Horseback riding in Okavango Delta, Botswana

Equestrian Home - Southern Africa - Botswana
- Okavango Delta Macatoo Safari
  0 tours are queued for brochure printing. Click here to print brochure.
2024 | 2025 | Blog | Buddy Finder | Customer Login | Contact Us
Horseback riding vacations in Botswana, Okavango Delta

Horseback riding tours

Rides in Botswana

  Intro to Botswana

Trip in Botswana


Cycling in Botswana:

Tuli Mountain Biking Safari


 Africa Overview

 
Mozambique

 
Namibia

 
Zambia

 
Zimbabwe

 
South Africa

Equestrian tours in Botswana, Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta Macatoo Safari


Itinerary for Okavango Delta Macatoo Safari



Sample Itinerary - subject to changes

The main attraction of the safari is the joy of riding good horses over superb country, with just about every landscape dotted with game. The riding is varied, sometimes quietly walking, stalking big game and admiring the bird life, sometimes cantering through the water-meadows alongside galloping giraffe and lechwe. The 4x4s are used for night drives, spotting the nocturnal species and for close up photography of kills and predators. When the water levels permit, we also go out in boats to put another perspective on the game. Our safari team is inspired each day by the beautiful surroundings to provide the best safari experience possible for our guests. We are enormously privileged to have a huge unspoilt wilderness in which to run our safaris. The Okavango Delta is an intriguing phenomena, with ever changing landscapes due to the seasonal flood waters coming through from Angola. The movement of the game, the dramatic seasonal changes in the flora and the varying interests of our guests ensures that no two safaris are the same, each one is unique. The safari is exciting but not strenuous, aimed to be a relaxing, intriguing and fun vacation.

NOTE: This is only a sample itinerary and is subject to change! This itinerary only serves as a guide; all scenarios are dependent on the season and levels of the Okavango flood. At times it may not be possible to go on fly camps and during cooler months one longer ride may replace the normal morning and evening rides. We reserve the right to alter the itinerary in any way and leaves this to the discretion of the guides. Local weather conditions may also affect game movements. During cooler months one longer ride may replace the normal morning and evening rides

Day 1: Arrival
On arrival in Maun you will be met at the airport by a member of our team and then transferred from Maun to Macatoo camp.  The transfer will be a short game-viewing air adventure in a Cessna 206 or 208 from Maun (or from Kasane), giving you a bird's eye view of the Okavango Delta. A safari vehicle will be waiting for you at the
camp’s airstrip for the 45-minute game drive – or an exciting boat ride (depending on the time of year) - into Macatoo Camp where staff will greet you with a welcome drink.
After settling into your tent, you will be offered afternoon tea and homemade cake during a briefing from your guide before heading to the barn for a ride. The pace of the evening rides are deliberately slower giving you the time to enjoy the sunsets and make the most of the photo opportunities offered by the birdlife and game. After a hot shower and change, drinks and snacks are served in the comfortable mess tent ahead of a candlelit dinner by the fire.
Meals included: Dinner
Overnight at Macatoo Camp

Day 2: Safari Rides

Macatoo’s cheerful “tent ladies” will provide a gentle wake-up call along with your choice of tea, coffee and rusks that are served to you in bed. A light breakfast is set up around the campfire ahead of the first long ride of the holiday. Depending on the season, the morning ride may involve some galloping across dried flood plains, swimming through flood waters or pushing-on through seas of tall grass to watch giraffe, zebra, antelope, elephant, buffalo - whatever is out there.
A hearty lunch is served every day – you will need it after all those miles in the saddle – the chicken pie is a firm favourite and wine is always offered to encourage a little nap before tea and the evening ride. Sun downers are often enjoyed out in the bush before heading back to camp to freshen up.
Dinner is always a great occasion at Macatoo, but there is no guarantee that it is always eaten in the same place...
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Macatoo Camp


Day 3: Safari Rides
After listening to the dawn chorus over tea, coffee and rusks in bed, you will have shaken off any first day riding nerves and be eager to get back on a horse. Heading off in a new direction, the landscape will be quite different to yesterday, offering fresh game viewing possibilities. You will be feeling more confident with the ‘going’ and we can speed up the pace a bit – keeping up with some of the large moving animals, such as giraffe or zebra.
After lunch, the camp pool is an ideal place to cool down, or stretch the muscles that are feeling the effects of the time in the saddle. The deck is a great place to soak up some sun, read and doze, but keep your binoculars and cameras handy as zebra, buck and elephant frequently pass in front of camp. 
After some lovely homemade cakes or scones, evening rides can be swapped for some sunset fishing from boats, or from the banks of pools where hippos wallow. A game drive, accompanied walk or boat rides – depending on the time of year – are also available for those wanting time away from the horses or for non-riding partners and guests.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Macatoo Camp


