Join me for an amazing riding vacation in the Okavango Delta!
About Macatoo Camp
Macatoo Camp, located in the Okavango Delta region of Botswana, is the home of African Horseback Safaris. The camp is small…only 8 tents (including a honeymoon suite and one tent which can be reserved without a single supplement)…each with an incredible view overlooking the Delta. As the name suggests, this camp caters primarily to experienced riders. In general, you ride approximately 6 hours a day–a fast paced four hour ride in the morning (with a short break for a snack and to stretch your legs) and a slower two hour ride in the late afternoon. Game drives are always an option as well (and non-riding guests are treated to a long morning game drive and a shorter evening drive, meeting back up with the rest of the group for meals).
The horses
I rode four horses during my time at Macatoo.
Nxabega: 15.2hh, 16 year old, grey Arab cross. This guy carries a fair number of scars from old injuries (I’d say he’s had an eventful past), but he doesn’t let them slow him down in the least. Forward. Sensible. A whole lot of fun and my favorite mount…so long as we weren’t doing much trotting. His trot was super rough! Never did learn how to pronounce his name so just called him ‘Sir Grey.’
Ellion: A rangey 16.2hh, 13 year old, Bay Namibian Warmblood. When they led him out of the barn, it did feel a little bit like a joke…give the shortest person (5 ft) the tallest horse you can find. Ellion was a ton of fun. Super forward. A bit cheeky. But I ended up asking to leave him at the barn after our first fast ride together. One guest wasn’t very good about keeping her horse in single file at the gallop…and Ellion wanted to race. I managed to (barely) keep him in hand, but it didn’t make for a very relaxing ride. Besides, they literally had to find a fallen tree to hoist me up onto his back during our breaks in the field.
Neptune: Neptune was a solid, handsome bay Boerperd around 15ish hands tall. He was one of the main horses for another guests, but I ended up riding him one morning. Laid back in nature, Neptune wasn’t going to be hurried. He’d get there when he’d get there.
Mamuno: 15.3hh, 6 year old, bay Namibian Warmblood. My second favorite ride. Only wish we’d gotten to go out more together! He was alert and a smooth, comfy ride.
March in the Delta
I traveled mid-March at the end of the off season (when prices are a little lower). Unfortunately, the country was experiencing a major drought (some places not having seen rain since January!) and an above average heatwave. Fires were an issue and, while none were close to camp, you often could see smoke off in the distance from a brush fire. The drought worked a bit in our favor (concentrating game in specific areas) but the heat was a little rough! According to our guides, the floodwaters weren’t expected to arrive until mid-May or June.
Day 1: Arrival
Getting to the Delta is it’s own adventure! I’d spent a couple days in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, before heading out on safari to get used to the time change (safari’s are early morning activities!) and make sure that all my luggage arrived without incident. A transfer driver picked me up from my hotel and took me to the airport for the first of my flights with MackAir–a small plane service that flies into the Delta. Turned out I was the only one making the early trip to Botswana that morning, so I relaxed in their lovely lounge while MackAir employees sorted out my luggage and ticket (hand written!). From there I was escorted through security, introduced to my pilots for the day, and then loaded onto a small 9-ish seater plane for the quick 20 minute flight to Kasane.
After clearing immigration and customs, being presented with my onward itinerary, and working my way back through security, I was then grouped together with other passengers headed in my general direction to await our plane. MackAir works a bit like a group ride share–each plane makes several stops…dropping of and picking up passengers along the way. My plane would be making three stops during the 1.5 hour journey…with my stop being an airstrip with the promising name of ‘Cement’! Each group was called out and loaded on their plane…and I ended up right back on the same plane with my pilots from earlier.
When the plane landed, a safari vehicle from Macatoo was already waiting at the airstrip with a bottle of cold water! A short while later, a second MackAir flight landed (from Maun) with the rest of the guests that were arriving in camp that day. Camp is about a 30 minute drive away, giving us a great chance to start to get to know one another, hear the story of how one guest’s luggage didn’t make it onto the plane (lucky for her she packed some riding clothes and helmet in her hand luggage!), and see our very first elephants, giraffes, and antelope before we’d even reached the camp!
