Ride Overview
Fancy the chance to relax in a luxury safari lodge but don’t want to miss out on the tented safari experience? This is your ride! It takes all the best parts of our Signature Safari ride with a midweek (independent) transfer to Botswana to round out your last days with a Karen Blixen style safari in the bush – a remarkable experience all around.
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2025 Dates and Rates: (based on a 7 night trip) This year we have two options:
4 Nights South Africa/3 Nights Botswana
Low Season: Jan. 3-30, Dec. 5-Jan. 4, 2026 – $3,165.00 USD per person sharing
High Season: Feb. 1-Dec. 6 – $4,040.00 USD per person sharing
4 Nights Botswana/3 Nights South Africa
Low Season: Jan. 1-31, Dec. 3-31 – $3,370.00 USD per person sharing
Mid Season: Feb. 1-March 28 – $4,130.00 USD per person sharing
High Season: March 29-Dec. 2 – $4,330.00 USD per person sharing
Single Supplement: 50% of trip rate
Transfers can be arranged round trip for $700.00 USD per person.
Included
- 7 nights accommodation
- 6 days of riding
- All meals
- Beverages with meals
- Horse and all tack
- All local taxes
Not Included
- Airfare
- Airport transfers
- Travel Insurance
- Gratuities for the team at each locale
- $30.00 per person Botswana Conservation Fee (paid locally)
- Extra Game Drive - $65.00 USD per person
Day 1
You will be met at Johannesburg International Airport and transferred to Camp Davidson in time for a late lunch, approximately 3.5 hours. That afternoon you will be introduced to your safari horse. We will insure that you are matched with a horse to suit your ability and experience before heading off on your ride.
On route through the Matlapeng reserve the ride will pass “Red Dam” where you are likely to encounter our pod of resident hippo. You will then ride to a stunning lookout spot for sundowner drinks before returning to Camp Davidson.
Day 2
A day of exploration in the reserve, tracking giraffe, zebra, eland, wildebeest, kudu and impala. You pass “Sunset Lake” where resident fish eagles and Spur-Winged geese are often spotted and its shallow banks give you a great opportunity for some excellent photos as you canter through the water.
We return to camp in time for lunch and a chance to relax by the pool. The afternoon ride takes you on a track with a good chance of more hippo viewing and some nice long canters.
In the evening there is the option of a night sky safari with a local astronomer who will guide you through the amazing constellations.
Day 3
A morning ride with a chance to track game, you will enjoy some of the jumping lanes (jumping is optional) and finish off with a swim with the horses in one of the many reserve lakes before returning to camp for large and lazy lunch.
After lunch we depart for a game drive in a “Big Five” private game reserve, with a chance to see rhino, lion, elephant, buffalo and leopard.
Day 4
A full day ride west of camp takes you to a neighboring game reserve. This ride offers lovely long canters on sandy tracks and great game viewing opportunities on large plains populated by wildebeest, hartebeest, sable, eland and blesbok among others.
Then it’s on to the historic Baber homestead for lunch by the poolside. This afternoon you return to camp via the local Sotho village and visit Beadle, a craft workshop on Triple B Ranch which has a community upliftment project since 1998. The crafters specialize in beautiful handmade beadwork and leather products including riding chaps.
You finish the the day with sundowners at a favorite lookout spot and return to the tranquility of Camp Davidson where dinner is served under the stars.
Day 5
You leave camp early and all riders are mounted for a last ride through the reserve, soaking up the early morning sights and sounds of the African bush as you head to the Horizon Lodge.
Leaving the Lodge by 9:30AM, you are then transferred (fee not included) to the camp in Botswana, a drive of approximately 4 hours.
Once at the stables an introductory afternoon ride with familiarize you with your horse for this leg of the safari, at the end of which you will arrive to the Two mashatus camp in time to freshen up before supper.
Day 6
An early wake up call with tea/coffee is brought to your tent, followed by breakfast around the campfire. You will make an early start each day to enjoy the freshness of the morning and to maximize game viewing opportunities.
