FULL SPEED ACROSS THE NAMIB DESERT
OVERVIEW
Adrenaline junkies - this one is for you. Ride 300 kilometers across the Namib desert to the skeleton coast. Go where only horses can go. Line up your horses cavalry style and race off together at full speed. Revel in that feeling of being fully ALIVE.
The horses are sleek, fit, endurance athletes. This is our most technical ride and is only for the truly fit, confident rider with a balanced soft seat and light hands.
You’ll sleep under the stars in the mobile camp. Tents are available but why put a barrier between you and the milky way?
Are you up to the challenge? Let’s ride!
HIGHLIGHTS
Our fastest safaris
Incredible ever-changing landscapes
Huge skies and endless space
Ride through meteorite craters
Fit, forward, athletic horses
Sleep under a canopy of stars
Large varied menu that will wow you
Red sunsets
Hot showers each night
The bar is always open
Long beach gallops (DE, SD)
Visit wild horses (WH)
Overview
RIDE GUIDE
Duration: 10 nights / 11 days
Cost: £5,800 (2024) £6,200 (2025)
Operator: Namibia Horse Safaris
Where: Windhoek, Namibia
Group Size: 12
Non-riders?: No
Riding level: Experienced and you must be fit and able to ride in light seat for up to five minutes at a time. This is our most technical safari. You must be highly proficient.
Pace: Fast - our fastest!! Long gallops every day. Alternating between walk and canter / gallop often.
Weight limit: Maximum of 85kg/190lbs. If your total weight is more than this it’s still possible to join if you pay a supplement for a second horse.
Time in the saddle: 2 to 6 hours a day
HORSES
The horses are a mix of breeds. Some arabians, namibian wambloods and quarter horse crosses.
They each do a 7.5 day safari every six weeks or so and the rest of the time they are left alone in a large paddock with their friends.
These are semi participatory safaris - you saddle and groom your own horse with help from the guides.
Tack is specially created safari saddles designed to spread the riders weight evenly over a wide area yet leave the shoulder free to move naturally. Stirrups have been placed specifically to allow riders to stand and so ease the horses’ backs at regular intervals.
Bridles are usually snaffles or bitless.
The riding is QUICK! You must come riding fit for your and your horse’s sake.
ACCOMMODATION
These are mobile safaris with lodge stays at the start and end. The lodges are luxurious with swimming pools.
2 Nights in Lodges
8 Nights on military style stetchers with swags consisting of a mattress, divet, two pillows and waterproof canvas cover.
A tent is available on request or if it rains.
The mobile camp is also incredibly luxurious for being in the middle of the desert! There are hot bucket showers, you’ll enjoy three hot meals a day, sleep on bed rolls with Egyptian cotton sheets and there’ll be ice in your G&T each evening.
GET IN TOUCH
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Shared accommodation, transfers from Windhoek airport, all horse riding, guides, meals, alcohol and soft drinks are included on trail. Let us know your drink order ahead of the ride so that we can stock the bar for you.
WHAT’S EXCLUDED
The price does not include international or domestic flights, travel insurance, or staff tips ($10-$20 a day). Drinks at the lodges and hotels are on your own account. If you are over 85 kilos and require an extra horse this will be an additional charge of £850.
Single supplement for your own room in the hotels or lodges of £200 per person.
Full medical and holiday insurance is required to join the ride.
THE RIDING
This safari is for the truly well balanced and fit rider. You should be at an advanced level and able to ride almost any horse. You should have soft hands and a light seat, be able to keep your horse behind the guide at all times and able to stand in canter for ten minutes at a time.
This is a remote ride in one of the least densely populated places in the world. You should be fit and confident enough to keep your horse between you and the ground at all times.
The terrain is varied, often rocky, and the riding is very fast. You’ll ride for up to 35 kilometers in a morning in the hot sun.
For the truly fit and ready rider we don’t think there is a more thrilling safari on earth.
If you’re not sure your riding ability we are always happy to talk it through. If you’re working up to Namibia we suggest riding at George Scott in Spain, Iceland or at Ants Safaris in South Africa as practice beforehand.
TRANSFERS
Many airlines have serval flights a day to Windhoek from both Johannesburg and Cape Town - beware of the short change over to SA74 in Johannesburg, it is a black-hole for lost luggage! Air Namibia has direct daily flights to Windhoek's Hosea Kutako International Airport from Frankfurt. A shuttle service will collect you from the Airport (your name on a board) and take you to your overnight accommodation.
