WHERE TO RIDE THIS SUMMER 2023
So, you’ve left it to the last minute to plan a summer safari, or maybe your life changed recently and you find yourself with a free window to explore the world on horseback - how exciting!
Here are our picks on where to go:
THE GREAT SILK ROAD TREK | KYRGYZSTAN | €2,000 | 17 Nights | Adventure Endurance Camping Trail
KILIMANJARO ELEPHANT SAFARI | TANZANIA | | US$6,045 | 7 Nights | Luxury Mobile Tented Wildlife Safari
MASAI MARA | KENYA | US$8,970 | 7 Nights | Luxury Mobile Tented Wildlife Safari
SLOVENIAN CASTLES | €780 | 4 Nights | Comfortable Centre Based Ride
OKAVANGO DELTA | BOTSWANA | £6,345 | 7 Nights | Luxury Tented Wildlife Safari
1) THE GREAT SILK ROAD TREK | €2,000 | 02 - 19 JULY |17 NIGHTS
Join Black Saddle founder Emma by travelling back in time on this 18 day adventure in Kyrgyzstan. This is an epic expedition over the Ala Too mountain range - part of the TIen Shan (“Celestial”) mountains. A small group of 10, plus our very experienced French / Kyrgyz guide, will ride happy, healthy horses. Although you’ll experience the trill of riding your horse over open country, living simply with the milky way sparkling above you at night, we don’t want to romanticise the trail too much. Most of the accommodation is in tents with no access to bathrooms. Pack your bio-degradable wipes and a lighter!
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS
This is a true expedition, a continuous trek traveling on horseback
See thousands of free-roaming horses in natural herds
Visit the majestic Eagle Hunters
Swim with your horses in Song Kol Lake
Witness the traditional game of Kok-Boru
See the Milky Way with your own eyes at night
Stay at a premium hotel in Bishkek
The riding is slower as this is an endurance trek covering decent distances. We’ll have loose horses travelling with us as back up and an old soviet support vehicle to carry our packs.
We’ve sprinkled our Black Saddle magic onto this trip and added a visit to the magnificent eagle hunters. Hunting with eagles is an ancient past-time that was stamped out during soviet times. We’re so lucky to be able to learn more about the relationship between hunter and eagle. After more than two weeks of camping and staying in yurts, we’ve also upgraded the final night’s hotel in Bishkek so you can wash all the dirt away in Kyrgyz style!
We have one saddle remaining for the right rider. You must be experienced and happy cantering in open countryside.
2) KILIMANJARO ELEPHANT SAFARI | US$6,045 | 7 NIGHTS
Luxury mobile safaris with thrill galloping through herds of giraffe and zebra in Arusha National Park. You’ll get up close and personal with gentle giants, the Elephant.
This is old school adventure with Mount Kilimanjaro as a backgroup. How epic! Polo lovers you are in for a treat as the safari owners also own perhaps the most scenic polo club in the world. Add a couple of days to your trip and play a few chukkas, why not.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ride at with Mount Kilimanjaro as your backdrop
Sporty, fast-riding wildlife safari
Traditional mobile tented camp
Meet local tribes people
Enjoy sundowners and campfires
The horses are all purpose trained safari horses, with a mix of local breeds and thoroughbreds.
Available Dates:
01 - 08 July 2023, 15 - 22 July 2023, 29 Jul - 5 August 2023, 05 - 12 August 2023, 12 - 19 August 2023
3) MASAI MARA| US$8,970 | 7 NIGHTS | KENYA
The best wildlife viewing on some of the most incredible horses we’ve ever seen on safari. World class hosts that will have you laughing until your ribs are sore all eight days (and a drink in your hand at all times too). Ride across the spectacular Masai Mara. Visit two of the filming locations for the film ‘Out of Africa’. This safari is SUCH a good time. Old school adventure at it’s finest.
Highlights:
Incredible wildlife everywhere you looks (giraffes, elephants, buffalo, lions, cheetah, leopard, wildebeest, baboons, zebra, hyena, antelope and more)
Sporty riding
Game drives
Four locations for a tour of the Mara
Charter flights from Nairobi included
Offbeat Riding Safaris have been operating since 1990 and have a stellar reputation for providing unrivalled mobile horseback safaris amongst big game. Riding up close to elephant, lion and buffalo, or galloping with wildebeest and zebra are life changing experiences. If you are a rider, there is simply no better way to see Kenya than from the back of a well schooled and fit horse.
This ride will make you feel alive!
Available Dates:
17 - 24 June 2023 (1 saddle), 24 June - 02 July 2023 (5 saddles)
4) SLOVENIAN CASTLES | €780 | 4 NIGHTS
Ride for four days from Castle to Castle through the lush green Slovenian Countryside, pulling pears from trees and eating them on horseback, shotting local schnapps and galloping your forward horse through the valleys. This is a blissful, stress free ride and such incredible value.
One of our most popular rides we have two saddles free due to cancellation.
Highlights:
Four days riding in the Slovenian Countryside
Visit three castles, one with very surprising paintings in the ballroom (we won’t spoil the surprise!)
Delicious meals with an blended cuisine that matches Slovenia’s blended history
Discover the countryside’s secrets; World War II bunkers, sweet draft horses in the fields, and bear prints in the mud!
You will stay in simple but comfortable B&B in a village, returning to the same place each night.
This ride is only open to our Club Members. It’s free to join, just answer the two membership questions to gain access to the facebook group and you will find the password to our members section pinned there.
Dates are: 30 August - 3 September (2 Saddles)
5) OKAVANGO DELTA | £6,345| 7 NIGHTS
Join Black Saddle founder Emma in one of best places in the world to see wildlife! Elephants will come as close as they please, rare wild dogs den near camp, giraffe are aplenty and big cats hunt close enough by.
We will be there during the iconic floods where omnivores arrive in big numbers to feast on the grass the water brings.
There is no better way to savour the Okavango Delta and experience its unparalleled wildlife population than on horseback. The annual flooding of the area leaves vast swathes of the Delta inaccessible to vehicles, making horses the most natural and exciting means to explore.
Highlights:
Incredible wildlife at one of the best times of year in the Delta
Luxury tented camp with ensuite bathrooms
Camp has a pool and treehouse
Wonderful, varied menus and an open bar
The pace of riding is varied; in between fast and thrilling gallops alongside giraffe, zebra and buck, in water and on land, we quietly stalk bigger game such as buffalo and elephant and take time to indulge in some of the best bird watching in the world.
Dates are: 02 - 09 September (3 Saddles)
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