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

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 

Crossing the Andes into Chile

A collection of saddles and bridles outside my tent

The day dawned when we woke on the Argentinian side of the Andes mountain range knowing that we would soon cross the border into Chile.

After breakfast cooked on the fire,

 We saddled up our horses.

The morning was spent riding higher and higher as we made our way towards a certain, iconic volcano.

We finally crossed a river into a National Park that straddles the border with Chile.

Sadly our Argentine horses were not permitted to cross into Chile due to veterinary controls. We ended up having to walk through passport control, out saddlebags flung over our shoulders.

To our surprise the most wonderful lunch was awaiting us, together with glasses of Chilean champagne.

Small, but beautifully presented horses were tethered up under the bushes.

I was given a Palamino.

We rode off, descending from the Andes watershed into valleys which seemed to be surprisingly Alpine in appearance.

My little pony proved quite a handful, but a sparky and amusing ride.

Sophie Neville having ridden across the Andes into Chile

For more information please click here.

Riding through a monkey puzzle forest

As we rode up into the Andes mountains we came across more and more monkey puzzle trees. I had never seen so many growing together.

It began to dawn on me that I had never seen them in the wild. This is because the monkey puzzle is naturally found in only a small area, high up on the Argentinian border with Chile where they grow alongside bamboo and a variety of deciduous trees.

I didn't know that there were both male and female trees or that you could eat the seeds in the same way as you can eat pine nuts.

I believe it was Charles Darwin who gained some of these seeds during his epic voyage in HMS Beagle. These did well in the moist British climate and soon it was all the rage to grown one and they sprang up outside Victorian villas.

It was wonderful to see monkey puzzle tress growing in the mountains where they belong. We came across some of great height that must have been 400 years old or more. Of course they have not been in Europe long enough to gain such a great age.

Other trees on the mountainside were hanging with moss - indicating just how high the rainfall can be.

It resembled the copious wrapping on the roast chicken kept in our saddlebags for lunch, which was laid out on the trunk of a monkey puzzle that had come down sometime before.

We rode on, climbing steadily. The going was slow but the sun shone and the varied vegetation held our interest.

It was spring and the mountain flowers were blooming all around us.

Eventually we stopped under a grove of near a useful fenced paddock.

Whilst we made up our camp for the night the horses were able to freely graze on the slopes.

Our guides relaxed in the shade.

Whilst our wonderful Argentinian back-up team organised supper.

A well-earned meal, cooked along with Monkey Puzzle nuts on an open fire.

Riding into the Andes Mountains

Breakfast on the mountain side.

Looking forward to the day ahead.

Horses tacked up

and away.

riding in a land where fences are few 

colours are vibrant and condors soar 

Nigel Harvey is looking for riders to join a group hoping to ride across the Andes early next year. If you are interested please contact Ride Worldwide