Day 4: Safari Rides
We ride through different country, making our way through clouds of bushman hair grass to plains dotted with fig trees. We might encounter giraffe or shyer antelope while passing through mopane woodlands. Our pace increases as we break out onto the flood plains, often disturbing troops of baboons. Return to the camp for an afternoon
spent at leisure, or the possibility of hiring a helicopter for an hour to gain access to remote and otherwise totally inaccessible parts of the delta with spectacular photographic results.
Finish off the day with a night drive by spotlight, where the resident clan of hyena are often spotted. Bushbabies leap from branch to branch through the terminalia and acacia trees – only seen by the brights of their eyes. If lucky, the spotlight will pick up the glint of a leopard’s sultry stare. If we find lion on the drive or know where they are – perhaps we might have seen them earlier from horseback (and avoided them!) – we can spend quite some time watching them from the safety and comfort of the vehicle, over snacks and drinks, as they wake up from their long afternoon rest, groom each other, and prepare for a night of hunting. It is always such a highlight of the holiday to see a big cat – we will have lots to talk about around the dinner table that night.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Macatoo Camp


Day 5: Safari Rides
This morning we ride deeper into the heart of the delta, to corners of the wilderness where vehicles simply cannot reach. We cross high palm islands which offer great sweeping views of the Delta plains. Riders may have joined non-riding friends and family for a walk, drive or boat ride – but all guests will reunite for an unexpected champagne meal under a large baobab tree to swap ‘survivor’ stories from the morning.
By now, you will have settled into the wonderful rhythm of camp where great adventure, creature comforts and downtime are combined to provide a break. After tea and a gentle sunset ride, you may find yourself at our fabulous tree house where you will have the option to spend the night out, sleeping high up in the tree canopy under the African night sky.
From there, it is fascinating to watch and listen as the birds and animals prepare for night – by roosting, travelling or preparing to hunt. The barking of baboons and calling lions provide an unforgettable soundtrack to a night out under the stars. Your guides will stay too, providing great company and peace of mind – for many guests, this is a real highlight of a holiday to Macatoo.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Macatoo Camp or Tree House


Day 6: Safari Rides
After waking up in the treetops, you are whizzed back to camp by vehicle to change before riding off into new terrain. By now, you will have seen most of Africa’s Big Five and riding alongside moving giraffe, antelope and zebras will have become a thrilling, almost daily activity. Make the most of a bush breakfast, or lunch out in the bush and savour the sights and sounds around you.
An afternoon by the pool sees many guests desperately trying to even up their ‘farmer’s tans’! You may feel torn over how to spend one of your final sunset outings. After last night’s treetop sleepover, a prompt bedtime will most likely to be the most popular after dinner activity, as we save our energy for the last full day and night.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Macatoo Camp


Day 7: Safari Rides
Don’t forget your pocket camera today, but store it carefully because things could get rather wet! We will explore the shallow and deeper flood plains; they look so pretty, scattered with flowering lilies. The reflection of the trees – and your horse – will provide great images to capture. Many of our horses love to eat the lilies as they wade –sometimes swim – through the water. Here, the Cape buffalo can gather in large numbers (anything between a dozen and 2000 at a time). We have to creep up on them using the islands as cover. You will be keen to review your pictures after lunch, but don’t forget to re-charge your cameras in the mess tent!
The evening offers the choice of a game drive, fishing or a last quiet evening ride with the by-now familiar smell of wild sage and the warm African dust as the sun goes down, transforming the skyline into a cocktail of oranges and reds.
Dinner will be a memorable one perhaps with another surprise location in store…
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Macatoo Camp


Day 8: Last Ride & Departure 
The dawn call of the African Fish Eagle has, by now, become as familiar as the morning alarm at home. The delivery of tea or coffee in bed heralds the start of your last morning in camp and you will be anxious to make the most of your final ride. We stay quite close to home, splashing through water on the vast open plains, home to blue wildebeest and Burchell's zebra. The riding pace will be deliberately quite fast as we cram as much fun as possible into the final hours – be prepared to get wet as we approach deep reedy areas full of bird life including open-billed storks, squacco herons, slaty egrets and egyptian geese. You will return to Macatoo along the myriad of waterways lined with large trees, before arriving back at the barn where you say a sad farewell to your horse.
There will be just enough time to shower, change and pack before the game drive to the airstrip, carrying a picnic lunch to tide you over until your return to the real world. Don’t worry, you can always come back – so many of our guests do!
Meals included: Breakfast & Lunch



Non Riding Activities
An African safari adventure does not have to involve horses and we can easily cater for non-riding spouses, partners, friends and children. Indeed, many of our riding guests like to have time away from the saddle and take advantage of the wide range of other activities on offer.

