Back from the Waterberg

In February 1992 I flew to the Waterberg, three hours north of Johannesburg and started writing the letters home that later became the essence of my memoir 'Ride the Wings of Morning'. 

The dream of riding through the game reserves of South Africa has not ended. This March it became a reality for twelve British riders when they took up the challenge of joining me in raising £1,000 each for Save The Waterberg Rhino and local community projects. 

The team was made up of experienced riders and was led by Ant Baber, who appears in the book.

Endless sandy tracks ensured the going was good and the pace was both fast and exhilarating.

The idea was to traverse 175kms  of remote country

while taking the opportunity to learn about rhino conservation and discover more about the Waterberg in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

If you would like to get involved or find out more The Waterberg Trust have a Facebook page here. Riders are raising sponsorship on Justgiving.com here

Author Sophie Neville riding with rhino, March 2016

Riding through Georgia

Sunlight flooded through the trees as we rode along ancient tracks through woodland and forest,

making our way through the hills and valleys of Georgia,

to visit ancient fortifications and monasteries, built on the crossroads of Asia and Europe and yet now only accessible for those on foot.

St George, the patron saint of Georgia, as well as England, was honoured in every church.

He was often depicted on a horse not so very different from those we rode,

crossing bridges constructed more than a thousand years ago

making our way up through unfenced pasture land

and on over the hills, sleeping in tents or staying with villagers.

It was an exciting way to see the country. For more details, please click here.

Sophie Neville in Georgia

The Waterberg Charity Ride 2015 ~ Part Three

As we rode north the terrain became rockier, the weather warmer. The Waterberg Charity Ride became more of the challenge we'd expected. However by now we were acclimatized and fitter and appreciated the amazing scenery on Jembisa, a private game reserve on the Palala River.

The horses were amazingly shore-footed. Most of them had gone barefoot all their lives and were used to rocks.

We dismounted to spare them the toughest sections.

One thing is certain. With tough going we riders were incredibly grateful to be provided with lunch in the bush by the amazing staff at Jembisa.We were even treated to cool hand-towels.

And celebratory drinks:

What do you do when you've ridden 175 kilometers?  You turn around and ride back again.

However, after another 25kms, we were treated to a wonderful evening at Jembisa with dinner under the stars. The next day we paid a visit to Timothy House, the children's day centre at the Waterberg Welfare Society where learnt about ongoing projects to combat HIV/AIDS and met a number of young people aspiring to train as auxiliary nurses.

I had the privilege of taking books and other learning materials, that the riders kindly had brought out from the UK, to one of the farm schools in the area where I know they will be treasured.

To learn more about the work of the Waterberg Welfare Society Trust please click here.

The Justgiving.com page for our sponsored ride can be found here.

If you would like to join the Waterberg Charity Ride 2016 

please use the comments box below to contact us