Horse Riding Holidays in BOTSWANA

Botswana is truly big game country and offers magical horse riding holidays - in particular horseback safaris. The riding here is fast and exciting and aimed at experienced riders apart from the Thamalakane River Ride adjacent to the Okavango Delta which is suitable for all levels of rider.

Botswana has plenty to be proud of. It is internationally recognised as an African success story - stable with a democratic government, peaceful and friendly. It is an unspoilt land, the land of bushmen, the Kalahari desert, the mighty Okavango Delta, mineral wealth, unrivaled game and bird life. Even if you haven't yet visited Botswana you may well feel you know the country through the popular novels by author Alexander McCall Smith. These give a great feel for the country and its people and you'll certainly learn that the Botswanans love their redbush tea! To see a great view of the country see Jeremy Clarkson's Botswana special originally filmed for the BBC.

Unicorn Trails has horse riding holidays in three remarkable areas of Botswana - the famous Okavango Delta in the north, the vast Makgadikgadi Pans further south and the Tuli Block beside the great Limpopo River on the eastern border with South Africa.

The unique Okavango Delta is the largest inland delta in the world. It has a vast network of water channels and an open floodplain. With its annual floods it offers top of the range experiences. The Delta is one of the premier wild life conservation areas in the world. The mighty Okavango River empties into the Kalahari desert and sinks into the ground there. It creates a watery paradise in the desert and is home to a huge diversity of game and bird species. To protect this unique environment the Botswanan government has adopted a policy of minimal infrastructure and limited numbers of visitors. With no roads and lots of water, horses are the ideal way of getting around. The delta is a mecca for wildlife enthusiasts and the experience here differs according to whether you visit in the wet or the dry season. Unicorn offers two luxury horseback holidays in this area. As they both involve riding with Big Game riders should have a secure seat at a walk, trot and canter to enjoy these holidays. Non riders are welcome too and will enjoy their own programme of traditional open jeep and mokoro (canoe) safaris during the days.

The riding at Mawane takes place in the Tuli Block, a totally different area, much drier along the banks of the great Limpopo River and untouched by man. Our riding holiday here is a fast and exciting mobile tented safari in the "Land of the Giants". Here large herds of elephant roam and the "great, green, grey, greasy Limpopo" (in the words of Rudyard Kipling) meanders, where the mighty baobab stands tall and lions and hyena serenade you under the starry African night sky. Accommodation in the base camp is again luxurious and the camping comfortable.

These rides present some of the best game viewing that Africa has to offer and horse holiday safaris second to none. Botswana will deliver a horse riding holiday of a lifetime.