Game drives offer the opportunity to track and photograph birds and big game in stunning settings. Going out in our open top safari vehicles at dawn or dusk provide the best chances of seeing wildlife on the move, hunting, feeding, drinking or roosting.

The arrival of the floods, usually around May, brings with it the unique chance to explore the Delta by water, on a motorboat, and Macatoo has its own jetty. Many guests are lucky enough to arrive in camp from the airstrip by boat.
The mokoro, a traditional dugout canoe which is navigated through the waters by a skilled poler, offers the most romantic way to view the Delta at this special time of year. The tranquillity and silence of the journey enables guests to feel at one with nature and see at close quarters how the animals and birds adapt to their ever-changing environment.

Fishing, from boat or land, is a hugely popular pastime with both riding and non-riding guests. We have access to a wide range of beautiful fishing spots where guests cast between water lilies and wallowing hippos. The challenge is not only to get a fish to bite, but land it before it is snatched from the line by swooping fish eagles and kingfishers.

But perhaps it is only from the air that one can really appreciate the diversity and vastness of the Okavango Delta. Helicopter flights, which take off and land in front of camp, offer not only the chance to see vast herds of elephant an buffalo but a bird’s-eye view of the entire eco-system and a better understanding of this unique miracle of nature.
bar
Home    Reservation    Specials    Brochure       News    Contact Us    All Tours
© 2024 Hidden Trails, Ltd. All rights reserved.


















Okavango Delta Macatoo Safari
Tour Code: IT-BORT02
8 days / 7 nights
Dates : Available all Year

Trip Rating :
Difficulty : Riding Level
Riding Level Explained
ABeginner
Beginner A rider who has limited experience, is unable to post the trot and does not canter.
BNovice
Novice A rider who is capable of mounting and dismounting unassisted, capable of applying basic aids, comfortable and in control at the walk, moderate length posting trots, and short canters.
CIntermediate
Intermediate A rider who has a firm seat, is confident and in control at all paces (including posting trots, two point canters and gallops), but does not ride regularly.
D Strong Intermediate
Strong Intermediate An intermediate rider who is currently riding regularly and is comfortable in the saddle for at least 6 hours per day.
EAdvanced
All of the above, plus an independent seat, soft hands, and capable of handlinga spirited horse in open country.
Lodging: Exceptional
Lodging Level Explained
   
= Facilities in lodges, estancias, haciendas, resorts, etc.
   
Basic lodging - some with shared bathroom facilities, usually no AC or room service.
Regular standard room - usually with private bath.
 Accommodations with superior comforts.
   
 = Trips with nights in tent camps. Sometimes the first and last night are in hotels.
   
Basic tent camping - everyone helps out with camp chores.
Regular standard with some camp amenities and camp cook.
Camping facilities with superior comforts like camp shower, bathroom facility..
   
 = Trips that combine nights in hotels and camping.
   
Basic accommodation and basic camping facilities can be expected.
Regular standard with some nicer amenities.
Only assigned to hotel and camping facilities with superior comforts.

Online Reservation


Season Seasons  Min / MaxReserve
C 2024 01/01 - 03/31 8d / 7n 8 day trip - Low 2 /12 Reserve
B 2024 04/01 - 06/14 8d / 7n 8 day trip - Mid 2 /12 Reserve
A 2024 06/15 - 10/14 8d / 7n 8 day trip - Peak 2 /12 Reserve
B 2024 10/15 - 11/30 8d / 7n 8 day trip - Mid 2 /12 Reserve
C 2024 12/01 - 12/31 8d / 7n 8 day trip - Low 2 /12 Reserve
Introduction
Day to Day Itinerary
Rates | Dates
Accommodation
Non Rider Itinerary
Tack: English and Western style trail saddle...
Horses: Thoroughbreds, Namibian Hanovarians, A...
Pace: We spend 4 to 6-hours a day in the sad...

Airport: Maun
Location on Google Map
Video
Image Gallery
Image Slide Show
Customer Trip Rating
Climate
What To Bring
Download tour PDF