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African Horseback Safaris
Few horse safaris can rival the excitement you will find at Sarah-Jane Gullick's African Horseback Safaris at Macatoo in Botswana's Okavango Delta. Here you will enjoy riding superb horses in outstanding country, where almost every landscape is dotted with game.
African Horseback Safaris is open from March through to January. Green Season runs from March to April and then again during the rainy season from November to January. Temperatures during March and April are warm to hot (approximately 25-35 degrees Celsius), with warm evenings (10-20 degrees). November to January tends to see temperatures around 30-40 degrees. Game during March and April is generally dispersed. The floods typically arrive in the Delta in the cooler months of May and June, and recede again in October. High Season at the camp runs from July through to October. This is the camp's winter so early mornings and evenings can be chilly, with day-time temperatures pleasant at around 25 degrees. The waters during these winter months are at their highest. As the flood waters recede around camp through September and October, and daily temperatures become progressively hotter (approximately 30-40 degrees Celsius) you will be most likely to see concentrated herds of game.
All guests must arrive on Saturdays; departures are on Tuesdays or Saturdays. A minimum stay of four nights is required, but we recommend a 7- to 10-night stay to enjoy the best that the Okavango Delta has to offer. A stay of seven nights or longer will enable you to visit a fly-camp.
Macatoo is a small, comfortably furnished en-suite tented camp, providing you with the creature comforts of life while allowing you to experience the wild beauty of the Delta. The camp has a shaded deck and plunge pool for relaxing during the hotter hours of the day. African Horseback Safaris is run by Sarah-Jane Gullick, who draws on many years of experience to share with you her passion for horses and the African wilderness. She and her long-serving team have created a wonderfully friendly and relaxed camp atmosphere, where tremendous attention is paid to detail and excellent food.
The horses at Macatoo are much loved, well-mannered and adapted to the terrain and wildlife in the Delta. From Arab crossbreeds to Hanoverian Thoroughbreds, there is a horse to suit everyone. Both English and Western trail saddles are available, to meet guests' preferences. Outrides typically take place during the cooler early morning hours and late afternoon. The riding pace is varied - at times you will walk quietly, stalking game, or admiring the rich bird life of the Delta; at others, you will enjoy a fast-paced canter through the water-meadows alongside galloping giraffe and lechwe antelope. Here you can ride across the plains with herds of giraffe or zebra, track elephant or buffalo from island to island, canter and splash through lagoons with antelope, or simply enjoy the setting sun whilst listening to the calls of lion or hyena. Qualified guides lead you through your journey into this wilderness, sharing with you their intimate knowledge of the region. You will learn how the
Delta's life-giving waters spill into the sands of the Kalahari, changing the landscape from endless seas of grass into sparkling water meadows attracting sizeable herds of game. Game normally seen from horseback or at camp include elephant, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, lion, blue wildebeest, spotted hyena, tsessebe, reedbuck, lechwe, jackal, baboon, vervet monkey, warthog, mongoose, spring hare, porcupine and crocodile. You might even get the opportunity to spot more elusive game, such as cheetah, leopard, serval, honey badger, pangolin and aardwolf.
Non-riding activities include game drives and night drives, guided walks or, during the flood season, trips through the lagoons by boat or canoe. A minimum age limit of 12 years is required of all guests at Macatoo.
To reach Macatoo Camp from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, you will take a two-hour flight from Johannesburg to Maun. You will be met at Maun and transferred to a chartered Cessna 206 for your brief game-viewing air-adventure to Macatoo. On arrival at the airstrip, you will be met and driven to the African Horseback Safaris camp itself. Depending on your itinerary, you may also fly to Maun in Botswana from Victoria Falls via Harare, from Windhoek in Namibia, or from Gaborone in Botswana.
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