We are looking for experienced riders

The Waterberg Trust Challenge Ride 2019

ARE YOU UP FOR A CHALLENGE?

ARE YOU READY FOR AN ADVENTURE IN AFRICA?

Following the success of our fourth annual ride in 2018, we are looking for fit and experienced riders to join us on a sponsored horse safari to raise funds for Save the Waterberg Rhino along with educational, health and welfare projects that uplift the communities in the area.

Overall dates: 26 January to 3 February 2019 

 Ant Baber, owner of Ant’s Nest, has offered to lead us 200kms through the private game reserves of the Waterberg over 6 days, on his beautiful horses.

Sophie Neville  riding on Ant's Nest 2016

PROPOSED ITINERARY                                                                                             

DAY 1 – Sunday 27 January You will be met off your International flight at Oliver Tambo Airport, Johannesburg and driven north, about 3 hours, to Ant’s Nest Private Game Reserve deep in the African bush. Lunch will be served on your arrival. After settling into the lodge we will go for a game ride looking for zebra and wildebeest so that you can try out your horse. If you are not totally happy you can try a different mount the next day - there are about forty to choose from a mixture of Thoroughbreds, Arabs, Friesians, Boerperds. It will be high summer in South Africa so the bushveld will be green. We’ll be able to hear about plans for the ride as we have dinner by the fire that evening.

Sophie Neville riding with white rhino

DAY 2 – Monday 28 January We’ll spend the day riding up to Ant's Hill, viewing game on horseback and looking for a breeding herd of buffalo, as well as rare sable and roan antelope. Each rider will pack a small bag with a swimsuit, wash-bag and clothes for the next three nights on safari. As the sun goes down, you’ll meet white rhino living on the reserve while Tessa Baber gives a talk on the work of Save the Waterberg Rhino. The Waterberg is home to the third largest population of rhino in South Africa, so their protection on the plateau is vital.

Sophie Neville with Save the Waterberg Rhino

DAY 3 – Tuesday 29 January We will set off early, riding east into neighbouring game reserves where we can canter for miles. We are planning to have lunch at the Waterberg Living Museum where we can learn more about rhino from the author and artist Clive Walker, one of South Africa’s leading conservationists. That afternoon we hope ride through a reserve breeding rare golden wildebeest up to Triple B Ranch, the cattle stud owned by Ant’s family for over a hundred years. There are beautiful gardens here and a warm pool. We’ll stay at Windsong Cottage - the farmhouse built in the 1920’s by Alfred Baber, Ant’s grandfather.

Weaver bird nests

DAY 4 – Wednesday 30 January We will ride past the village school on the farm and down to the game reserve at Horizon, which will give us the chance of seeing impala, zebra, giraffe and eland along with primate species, as we might spot vervet monkeys and baboon. Lunch will be enjoyed at a beautiful dam where the horses can graze.  We’ll have a long ride in the afternoon, as we make our way through Lindani private game reserve for the night. There is a good paddock here for the horses, a pool and we should be able to see game from the lodge.

Sophie Neville on Lindani game reserve January 2018

DAY 5 – Thursday 31 January  We will spend the morning riding through Lindani,  where we should see warthog, zebra, giraffe, eland, red hartebeest, wildebeest and greater kudu. We will then make our way back to the lodge for a late lunch, enjoying fast canters on sandy tracks. After a well earned rest, we will swop our horses for a game viewer and drive into the stunning Lapalala Game Reserve, looking for wildlife, before arriving at the Lapalala Wilderness School, which runs residential courses in nature conservation and environmental awareness for local children.

Lapalala Wilderness School

DAY 6 – Friday 1 February  We’ll saddle our horses early to ride to Jembisa, a beautiful private game reserve to the north. After climbing a kloof, we’ll walk down a steep escarpment and ride under high red cliffs where vultures nest. The route takes us along African dirt roads and into the reserve where lunch is planned. That afternoon we will reach the Palala River where the ride ends. After saying goodbye to our horses, we will be able to relax at the lodge, and appreciate comfy beds and hot baths.

Greater Kudu on Jembisa 

Saturday 2 February  After a more leisurely wake-up, we will take a game drive to see ancient bushmen paintings on the reserve before brunch, and then drive to the township in Vaalwater. Here we will visit Lethabo Kids Club in the township of Lesiding  and meet Nurse Grace before heading to the airport via an community sewing project and excellent curio shop. We suggest flight BA54 which leaves at 21.50.

Back to School project

Sunday 3 February Your flight will arrive back in the UK early morning or on Monday 4 February if you opt to take an extra day to relax at leisure at Jembisa to unwind after the demanding ride.

