Nguni Round Up Safari, South Africa
Horses
Type of horses:
Boerperd, Boerperd/Basuto Cross, Saddlers and Friesians
Nature of horses:
Tough, surefooted, responsive and well trained
Height of horses:
14.2-16.2 hh
Weight limit:
100 kg
Tack type:
English & McLellans, Snaffle or bitless bridles
Weather
Current Conditions:
Unknown, 27 C
Forecast:
Fri - Clear. High: 24 Low: 19
Sat - Sunny. High: 24 Low: 17
Full Forecast at Yahoo! Weather
(provided by The Weather Channel)
Pricing
The price of the Nguni Round Up is £610 per person.
Additional night and full day riding is £130 per person
Availability/Booking Form
Ride Description
The Nguni Round up is a safari ride with a difference.The beautiful, multicoloured Nguni cattle are an indigenous African breed descended from the extinct wild ox of Europe and introduced to Europe over 2000 years ago by the Bantu speaking farmers as they migrated south. As indigenous animals they are extremely hardy and well adapted to the Eastern Cape Conditions. They co-exist, as they have for thousands of years, with the game inhabiting the undulating hills, mountains, yellowwood forests of this 8500 hectare reserve, It is this important ecological balance that the Private Game Reserve is introducing.
The Nguni range freely over the reserve and provide a very necessary bulk-grazing aspect to the veld management and species distribution across the various biomes. They do however require and element of domestic management that is carried out on a monthly basis by the game trackers and stockmen so as to prevent them becoming wild and unmanageable. They keep tabs on each Nguni bull, cow or calf.
It is with this in mind that your hosts decided to open this exhilarating and adventurous experience to the public.
If horses are not really your thing, but you want to please your partner we can accommodate, you either following the trackers on foot, or riding with the back up vehicles.
In this malaria-free area you can also enjoy a wider Eastern Cape experience - the reserve gives you easy access to short stays or over night stops in other parts of the Karoo as well as to the famed Garden Route.
The Karoo towns of Graaff Reinet and Cradock are well preserved examples of nineteenth century country villages and have fine examples of indigenous architecture. This is a rich record of the culture of the British settlers of 1820 and of their Dutch forerunners – as well as being an intrinsic symbol of the co-existence of the descendants of the Europeans settlers with the Xhosa in the area known as the Eastern Cape Frontier. The reserve also gives you easy access to the Garden Route with the acclaimed beaches of Plettenberg Bay and Knysna.
The reserve is in a summer rainfall area –and the countryside is green and lush. The days are warm, and the breathtaking mountain views can be enjoyed while relaxing and cooling off in the swimming pool. Winter is a lovely time to visit - with mild days and chilly nights to enjoy sitting under the stars warmed by a generous log fire in the boma or taking your ease in front of a large fireside hearth.
An added attraction is the Waterkloof valley which is steeped in history of the most vicious battles of the War of Mlanjeni. This conflict between the Xhosa warriors and the British is known as the Eighth Frontier War, and was fought between 1850 and 1853. At least seventeen battles were fought in and around the Waterkloof and many of these sites will be covered on the hoof and, if time allows, a brief description will be presented to bring alive the action and reality that took place there 150 years ago.
If you wish to join the cattle round up you may wish to stay on for a few days before or after the round up. You can then enjoy riding out each day into the reserve.
We could organise an itinerary so you are able to enjoy the Round Up and then move onto our Wild Coast Trail for a completely different ride.
See Programmes.
Food & Accommodation
The riders stay at Imbabalala main lodge and Shabanga cottage in the middle of the game reserve. The lodge has five double bedrooms, three ensuite and two with a shared bathroom. The cottage has three bedroom with shared bathroom.
The lodge has a large lounge, verandah and boma with braii facilities. It also has a swimming pool. The Thandanani Centre is a tastefully converted sheep shearing shed, has a bar and offers a great venue to welcome our guests
The skilled staff will prepare your breakfast at the lodge. Lunch will be taken in the reserve and in the evening depending on the weather, it will be either a braii or dinner at the lodge. The food here is fresh and delicious with typical dishes of the area.