On the way home you are dropped off at Windhoek's Int Airport on the last day of your safari in time for flights leaving after 15:00 except for Wild Horses, flight after 17:00.
MEALS
Some of the best food on any safari which is all the more impressive as everything is cooked in the wild.
Meals are prepared hot by the camp chefs. Hot breakfasts of pancakes, frittata, porridge, and eggs will delight you.
The cuisine is typically Namibian - similar to South African brai’s with rich meat based dishes though vegetarians are happily catered for. You will have the chance to eat game for many meals.
You’ll enjoy lamb, oryx, chicken, a range of vegetables, rice, roti, salad and sauces. There is always desert of course too.
You will be blown away with what they can make over a campfire!
WHAT TO PACK
Refer to our FAQ for what to pack on a horse riding holiday.
Water is a very precious commodity in a desert so while it is possible to rinse a few smalls while on safari, only lodges and hotels have laundry service.
Helmets are not provided. Please bring your own if you choose to wear one. We recommend you wear a hard hat although if you choose not to you do so, it is at your own risk - please check the conditions of your insurance policy, they might insist.
INTERNET
Consider yourself ‘unplugged’ while on safari.
You can buy an MTC sim card for about £38 for 18GB at the airport. Cell-phone reception is available at the start and end of the rides but on trail you are completely off grid.
There are 12 volt usb chargers in the support vehicles for small devices.
VISAS AND VACCINATIONS
Namibia does not require visas from most countries though this can change. Please consult appropriate authorities before travelling.
A Tetanus inoculation is recommended, and Yellow Fever is required if you have visited a country where yellow fever is prevalent prior to travel to Namibia. Some medical specialists might recommend Hepatitis A inoculation.
The safari routes are outside malaria areas, so prevention is not necessary, however please check your itinerary as exploratory safaris may well take place in areas where malaria-carrying mosquitoes occur.
AVAILABILITY
Click on the safari name to see a gallery of each ride.
2024 - £5,800pp
NAMIB DESERT: 10 - 20 Apr 2024 | 22 May - 01 June 2024 | 03 - 13 July 2024 | 14 - 24 Aug 2024 | 25 Sept - 05 Oct 2024
SKELETON COAST: 16 - 25 Oct 2024 | 06 - 15 Nov 2024
WILD HORSES: 01 - 11 May 2024
DAMARA ELEPHANT: 24 July - 03 Aug 2024 (fully booked) | 04 - 14 Sept 2024 (fully booked)
EXPLORATORY SAFARI: 12 - 22 June 2024
2025 - £6,200pp
NAMIB DESERT: 18 - 28 June | 20 - 30 August | 1 - 11 October
SKELETON COAST: 20 -29 March | 23 Oct - 1 November | 13 - 22 November
DAMARA ELEPHANT: 30 July - 9 August | 10 - 20 September
EXPLORATORY SAFARI: 9 - 19 July
Maximum group size of 12.
Fill in a Rider Form to book or to be added to the waitlist and we will get back to you with more information.
NAMIBIA
Currency is Namibia dollars, equal to and linked to South African Rand and can be used interchangeably. There is a bureau de change at the Airport, both Visa and Master Card can be used in most places in cities and larger towns.
Time Zone: Central African Time/GMT +2
Climate: It’s unlikely you’ll have rain (usually arrived between Oct and April). Temperatures vary hugely seasonally and geographically – coastal areas much cooler than inland. Day and night temperatures vary dramatically (below zero to 30’s). April and October are generally hotter than the other months. Weather in a desert is always highly variable and unpredictable – come prepared for all weathers – layering is key.
Visit this uncannily accurate weather website
ITINERARIES
There are four safari adventures to choose from in different parts of western Namibia. All are epic and amazing, ten nights and similar distances. We suggest you choose when you would like to travel and line up with the safari departing at that time. Departures run from April to October.
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Day 1: Arrive Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako Airport. You transfer to a luxury lodge and meet your guide for a pre-dinner briefing and safety talk
Day 2: Transfer to desert, arriving in camp for lunch with crew. Excursion to Sossusvlei dunes.
Days 3 to 4: Off we go! Negotiating the foothills and grassy plains on the edge of the Namib dune sea.
Days 5 to 6: Through the Canyons – first the smaller Gaub, and then the 150 metre deep Kuiseb Canyon which requires a technical scramble on foot. Come fit!
Days 7 to 10: The Namib Plains to the Swakop River. Now the pace quickens, a lot! Last camping night in the Swakop River before riding to the beach in Swakopmund. Lodge overnight.
Day 11: Departure for Windhoek Airport, arriving in time for flights departing after 15:00.
