in rustic but comfortable dome tents. Each has a private bathroom with a loo and bucket shower, and there’s plenty of hot water too. Meals will be cooked over the fire, and you will experience the magic of camping in the heart of the bush.
Overnight at Xau Xai Fly Camp
Day 4: Makgadikgadi Pans
Today you’ll meet the Kalahari’s fascinating habituated meerkats and enjoy a bush walk to a nearby water hole to look for some of the Kalahari’s bird species.
There aren’t many experiences than can beat riding a horse through Botswana’s Makgadikgadi salt pans, especially when there’s wildlife involved too. You’ll ride alongside herds of zebra, wildebeest and hartebeest, and will probably encounter an ostrich or two along the way. Game drives will yield sightings of springbok, gemsbok, red hartebeest and, if you’re lucky, the brown hyena, one of the rarest species on the continent. There may also be a chance to see the black-maned Kalahari lion, and some magnificent birds of prey. And then of course, the habituated meerkat of the Kalahari. Meeting the cheeky creatures is a special experience, and on cooler days they’ll sometimes snuggle into you for warmth. In fact, some will even clamber onto your head to use you as a lookout post!
Overnight at Xau Xai Fly Camp
Day 5: Return to Camp Kalahari
Ride back to Camp Kalahari exploring another area of the pans.
Overnight at Camp Kalahari
Day 6: Departure
Spend the morning in a traditional Zu/’hoasi Bushmen village. You’ll meet the community elders, before walking with the Bushmen and learning how they survive in the harsh environment. In the afternoon, it’s time to bid farewell to your horse, and begin the journey home.
Do you need more information? Feel free to contact us!
+2264-61-375 650 info@natural-destinations.com
Important information
Cancellation policy
A non-refundable deposit of 25% of the full value of the booking is payable upon confirmation of any reservation. The balance of the full amount is due no later than 8 weeks prior to arrival. Where reservations are made within 31 days of date of arrival, payment is due within 72 hours.
All bookings are on request only and you will receive a separate booking confirmation from Natural Destinations together with payment infos. Any booking is only 100% confirmed once payment has been received.