Ant Baber finishing The Waterberg Trust Ride 2018

The ride is a unique opportunity to ride alongside wild animals in this beautiful area, now proclaimed a UNESCO biosphere. The itinerary may change - but only for the better! We are hoping for a group of 12 riders who need to be fit and experienced as there will be approx 25-45kms of riding per day.

Sophie Neville at Jembisa

“I am back at my desk and galloping through the African bush seems light years away! I just wanted to thank you for a really amazing experience... I think you have a winning formula as the riding is wonderful but all the extra experiences such as the school, youth club and church, made it a truly unique experience and insight into the Waterberg.” Mary Riall 2018 TWT rider

Endangered white rhino

Riders pay their own flights, transfers, safari costs and travel insurance.

To participate you need to raise a minimum sponsorship of £1000 for The Waterberg Trust. As a registered UK charity, Gift Aid can then be added. 50% of sponsorship raised will go to Save the Waterberg Rhino Trust and 50% will go to community projects in the Waterberg. While we encourage riders to find sponsorship some of us are raising the donation of £1,000 in other ways such as hosting a sale or asking for donations instead of birthday gifts

Please contact  Belinda or Sophie for help with fundraising ideas and making a Justgiving page (Belinda bchaffer@btinternet.com or Sophie sophie@sophieneville.co.uk)

Since we plan to visit a number of the projects being supported by The Waterberg Trust you will get the chance to meet local people we are helping.

Ant's Nest:  www.waterberg.net

Windsong on Triple B Ranch: http://www.waterbergcottages.co.za

Lindani: http://lindani.co.za/

Jembisa:  www.jembisa.com

Save the Waterberg Rhino:  http://waterberg.net/save-the-waterberg-rhino

You can see photos from previous rides, along with information about the projects and info on how to make donations on The Waterberg Trust website: http://thewaterbergtrust.com

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

Riding on the Coast of Mozambique ~ Part One

Mozambique, where we rode along the coast at Vilanculos

and on the island of Benguerra in the Bazaruto Archipelago 

gazing out over the Indian Ocean

observing traditional life

eating coconut and cashew nut fruit

along with local dishes

riding inland with Pat Retzlaff

to traditional villages

where I spotted this hen-house before coming back along the shore

and

riding home by moonlight

Click here to read more about Mozambique Horse Safaris

Do use the comment box below if you have any questions.
I'm thinking of taking a group of six riders there next year!

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The Waterberg Charity Ride 2015 ~ Part Two ~ Getting Underway

We set off from Horizon Horseback Lodge on a fine sunny morning, making our way along empty tracks and up into the hills of the Waterberg. Our biggest challenge, encountered that first day was the sun. Coming from Europe we'd all been longing for the warmth but a heatwave hit the Limpopo Province and all we could do to cool off was to ride faster.

However we also had cool days when our team of twelve enjoyed excellent game viewing.

We rode with zebra, wildebeeste, eland, blesbok, implala, greater kudu, warthog,oryx, waterbuck, mountain reedbuck,grey duiker, red heatebeeste, jackal, giraffe and saw crocodile, hippo, ostrich, baboon, vervet moneky, slender mongoose, tree squirel, sable antelope, nyla, bush buck and white rhino.

On the first evening we met a debra - a hyrbid standing with it's parents: a donkey stallion and a zebra mare. Everyone kept asking me if we'd see springbok. I explained that we were too far north only to see a pair on our last day.

As horse lovers, we also enjoyed riding past horses kept in the bush. Along with Anglo Arabs and Boerperde you find quite a few Friesian horses bred in South Africa. A highlight of the trip was encountering white rhino at Ant's Hill.

We missed seeing rhino from horseback, but Ant took us out on an evening game drive when we watched a family of four taking an evening mud bath, one by one.

All the riders found the fast sections exhilarating.

On day three we took some of the wide sandy roads up and over the hill from Ant's Nest to Lindani Game Reserve cantering whenever we could.

Riding through the wilderness, where there were no roads or fences, was a great privilege. As well as raising money to uplift the children and students of the region we found ourselves learning about the ecology of the Waterberg Biosphere. In some ways it was a fantastic adventure - a holiday - but the riders paid all their own expenses and were giving freely of their time.

 We also had rivers to cross and hills to climb but the most challenging section was yet to come.

~ The Waterberg Charity Ride 2015 ~ 

If you have any questions 

or would like to find out more about

  the annual Waterberg Charity Ride 

please add a comment in the box below.

To find our Justgiving page
please click here

*******************

We are looking for riders!

Would you like to join us on a sponsored ride through the Waterberg in South Africa to raise funds for the Waterberg Welfare Society Trust?

Are you up for an adventure?

We are looking for riders!

Horizon Horseback Adventures have kindly offered to organise a special safari, taking riders through private game reserves, whose owners have generously offered to host our party. 

