tulip44

I'm researching my first trip to Africa. This will be my #1 dream trip coming true. I want to travel sometime during June - Sept of 2006. I'm undecided about where to go - Eastern or Southern Africa. I've completed reading a book about Eastern Africa and about to start a book on Southern Africa. I'm trying to determine how I should book this trip. Do I use a travel agent or book directly though a safari outfitter? If I use an outfitter, how do I choose a reputable one? There are so many available on the Internet. I'd like to spend 2 - 3 weeks over there and include a couple of days of horseback riding amongst the wildlife. My budget is $4000 - $6000. I may be traveling by myself and I wonder if this is a safe thing to do. I’m open to staying in lodges, permanent tents or mobile tents. My main goal of this trip is to see wildlife and it would be a great thrill to be able to ride horse amongst giraffe and other wildlife.

Patty

You'll find that most on this board prefer to deal directly with a local safari operator based in whatever country they're visiting. If you read through some of the threads here or do a search for tour operator or safari operator, you should find the names and contacts of many reputable ones that others have used.

I've been looking into a short horseback safari too. If you end up deciding on East Africa, you might want to look up www.makoa-farm.com - they're located on the slopes of Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania. I haven't done it myself but have been in contact with Elisabeth, the owner of the farm, to discuss a private, custom itinerary for my husband and me. So far the communication has been very good and we've been emailing back and forth about our riding abilities and interests and what she believes would be most suitable for us. They will only take experienced riders on the game viewing rides. Since I couldn't find much info on Makoa Farm elsewhere, I've asked her for several email contacts to check out as references.

sandi

tulip44 -

Check out the following site:
www. ridingtours.com/horseback_riding_destinations/ride.cfm

There are plenty more with a Google search "horseback riding Africa"
And a site called Equitours for horseback safaris in various African countries.

Patty

Here's another outfitter I found that offers a short horseback safari in the Mt. Meru region of nothern Tanzania:

http://safaririding.com/index.php?id=40

Looks like they have scheduled group departures. I didn't find any mention of whether they do custom itineraries on their website.

Most of the other horseback safaris that I found in East Africa were much longer in duration (anywhere from 8-14 days) and we don't have the kind of time to devote to something like that (nor do we really want to spend that many days in the saddle )

I don't know how important the riding part is to you, but you could also look into staying at a lodge or camp which offers horseback riding as an optional activity versus going on a horseback/fly camping safari.

sandi

A number of the country clubs in Kenya offer horseback riding. Up in the Aberdares area - believe the Aberdares Country Club; the Lakes areas - Nakuru, Navaisha, maybe others; also in Laikipia and other northern area private lands.