The group is given the choice of a longer morning ride and an afternoon guided walk, or two shorter rides. Undoubtedly, the large herds of elephant for which the Tuli is renowned will be encountered, as well as many different species of antelope. Giraffe, zebra, bat-eared fox, jackal, hyena and possibly even lion, leopard, wild dog and cheetah can be seen.
You will arrive back to Two Mashatus camp in time for lunch and a cooling afternoon in the shad camp or lazing by the pool. This afternoon the group have the choice of an afternoon ride or a guided walk along the Limpopo River, enjoying the rich birdlife, spotting crocodile in the pools and learning about the magnificent trees lining the banks.
Day 7
Ride out following the movements of wildlife in the area. The tempo of the rides is always varied and depending on the terrain, there are opportunities to enjoy the spirit and fitness of the horses at a faster pace.
The afternoon brings a chance to enjoy a Mashatu game drive. Mashatu is famous for big cat sightings and this is definitely a wonderful opportunity for keen photographers to capture sightings of lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena and elephant.
Day 8
The last ride in the Limpopo Valley is a great opportunity to take one last picture of
elephants and enjoy a long and winding canter through the scattered Mustard bush
with your guides.
After a last morning ride back to the stables there is time for a quick shower and brunch at the reception area before heading back to the Johannesburg International Airport. The transfer is approximately 6 hours by road.
* Please be aware that due to changes in weather and other unforeseen events the itinerary may be changed at the last minute.
Anna M.
This trip was absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for all your help and I will be doing this again.
It was over the top, and more than I ever expected, and better than I ever imagined. I have more tours ahead of me, I’m sure.
Thank you so much for all your kind help and attention.
Alix J.
I highly recommend any safari trip like this! I did a custom 10-day South Africa and Botswana safari and it was truly the trip of a lifetime. The facilities are just as lovely as the pictures.
I had a gorgeous rondavel bedroom with a big comfortable bed and my own bathroom. The food is plentiful (is it ever!) and so delicious and fresh. I’m a pretty confirmed carnivore so I enjoyed trying the game meats we had (eland is delicious) but they had plenty of filling options for non meat lovers.
The horses are well-behaved and energetic – there’s rarely a need to thump them to keep up – and the guides quickly learn good horse and rider match ups. The cavalry saddles took this dressage rider some getting used to – hard seats and no flaps! Definitely bring tall boots that are comfortable for walking in or half-chaps and a seat saver if you know your parts are sensitive because you will be in the saddle for hours every day.
I went traveling alone but was fortunate to join a group of three ladies who were super fun, great riders, and often did trips together so we got lots of chances to gallop and “kick some dust”. We saw SO MANY animals it almost got boring! Regular sightings in South Africa were impala (who make the most ridiculous pig noises in mating season), springbok, kudu, wildebeest, eland, blesbok, steenbok, gemsbok, zebra, warthogs, duiker, ostriches and the resident giraffes. Lots of monkeys, baboons and birds of every color as well. In South Africa all of the land is pretty much fenced game preserves so the rides take you to multiple reserves. One ride took us by a children’s school and they sang a lovely song for us – so cute in their uniforms! Lots of schools in both SA and Botswana. We also did an overnight trip to a neighboring reserve and beautiful lodge on a watering hole where we watched animals for hours over a lovely dinner. Every evening brought the option of a soda or “sundowner” gin and tonic often on the ride!
We then traveled to Botswana where we had more of the same plus ELEPHANTS which are truly amazing and a bit scary but the guides are extremely careful and provide clear instruction on when to hold still and when to retreat. We spent one night in an amazing treehouse camp and listened to lions and leopards all night. We tracked cats but never saw them while riding. We did take one Big 5 jeep safari and saw lions resting and rhinos and adorable baby rhinos. (Rhinos are still so subject to poaching that protecting them requires a huge investment in TALL electric fencing and guarded gates.)
The guides were universally amazing and knowledgeable. Becoming a guide is a very demanding professional qualification and all the guides know animals, birds, plants, history, multiple languages, first aid, current events and more! It is worth really talking with them to learn their fascinating stories.
If you’ve ever wanted to safari in Africa and are a good rider, I can’t imagine a better way to do it!