A Riding Safari in the Okavango Delta

After our arrival in Botswana, we will board a small aircraft heading for our camp – Macatoo Camp, which will be our base for the next several nights. After settling into camp, we will head off on our first evening ride. This ride will be at a slower pace so we can take advantage of the beautiful sunset and some great photographic opportunities.

After an early wake-up and a light breakfast, we will set out on our first long ride. The terrain will differ with the seasons: from drier flood plains in summer to swimming through floodwaters or pushing through long grass to spot some wildlife when the water levels are higher. We will return to camp for lunch and a bit of relaxation, before heading out on a sundowner ride.

Today we will explore some new landscapes, with fresh game and exciting game viewing opportunities. We speed up the pace of the ride a bit, to keep up with the faster and bigger moving wildlife. After returning for lunch and a siesta, we have the opportunity to choose how our afternoon is spent: either sunset fishing from boats, heading off on a game drive, a bush walk or boating on the delta.

Our landscape will differ again today and we will discover the open grass plains dotted with fig trees on our ride. Our afternoon will be spent at leisure at camp, either relaxing by the pool or on the deck. There’s even time to take a helicopter over some of the most remote and inaccessible parts of the delta, allowing us a great bird’s-eye view of the wildlife and landscapes. We will finish our day with an exciting night game drive.

Today we will head deeper into the heart of the Delta – to remote places where vehicles cannot reach. We cross high palm islands, which will offer us sweeping views of the Delta. We will stop for a champagne breakfast under an ancient Baobab tree, before heading back to camp for a relaxing afternoon. After our gentle afternoon ride, we then have the opportunity to spend a night out in the fabulous Tree House. The nighttime sounds of nature provide an unforgettable soundtrack to a night under the open African skies.

After waking up in our tree house, we head out on a ride that takes us to a bush breakfast or lunch, in a special location out in the wilderness. We will spend a relaxing afternoon at the camp before our evening spotlight game drive.

Our last full day will be spent exploring shallow and deeper flood plains where the waters are scattered with flower lilies. The setting and reflections off the waters provide for some great images and photographic opportunities. Our evening can be spent either on a game drive, fishing on boats, boating on the delta, or on a slow evening horse ride, all of which will lead us to a surprise and exciting destination for dinner.

After our last early morning wake-up call, we will head out for a short ride to round up the week’s riding, remaining quite close to camp. At lunch, we return to the airstrip via a game drive to catch our homeward-bound flight.