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Day 1: Arrive Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako Airport – in time for pre-dinner briefing and safety talk with your riding guide. Overnight in Windhoek.
Day 2: Transfer to places north, lunch on the way and a visit to the Twyfelfontein rock engravings before arriving in camp for sundowners with the Crew.
Days 3 to 4: Off we go! Riding along the Aba Huab and Huab rivers and up to the top of the mountains for a spectacular view of Damaraland's dramatic geology.
Days 5 to 6: Rivers to Plains: Riding down to the Ugab river, we follow its course finally coming out onto the huge coastal plains. Now the pace quickens considerably!
Days 7 to 10: The coastal plains, to the Messum crater and finally, the Atlantic Ocean with an overnight at a luxury Beach House.
Day 11: Departure for Windhoek Airport, arriving in time for flights departing after 15:00
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Day 1: Arrive in Windhoek on the first day of your safari preferably in time for pre-dinner group briefing and arrive back at Windhoek International Airport (Hosea Kutako) in time for fights leaving after 15:00
Day 2: Depart Windhoek to our camp on the Skeleton Coast with lunch in Swakopmund en route. Visit the lichen field and a shipwreck on your way to camp.
Day 3 to 10: There is an easy rhythm to camp life with memorable evenings around the campfire, making new friends, sleeping under the stars. This is a little bit of Heaven on Earth. From the Ugab River to Leeuwkop (lions head) in this landscape of undulating, multicoloured and interesting geology. Some of the best going anywhere on the planet - so expect lots of fast riding! Descent into the lower reaches of the Ugab river before reaching the lichen- covered coastal plains of the Skeleton Coast. Last night (18th) in a luxury beach house.
Last day: Transfer to Windhoek International Airport for flights around 15:00
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Day One: Arrive Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako Airport – we arrange a transfer to your overnight accommodation. Pre-dinner briefing and safety talk by your guide. Overnight Windhoek
Day Two: Transfer to the desert with lunch en-route arriving in camp in time for sundowners in an idilic setting
Days 3 to 8: Off we go! This is trackless desert, no roads, no paths, only animal tracks. We cross 27 km of the Namib dune sea - you need to be fit for this!
Days 9 to 10: We end our ride among the mountains near Aus, visit the wild horses and the quaint town of Luderitz
Day 11: Departure for Windhoek Int Airport arriving around 17:00
ACCOMMODATION
You sleep under the stars in Namibia. Bed is a roll consisting of a waterproof canvas cover stuffed with a mattress, duvet, and two pillows. Everyone has their own bed-roll for the duration of the trip. You roll out yours on top of a stretcher each night.
Fret not for if it rains tents can be provided but it does become a game of chicken with no one wanting to be the first to ask for one.
There are hot showers every night care of a gas tank and trucked in clean water. An incredible luxury in the desert. Two private chemical loo tents are set up a short distance from camp and are very hygenic, the best we have seen in remote locations.
Your trip is sandwiched between two nights in comfortable lodges, usually with swimming pools.
HOTELS IN WINDHOEK
THE WEINBERG
If arriving early or staying later you can’t go past The Weinberg. Safe, clean and new with multiple restaurants onsite, a spa, a rooftop bar and views over Windhoek.
The hotel is well positioned on the way to the international airport.
RIVER CROSSING
The starting point of almost every safari is the River Crossing Lodge. Check in a day before or after your safari for some rest and relaxation. Large modern rooms and a great kitchen. River Crossing is a short drive out of town towards the airport.
PRICES & AVAILABILITY
NAMIBIA HORSE SAFARIS | FROM £5,800
01 - 11 May 2024: Wild Horses (fully booked)
22 May - 01 June 2024: Namib Desert (fully booked)
25 Sept - 05 Oct 2024: Namib Desert (fully booked)
16 - 25 Oct 2024: Skeleton Damara (3 saddles)
2025: Price £6,200
20 -29 March: Skeleton Damara
1 - 31 May: Epic Safari : Price TBC
18 - 28 June: Namib Desert
9 - 19 July: Exploratory
30 July - 9 August: Damara Elephant
20 - 30 August: Namib Desert
10 - 20 September: Damara Elephant
1 - 11 October: Namib Desert
23 Oct - 1 November: Skeleton Damara
13 - 22 November: Skeleton Damara
Private groups can be facilitated on request with a maximum of 12 guests.
To book fill an obligation free booking form and select your departure date. We’ll be in touch to confirm availability. Your saddle is secured with a 30% deposit.
