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
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.
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