It will be an exploratory venture, indeed a unique opportunity to ride alongside wild animals in this beautiful area, now proclaimed a UNESCO biosphere. The group will be led by Sophie Neville, who became a horse safari guide in the Waterberg back in 1992, and is now a trustee of WWST.

Dates: Sunday 25th January 2015 - to - Saturday 31st January 2015 

This enables anyone from the UK to depart from Heathrow on Saturday 24th January and arrive back in the UK on Sunday 1st February.

DAY 1: You will be collected from O.R Tambo international airport, Johannesburg and driven north to Horizon safari lodge (approx. 2.5 hours) in time for lunch. In the afternoon we will enjoy a short introductory ride to ensure everyone’s horses are suitable and stirrups are set correctly.

Horizon’s first passion is its horses and the adjoining landscape is heaven for riders. Miles of sandy tracks enable us to take long canters, while keeping an eye out for wildlife. Our first night will be spent on Triple B Ranch, a traditional homestead in the heart of the Waterberg biosphere reserve.

DAY 2: We’re off! Today we will ride from Horizon lodge to Koshari game ranch, a 1300ha reserve that will whet your appetite for all things ‘Waterberg’.  The area is home to a large number of animal species as well as 250 species of bird. We have a good chance of seeing plains game including giraffe, zebra and many antelope - and will take time to view the buffalo.  The night will be spent in tented accommodation at Koshari with an authentic African dinner served under the stars.

Day 3: Today we will enjoy a full day ride on Ant’s Nest and Ant’s Hill private game reserve. The diverse topography means that it supports over 40 species of game including giraffe, white rhino, sable antelope, buffalo, nyala, gemsbok (Oryx), kudu, Livingstone eland, blue wildebeest (gnu), red hartebeest, zebra, impala, bushbuck, duiker, steenbuck, mountain reedbuck, waterbuck, warthog, blesbuck, baboons, bush-pig, klipspringer, leopard, jackal and brown hyena to name but no lion!

We should be able to fit in a swim with the horse before arriving back at Koshari in time for a much-needed sundowner drink and another night’s camping.

DAY 4: Today we will ride from Ant’s reserve to Lindani. This stunning 3,800ha game farm and safari lodge offers another brilliant game viewing opportunity as well as fantastic going for the horses. With large areas of open savannah bushveld and gently winding sandy tracks, that stretch for many kilometres, some fun will surely be had here!

That night at Lindani we will be joined by resident astronomer Dr Phil Calcott who will lead us on a ‘night sky safari’. In this hugely informative and engaging presentation you will learn about constellations, the life-cycle of stars and be able to see the planets ‘live’ with the help of impressive telescopic equipment.  The Waterberg is a fantastic site from which to star-gaze as there is no light pollution and Dr Phil’s comedic style will have you all leaving as budding astronomers.

DAY 5: From Lindani we ride to Jembisa, a private reserve and lodge that looks down over the Palala river. The ride into Jembisa will take us across open savannah and wetlands and down into the Palala Valley where the river has cut a deep gorge into the sandstone.

From the Palala River we will ride on, up the bank and into Syringa woodland and mixed bushveld. Here we can try to track giraffe as we make our way past iron age archaeological sites.

Jembisa occupies a beautiful and dramatic spot in the Waterberg wilderness where a wide variety of wildlife and bird species can be seen. The lodge offers saddle weary travellers the chance to swim or have a massage and is much celebrated for its excellent food.

DAY 6: Today we ride from Jembisa  back to our starting point – Horizon Horseback. It's a long, long way, so this will be the most challenging leg of the journey.

Hopefully we will arrive in time for sundowners on the plains where zebra and antelope graze with the horses.

The atmosphere of the lodge and its team of passionate and friendly staff will make you feel instantly at home. Enchanting entertainment courtesy of the Sotho choir is planned - the perfect accompaniment to an African sunset.

DAY 7: Unless you want to collapse by the pool, our last morning will be spent riding in the game reserve at Horizon where once again we have a great chance of viewing animals including giraffe, zebra, impala, kudu, warthog and even hippo.

The ride will be followed by lunch and a trip to Vaalwater to meet some of the recipients of your generous sponsorship. This is, after all, what this ride is really about!

~ Waterberg Welfare Society ~

You will see the difference that your fundraising is making to the children and families of the Waterberg and to see some of the inspiring work going on in the local community. After the tour you will be driven back to ORT airport, Johannesburg, for your departure and to start sharing your stories with anyone who’ll listen.

If you would like to travel further in South Africa or neighbouring countries, Horizon would be very happy to advise you. Sophie will be taking 6 riders and a few non-riders on to spend 7 nights with Mozambique Horse Safaris to ride by the Indian Ocean from Monday 2nd February to Monday 9th February.

