Riding in the Okavango Delta may be considered the Holy Grail of horse riding safaris around the world. It’s spoken amongst hunting circles in England, race horse trainers in Ireland, polo players in Australia and endurance riders in America that riding in the delta is an out of this skin experience. It has the perfect blend of well-oiled steads, a Garden of Eden of animalia, luxurious camps, speed that will turn your knuckles white, oodles of water for horse swimming and a smidgen of adrenalin.

If you were to pull out a map of Botswana this horse riding safari takes place in the south-west of the Moremi Game Reserve in the middle of the largest stretch of continuous sand in the world, the Kalahari basin. Moremi Game Reserve is in the very heart of the Okavango Delta, Botswana’s remarkable wilderness covering more than 15,000 sq km. Each winter (May – August), waters from the Cubango and Cuito Rivers hundreds of kilometres away in Angola combine with local rainfall to create a floodplain. Ten thousand years ago this whole area was a vast lake, but now the waters peter out in the Kalahari Desert further south. The Okavango is perhaps Africa’s last unspoilt wilderness.

The Okavango Delta has been described as a water meadow. Palm islands, grassy flood plains, mopane forests and clear streams. Highest water is normally between May to September. Many of the flood plains are full at this time and the horses wade through from island to island. The going is normally quite good and firm along the edges of the islands allowing the ride to move on at a trot and canter.

Horses used on these safaris are full and part Thoroughbred, Pure Arab, Anglo Arab, American Saddle Bred. Between 14 and 17 hands. Well-schooled, responsive and even temperament. There is a wide range of horses (over 50) suitable for the competition rider to a steady hack. Every effort is made to match horse and rider.