We arrived at camp just in time for the evening ride! After being shown to our tents to change into riding gear, we met back at the main tent for a quick safety briefing and then were lead straight down to the barn for our first ride! Our group consisted of four guests and two guides (one leading and one at the back)…and we had the same guides throughout our stay. Evening rides are laid back affairs, mostly walking with a little bit of trotting. And ours was absolutely perfect as we rode to a watering hole where we could watch elephants come down for their evening drink.
After our ride we were greeted with snacks and cold drinks…and just enough time for a shower and change of clothes before dinner. At dinner we had the chance to meet the other guests who were already at the camp (and had ridden out in a different group). Surprisingly, the majority of guests during my stay were travelling solo! Dinner was a magnificent three course affair by candlelight. Though there’s always the option to stay up by the campfire, I headed to bed not long after dinner to recover from my long day of travel and get ready for my first morning safari!
Day 2: Breakfast with lions
I woke around 5:30a…before my alarm…to the sound of lions caroling. That certainly gets your adrenaline going first thing in the morning! Around 6a tea and milk was delivered to my tent and I got dressed in my riding clothes before heading down to join the rest of the guests for breakfast around the fire. Breakfast is a light affair–fruit, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, toast cooked directly over the fire, etc. And everyone was talking about the lions! As we were eating, the herd of impala that was grazing nearby suddenly bolted and the monkeys went crazy in the trees around us. Our guides spotted the lions instantly! So after breakfast, we jumped in the vehicles to take a closer look. I never guessed that I’d be closer than I’d ever expected to a lion on my first day of safari!
After our up close and personal visit with the lions, we headed down to the stable…to ride out in the opposite direction from the big cats. My group’s guide had other obligations today, so we rode out in a single group of eight people this morning (instead of being broken into two groups of four as we were for the majority of my stay). With the larger group, the dry weather, and the quick pace…it was a bit of a dusty ride! But worth it. The first field gallop was a little intimidating (yikes! what have I signed up for?!), but I managed to get a feel for my horse and settled into the rhythm of the ride pretty quickly. Highlights of the morning ride included spending time watching their resident elephant, Eddie, who hangs around camp and a hyena who sauntered right through our group of horses without a care in the world.
Lunch was a surprise affair in the bush! We were greeted with cool, wet towels for our dust covered faces and chilled champagne for those who wished as grooms escorted our horses back to the barn. After lunch (beef and onion pie, lentils, salad, rolls, and a cheese plate) we were taken back to camp in the jeeps for a little free time (for napping or swimming).
That evening, we were back in our small riding groups. So many elephants! Our guide found us a perfect spot to watch them play in a waterhole as the sun set behind them (and a huge breeding herd of buffalo came down to drink).
Dinner consisted of an onion and brie tart, chicken cacciatore, couscous, squash, cauliflower, and chocolate mousse. While we were all talking after dinner, there was some rustling in the bushes next to the table and the guides turned their flashlights on the noise…to reveal a beautiful gennet! A perfect end to an incredible first full day of safari!
Day 3: Dinner with a hyena
Once again, tea was delivered to my tent around 6a which I enjoyed as I watched the sun rise from my porch. After another light breakfast around the fire, we headed down to the stable for the morning ride.
This morning seemed to be all about hoofstock. Zebras. Wildebeest. Impala. Kudu. Tsessebe. Giraffe are surprisingly difficult to get near on horseback, but today our patient guide managed to get us close to a small group of females and babies and they let us watch them browse for a while. A solitary hippo that let us know in no uncertain terms that we were too close to his waterhole. And a huge flock of guineas–so fun to see them in the wild!
Everyone met back at camp for lunch–pasta, green salad, butternut squash with feta, and tropical fruits–and some much needed relaxation in the shade. While we were out riding, the owner of the camp had arrived with the weekly shipment of perishable items (and the one guest’s missing luggage!). On the way in, he’d noticed an unusual concentration of game in a remote area of the concession (thanks to the drought) and suggested we forego the evening ride and instead take the vehicles to check it out. Everyone eagerly agreed and a new afternoon schedule was devised to make sure we’d reach the somewhat distant waterhole at the best light.
