A Horse Riding Safari

Duration: 10 Nights

Highlights: Horse riding safari, game drives, safari walks, fishing and birding.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Okavango Delta

You will be met at Maun airport by a member of a Macatoo team who will assist you with transferring onto the small plane (either a Cessna 206 or 208) that will fly you into camp. The flight time is approximately 30 minutes and offers a bird’s eye view of the Okavango Delta. A safari vehicle will be waiting for you at the camp’s airstrip for the 45-minute game drive – or an exciting boat ride (depending on the time of year) - into Macatoo Camp. After settling into your tent, you will be offered afternoon tea and homemade cake during a briefing from your guide before heading to the barn for a ride. The pace of the evening rides is deliberately slower giving you the time to enjoy the sunsets and make the most of the photo opportunities offered by the birdlife and game. After a hot shower and change, drinks and snacks are served in the comfortable mess tent ahead of a candle-lit dinner by the fire.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: L,D

Day 2 - Okavango Delta

A light breakfast is set up around the campfire ahead of the first long ride of the holiday. There is a wide selection of horses in the barn and Macatoo’s experienced staff has a way of putting together great horse and rider partnerships. Depending on the season, the morning ride may involve some galloping across dried flood plains, swimming through flood waters, or pushing- on through seas of tall grass to watch giraffe, zebra, antelope, elephant, buffalo - whatever is out there. A hearty lunch is served every day – you will need it after all those miles in the saddle. Wine is offered to encourage a little nap before tea and the evening ride. Sundowners are often enjoyed out in the bush before heading back to camp to freshen up. Dinner is always a great occasion at Macatoo, but there is no guarantee that it is always eaten in the same place.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 3 - Okavango Delta

After listening to the dawn chorus over tea, coffee, and rusks in bed, you will have shaken off any first-day riding nerves and be eager to get back on a horse. Heading off in a new direction, the landscape will be quite different from yesterday offering fresh game viewing possibilities and a varied pace of ride – guides are always hoping to see the rare semi-aquatic antelope, the red lechwe. After lunch, the camp pool is an ideal place to cool down or stretch the muscles that are feeling the effects of the time in the saddle. The deck is a great place to soak up some sun, read and doze, but keep your binoculars and cameras handy as zebra, buck, and elephant frequently pass in front of camp.

The evening ride can be swapped for some sunset fishing from boats, or from the banks of pools where hippos wallow. Game drives, walks or boat rides – depending on the time of year – are also available for those wanting time away from the horses or for non-riding partners and guests.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 4 - Okavango Delta

Today, you will ride through a different country, making your way through clouds of bushman hair grass to plains dotted with fig trees. You might encounter giraffe or shyer antelope while passing through mopane woodlands. The pace increases as we break out onto the flood plains, often disturbing troops of baboons. Return to the camp for an afternoon spent at leisure, or the possibility of hiring a helicopter for an hour to gain access to remote and otherwise totally inaccessible parts of the delta with spectacular photographic results.

Finish off the day with a night drive by the spotlight, where the resident clan of hyenas is often spotted. You can spend quite some time watching them from the safety and comfort of the vehicle, over snacks and drinks, as they wake up from their long afternoon rest, groom each other, and prepare for a night of hunting. It is always such a highlight of the holiday to see a big cat – you will have lots to talk about around the dinner table tonight!

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 5 - Okavango Delta

This morning you will ride deeper into the heart of the delta, to corners of the wilderness where vehicles simply cannot reach – horses can get much closer to the big game. Cross high palm islands offer great sweeping views of the Delta plains. You may have joined non-riding friends and family for a walk, drive, or boat ride – but all guests will reunite for an unexpected champagne breakfast under a large baobab tree to swap ‘survivor’ stories from the morning. By now, you will have settled into the wonderful rhythm of camp where great adventure, creature comforts, and downtime are combined to provide a break.