If you have any questions or would like to book your place, please contact Sophie Neville ~ sophie@sophieneville.co.uk

To participate you need to raise a minimum sponsorship of £1000 for the Waterberg Welfare Society Trust. As a registered UK charity, Gift Aid can then be added.

The cost of safari itself is £1500, per person sharing. This includes airport transfers, riding, accommodation, food and drinks. It does not include flights, tips or travel insurance - which you will need.

To secure your place Horizon will require a non-returnable deposit of £500. The balance of £1,000 must have been paid 6 weeks in advance to Horizon Horseback before the trip commences.

We can help you with fundraising ideas.

While we encourage riders to find sponsorship some of us are raising the donation of £1,000 in other ways such as hosting a sale or asking for donations instead of birthday gifts and then gaining matched funding.

To make your own Justgiving page - please click here

To see Sophie's Justgiving page as an example - click here

You will need to get fit as we may be covering 30km to 50kms a day. It will be high summer in South Africa, so the bushveldt will be green and antelope will have young at foot. It can be hot and sunny or can be overcast and rainy but will not get cold.

To read about the horses please click here

To see more photos of what to expect please click here

The itinerary may change - but hopefully only for the better!

Click here for where we are in South Africa

Information on the camps:

Horizon Horseback ~ website: www.ridinginafrica.com

Triple B Ranch ~ website: www.waterbergcottages.co.za

Koshari Game Reserve  ~ website:  www.koshari.co.za

The Ant Collection ~ website: www.waterberg.net

Lindani ~ website: www.lindani.co.za

Night Sky Safari ~ website www.greatguides.org (astronomy)

Jembisa ~ website: www.jembisa.com

Flights and Transfers:

We find it is best if people book their own flights to Johannesburg - try Trailfinders or Flight Centre.

NB: please book flights that arrive in S.Africa no later than 9.00am and depart from Johannesburg no earlier than 7.00pm. Should you need to arrive late or depart early, a private transfer will be supplied at additional cost.

Make your way to the information desk in the arrivals hall where you will be met and driven to the Horizon safari lodge for lunch.

At the end of the safari we will arrive at Johannesburg airport at 5pm suitable for all flights departing after 7 pm.

Do I need a visa? You must be in possession of a passport that is valid for at least six months after your return date and has at least 3 blank pages. Visas are not needed for those with British passports. Please check if you come from elsewhere.

What vaccinations do I need? Vaccinations and malaria medications are not required however we recommend your tetanus to be up to date.

Are riding helmets compulsory? Yes, hard hats are mandatory and you will not be able to ride without one.  We can provide helmets, but suggest you bring their own. We do not provide half-chaps but might have the odd pair extra should they be needed.

What should I bring? As well as comfortable riding clothes and your hard hat, please bring the following; Bum bag, lip salve, strong sun protection cream factor 20 or higher, short boots and chaps. (Long rubber boots are not advised), swimming costume, light weight long sleeved shirts, raincoat,  camera with memory cards and camera batteries, small torch (head torch style highly recommended) your own towels and toiletries.

What is the pace of the riding? This safari is for fit, experienced riders. You must be someone who rides at least twice a week, be comfortable at an extended canter and be able to cope with long hours in the saddle.

What is included in the package price? Accommodation, riding, meals, all beverages including house wines and a selection of spirits. The cost does not include international air flights, travel insurance or gratuities.

Is there a laundry service? We will be able to offer a limited laundry service when packing do bear this  in mind as it helps not to have too much luggage.  We can normally turn laundry around within 48 hours (excluding the 30 or so days a year that it rains!)

What is the accommodation like? This will vary from A-frame tents with beds, sheets and duvets and ensuite bathrooms to comfortable guest houses with shared bathrooms. Meals are picnic lunches and evening meals cooked around the fire.

Single supplements? Bookings are taken on a 'willing to share basis'. If you want a single room there would be 50% supplement.

What are the horses and tack like ? The horses have been selected for their temperament and rideability and all walk-out. They have been carefully chosen from the various South African breeds, which are well known for being of a tougher nature - able to cope under extreme conditions. These breeds include the Boerperd, Shire- cross-Thoroughbreds, Appalosas, and the S.A. Warmblood. They range in size from 14.3h. to 17h. Tack is McClellan trail saddles and snaffle bridles

Do cell phones work?  Yes in most places although there will be areas of no coverage

Useful contact numbers: Please give loved ones who may need to contact you for any reason can contact Laura on 0027(0)83-4191929 or laura@ridinginafrica.com.

In the case of a badly delayed flight: please dial 0027(0)834191929 during the day and after hours on +27(0)14755-4009.

Money: We suggest you don’t change too much money into the local currency as your holiday is fully inclusive - however there is a local craft shop! Gratuities are at your discretion and can be paid in pounds, euros or dollars.