Our Destinations

Why travelling with Randocheval ?

ZIMBABWE : HORSEBACK SAFARI IN THE MAVURADONHA REGION...

ITINERARY

Day 1
Meet with our team to Harare Airport and drive to the Mavhuradonha Wilderness normally arriving before lunch (2,5 hours drive). Relax in the comfort of the Lodge or get to know your horse with a sundowner ride before dinner if time permitted. Enjoy a lovely 3 course meal cooked by our bush chef while enjoying a drink.

Day 2

Early morning tea/coffee is served in your room before to enjoy a full cooked breakfast to stand you in good stead for your day in the saddle. Our route takes us roughly in the direction that the Tingwa River flows but with tracking Elephant and other game, visiting cave paintings swimming in waterfalls and natural pools and having 600 square kilometres of mountainous wilderness to explore means that we hardly ever take the same route twice.
We normally lunch somewhere we can swim and sunbathe a little, reaching our camp in time to witness the evening flight of the Bats. Lunch on the Tingwa Valley is carried with us in our saddle bags and usually consists of homemade pies, muffins, fruit and chips.

Day 3
After spending the night in what is surely one of the remotest and stunningly located camps in Zimbabwe, breakfast early at camp before setting off for a day tracking game through the tributaries of the lower Tingwa, Dateema and Mashonjeri  Rivers.

There is nothing like catching up with a herd of elephant you have been tracking for hours. No guarantees of finding them but that is half the fun and experience of learning about the bush. Return to our camp for a second night.

Day 4

Breakfast at about 7.30 before heading out on the Explorer Safari. This is a real expedition type of safari all of our kit is carried with us in saddle bags on by the packhorse. You can decide on the type of terrain you want to ride and how hard or easy it should be. The professional guide will then work out the route with you. Some are mountainous with precipitous paths, some quick and relatively easy. Some are best for Cave Paintings, others meander along rivers lined with tall waterberries beside open vleis.

Day 5 and 6

The riding becomes progressively harder the elephant paths narrower and more precipitous as we climb higher into the mountains. We always end up somewhere spectacular to spend the evening:  a cave, an ancient Monomatapa fortress, or perched above the world on a mountaintop to watch the sun rise on one side and the moon rise on the other.

Depending on guests, we can either spend two consecutive nights out rough (or more on request) or head back to the comfort of the camp for hot showers after one night rough. We can then proceed on in another direction the next day for another night out rough.

The terrain is extremely rugged and we also like to get some walking in to stretch the legs and discover more of what the area has to offer.
There are many different ways back through the different Valleys ensuring you never take the same path home. Arrive back into the Lodge approx 1630.

Day 7

The Explorer safari includes a full day’s ride out from Kopje Tops with a second night at the lodge. A very popular ride, this day takes you through the African Villages to the West of the Mavuradonhas. Guided by members of our staff who live there you will gain a fascinating insight into the ways of the rural African peoples and get a glimpse of their culture and beliefs. We can either pack a lunch for you or you can enjoy a taste of Zimbabwe with the locals.  Return to Kopje Tops late in the afternoon and enjoy your last night by the camp fire with a full 3 course meal.

Day 8

After a good hearty cooked breakfast, departure to Harare Airport.

EXTEND YOUR TRIP

Extend your trip and visit the Kruger National Game Reserve, Cape Town or Victoria Falls.
You can also combine this safari with one of our other ride : in South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, etc...
Contact us for further details...

We can also suggest you to extend your stay with :   - A Victoria Fall's trip   - A visit of Cape Town   Please contact us for any other project.

HORSES AND REQUIRED RIDING LEVEL

Horses
You'll have a choice of 20 horses from differents breds : thoroughbred cross, farm breds, anglo arabs.

All of them are schooled to ensure a beautiful holiday, a great meeting with wildlife in total safety.

Tack
English tack with snaffle bridles. Some australian stock saddles and trail master South African saddles are also available on request. Saddle bags are provided by organization

Recommended riding level
Riders need to be experienced to follow the explorer safari part. it's very important to be comfortable at all paces and to be able to canter in open spaces. This ride is a mountain ride, so the most part of the trail is at walk, but sometimes once or twice trotting and cantering. You'll ride for 6,5 consecutive full days average 6-7 hours in the saddle a day (15km).

If you're an intermediate rider, we will be able to make the explorer safari easier or shorter.

Weight limit: 90kg

Children from 12 years old are welcome if accompagnied and riding level sufficient.

YOUR GUIDES

James will be your guide during this safari, he's a professional safari guide for 25 years in Zimbabwe. He only speaks the local language and english. He prefectly knows the region and its history.

ACCOMMODATION

Lodge (3 nights) Accommodation is in 6 chalets scattered at the base of Kopje Tops, sleeping up to 12 guests all with full ensuite and hot showers.   Camp (2 nights) A more rustic yet very comfortable bush camp situated a day’s ride from Kopje Tops camp. After a long day in the saddle you will appreciate the hot bucket showers, comfy beds and wholesome, freshly prepared meals. Our staff will take care of your every need. Set above the Tingwa River Bat Caves is a remote camp deep into the Wilderness. All our supplies are brought in via porter or packhorse as there are no roads. In the evening we usually watch the flight of the giant Egyptian Fruit Bats whose numbers have been estimated at up to 20,000 and are the largest known colony south of the equator. For the more adventurous your guide may take you deep into the caves to explore the bats habitat.   Explorer Camp (2 nights) If you want to experience what it was like for the early explorers sleeping on a mountaintop or on the sandy floor of a cave, this safari is a must for you. You will feel the wind in your face, the proximity of the bush and the calls of the wild all around. On the Explorer safari we travel deeper in the heart of the wilderness and so for one or two nights we sleep out rough carrying our own food, water (wine for dinner), washing in rivers, a spade for a loo and sleeping on the ground with a mat or grass bed and sleeping bag. This safari starts the same as the Tingwa Valley but we carry on from Bat Caves and the riding becomes progressively harder the elephant paths narrower and more precipitous as we climb higher into the mountains. We always end up somewhere spectacular to spend the evening: a cave, an ancient Monomatapa fortress, or perched above the world on a mountaintop to watch the moon set on one side and the sunrise on the other. No shower available during those nights.

DATES AND RATES

- Single room supplement : 1960 €.

Not mendatory, apply on ly if required by the client.

Flights to Harare:
Please contact us to check the best available rates from your country.

- the trail as described in full board basis, drinks included,
- the transfers from and to Harare airport,
- the financial guarantee of the deposits you send to Randocheval.

- flights to Harare. Please contact us to check the best available rate from your country.
- organization of any discover tour of Africa (Cape Town, Zulus area, Sun City, Victoria Falls..)
- any other service,
- tips (5 to 10 usd per day at your own discretion),
- insurance : repatriation aid or multiple-risk (cancellation, luggage, repatriation). You can subscribe to these insurances only if you are an european resident. If you live outside European Union, please check with your local insurance company. More information.

BOOKING - INFORMATION

Contact Claire for any enquiry!

PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS

Formalities
Please check with your local embassy.

Vaccination - health
No specific vaccinations. Don't forget your repatriation insurance.

We recommand to be update of usual vaccination, and especially tetanus..
A treatment against Malaria is also recommended. Please contact a doctor before departure.