After tea and a gentle sunset ride, you may find yourself at the fabulous tree house where you will have the option to spend the night out, sleeping high up in the tree canopy under the African night sky. From there, it is fascinating to watch and listen as the birds and animals prepare for the night – by roosting, travelling, or preparing to hunt. The barking of baboons and calling lions to provide an unforgettable soundtrack to a night out under the stars. Your guides will stay too, providing great company and peace of mind – for many guests, this is a real highlight of a holiday to Macatoo.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 6 - Okavango Delta

After waking up in the treetops, you are whizzed back to camp by vehicle to change before riding off into new terrain. By now, you will be very ‘riding fit' and eager to pick up the pace even more. You will canter through clouds of bushman hair grass, onto vast plains dotted with fig trees. You will pass giraffes along the way or shyer antelope who disappear into the depths of the mopane woodlands. By the time you reach the expansive flood plains, you will be riding quite fast – you will know your horse well by now and both of you relish a quicker pace and the sense of exhilaration. On the way back to camp, ride through deep reedy areas full of bird life including open-billed storks, squacco herons, slaty egrets, Egyptian geese, and many more before a hearty lunch with the option of a night drive, mokoro, or boating trip.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 7 - Okavango Delta

Don’t forget your pocket camera today, but store it carefully because things could get rather wet as you explore the shallow and deeper flood plains. The reflection of the trees – and your horse – will provide great images to capture. Many of the horses love to eat the lilies as they wade – sometimes swim – through the water. Here, the Cape buffalo can gather in large numbers (anything between a dozen and 2000 at a time). You will be keen to review your pictures after lunch. The evening offers a quiet ride with the by-now familiar smell of wild sage and the warm African dust as the sun goes down, transforming the skyline into a cocktail of oranges and reds. Dinner will be a memorable one with another surprise location in store.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 8 - Okavango Delta

If you haven't yet tried fishing, perhaps today is the day to rest your legs and experience the Delta without worrying about your horse. Most of the fishing spots come with a guaranteed hippo sighting. The birdlife around you will be very busy, particularly towards sunset. Be careful not to take too long to reel in your bream, the kingfishers are very quick, but the African fish eagles are bigger – both will wait for you to do the hard work before they move in to steal your fish prize! You will probably head back to camp in the dark, leaving you just enough time to shower and change before dinner and an evening of fun.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 9 - Okavango Delta

Today, enjoy a fast ride from island to island, tracking game, and running with them on open plains – you won’t even think twice about galloping by now – to a bush brunch in a surprise location. An afternoon snooze, read or bird watching from a hammock beckons – the time is ticking by fast by now, and you will be keen to take in as much of the bush as your senses will allow. The afternoon ride will give you a chance to take some pictures – the light will be sublime. Finish off the day with a fireside dinner under the stars.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 10 - Okavango Delta

You will be familiar enough with the range of horses to request your favourite from the barn for your final long morning ride. By now, you will have seen most of Africa’s Big Five, and riding alongside moving giraffes, antelope and zebras will have become a thrilling, almost daily activity. Make the most of the last bush breakfast, or lunch out in the bush and savour the sights and sounds around you. A last afternoon by the pool sees many guests desperately trying to even up their ‘farmer’s tans’ – brown arms and face, pale bodies and legs! You may feel torn over how to spend your final sunset outing – an evening game drive with a spotlight is often fun, following a local clan of hyenas, or lions out on the hunt. Above your head, Bushbabies leap from branch to branch through terminalia and acacia trees – only seen by the brights of their eyes. The last meal will be special for many reasons.

Overnight: Macatoo Main Camp
Meal Plan: B,L,D

Day 11 - Okavango Delta

The dawn call of the African Fish Eagle has, by now, become as familiar as your morning alarm at home. The delivery of tea or coffee in bed heralds the start of your last morning in camp and you will be anxious to make the most of your final ride. The riding pace will be deliberately quite fast as you cram as much fun as possible into the final hours – be prepared to get wet as you approach deep reedy areas full of bird life including open-billed storks, squacco herons, slaty egrets, and Egyptian geese. You will return to Macatoo along the myriad of waterways lined with large trees, before arriving back at the barn where you say a sad farewell to your horse. There will be just enough time to shower, change and pack before the game drive to the airstrip, for your onward flight and journey.

Meal Plan: B