Activities
Non participating partners are more than welcome and arrangements can be made for hikes and game drives. You might like to accompany the round up in your own 4x4 meeting at the lunch stops and at the cattle enclosures
Further Details
Languages: English
Health requirements: None specific but a reasonable amount of fitness is required
Age limit: 14 and over
Tuition: No
Included: Full board accommodation and riding
Not included: Alcoholic drinks. transfers
Travel Information
Flights are to East London or Port Elizabeth. We can arrange your transfer. Port Elizabeth is a relaxed two and a half hour drive from the reserve.
Transfers are £210 for a group of seven
Airport: Port Elizabeth
Alternative Airport: East London
Programme
Round Up
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While on the roundup, all the excitement of game viewing on a normal horseback safari will be experienced as you team up with our trackers to collect and work the cattle. Many species of game roam the reserve and, as you go about the collection, you will be trotting and cantering close to zebra, kudu, blue and black wildebeest, buffalo, springbok, blesbuck, giraffe, impala, red hartebeest, gemsbok, mountain reedbuck as well as many other species. After the collection, should you wish to assist and learn about nose rings, tagging, branding, dipping etc. at the crush, there will be many opportunities to do so. Or, if tagging a moody cow seems a bit daunting, just leave it to the trackers and take photographs! Our round up takes three days and four nights. You will traverse the whole reserve by day and spend your evenings around the fire or dinner table as the dancing lights of the hurricane lamps lull your tired body to sleep. However, seasons do dictate the type of work to be done: during summer the cattle will generally be on top of the mountains, but during the winters they will remain in the numerous valleys as it can become bitterly cold on the higher parts of the reserve. On the day of arrival the guests are introduced to the layout and its history, and will be acclimatised to how they run the operations. The first day begins with an introduction to your horse, followed by an outride to check the ability of the riders and the compatibility between rider and horse. Any changes necessary are then done and the round up begins. Your hosts have horses suited to experienced and less experienced riders. Regular or extremely proficient riding abilities are not a prerequisite. On the Wednesday you will either be met at Port Elizabeth or East London for road transfer to the reserve (about 2 hours drive ). After a light lunch at the lodge it is time to meet your horses. You will take a leisurely ride through the reserve where you can get to know your mount in preparation for the adventure of the next day. You will spend the evening at the Thandanani centre where you will have dinner and be given a talk about the programme for the following three days. The programme for the next three days are basically the same. After an early breakfast you will saddle up and start looking for the cattle. As the cattle are not fenced they can range anywhere they want, the trackers have a reasonable idea where to find them and will go to where they where last seen. They don’t necessarily go in one herd so you can look forward to a lot of riding. After having located them you drive them towards the crush which is situated on top of a mountain. You have lunch on top of the mountain in a lovely little clearing close to a couple of dams, so that your horses can also be watered. Depending on the cooperativeness of the cows you can now start doing the actual work, There is always going to stragglers, so if you still want to spend time in the saddle that is not a problem. You can spend longer time to working the cattle, after having ridden to the top of the mountain again. Depending on your fancy you can either help the trackers look for stragglers or work in the crush with the cattlemen. The rest of the day does not change much from day one. On the third day you should be nearing the conclusion of the round up. In the morning finish the work in the crush and then it is time to release them and drive them towards wherever the grazing is good. Time permitting you might explore some of the beautiful features of this part of the world. Supper or braai at the lodge before your last night at the reserve. Last morning transfer to East London or Port Elizabeth after the last breakfast at the lodge. However, you may wish to extend your stay for some quiet relaxation and riding after the excitement of the Round Up. |
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| Minimum group size: | 4 |
| Maximum group size: | 10 |
| Ability description: | You must be able to trot and canter unaided |
| Type of ride: | Trail |
| Total riding time: | 4 nights 3 days (6-8 hour riding a day) |
| Departure dates: | 12-16 November, 10-14 December, 2009 14-18 January, 11-15 February, 11-15 March, 15-19 April, 13-17 May, 24-28 June, 15-19 July, 19-23 August, 16-20 September 20-25 October, 11-15 November, 9-12 December |
| Pricing: | See Pricing |