When we arrived, there were already over a hundred elephants as well as huge herds of zebra, antelope, buffalo, and wildebeest…as well as more hippos than you could count piled into the water! We parked in a shady spot and enjoyed drinks as we watched more animals continue to stream in from the bush. No one regretted missing the evening ride.
Everyone was sad when it was time to head back to camp…
…until we were surprised with a detour to a candlelit dinner in the bush! Tomato soup, pizza cooked in termite mound that had been converted to an oven, bean salad, green salad, and malva pudding. All as the sun set with Eddie the elephant grazing nearby. While we were sitting around and talking after dinner, there was a rustle in the grass nearby…the guides shined their lights in the direction of the noise to reveal a hyena…no more than 15 feet away from the table! She wandered by…headed off to do hyena things…then wandered back by about thirty minutes later in the opposite direction. Completely undisturbed by the crazy humans that had set up their dinner table in the middle of her nightly commute.
Day 4: Galloping with zebras
This morning delivered one of my favorite memories of the entire trip. I admit, I’m a big fan of the hoofstock and I could watch the herds of tsessebe and zebra for hours. I think, however, that our guide found them a little…boring, so when something caught their attention in the distance and they took off at a run…we got the signal to gallop. While elephants and lions and buffalo are certainly awe inspiring, I’ll never forget the rush of galloping along side a huge herd of zebra!
This morning also provided my scariest encounter. On the way back to camp, we were keeping an eye on a young juvenile elephant who was tearing up a strand of mopane trees. Apparently he wasn’t keeping an eye on us…and we surprised him. Taking great offense, he gave a mock charge! The horses were amazing…they kept their heads and carried us to safety under the guidance of the rear guide…while our lead guide held his ground and gave the young elephant a verbal scolding.
Lunch was back at camp–lasagna, salad, chickpeas, and a cheese plate.
Our group didn’t make it very far for the evening ride. Immediately after leaving camp we stumbled upon a watering hole with a group of elephants…including the two tiniest babies we’d seen yet. The pair was having a blast playing in the water together. We ended up spending the entire time watching the two of them! On the way back to camp, our guide spotted the back of a honey badger, but it had melted away into the tall grass before he could tell anyone.
Back at camp that evening, the staff had set up a lovely braai. Sausage, kudu, salad, mashed potatoes, veggies, and banoffee pie. Sadly, after two nights of unexpected dinner guests (the gennet and hyena), no one dropped in for a visit tonight.
Day 5: Stolen breakfast
Early on in our ride this morning we came across a hyena soaking in a pool as she digested her breakfast. While we were watching, she suddenly perked up…alert to something in the near distance. Moments later the baboons in the trees she was watching went crazy and the hyena took off at a run. Our guide suggested we follow (by a slightly roundabout route to stay downwind). We arrived only a minute or so after the hyena…to a fresh baby impala kill. Our guide suspected a juvenile leopard…so we searched the trees for a while, with no luck. But…the hyena was more than happy to let us sit and watch her eat her find. Afterwards, we later stumbled upon a lone buffalo cow…and her fresh baby calf, still wet and wobbly!
Lunch was a surprise again today. Located at a platform in a tree with sweeping views of the delta! Chicken and veggie pie, salad, bread, and tropical fruit. Complete with champagne for those who opted to enjoy. Lots of choices today at lunch as well—about half the group decided on a game drive in the evening (the other riding group thought they had spotted lions on their ride)…and a handful also made arrangements to sleep out on this platform that night. I opted for riding and, after having climbed the steep stairs to the platform once, decided to stay in camp for the evening.
During the free time that afternoon, I finally discovered what had been making such a racket near my tent for days. A HUGE lizard. 5-6x the size of a squirrel! Also stumbled upon some adorable, large bats roosting near the pool. Though the highlight of the afternoon was really the herd of elephants that had been grazing on the floodplain in front of camp…until something spooked them and they went thundering past the tents, just feet away from the platforms!
Right before the evening ride, news came from MackAir about my departure time for the next day. I had to be at the airstrip around 10:30a…so there was time for a quick morning ride tomorrow if I wanted. Of course!
Everyone met back together for dinner at the camp. The game drive did indeed come across the lions! Oxtail stew, rice, cauliflower, green beans, and sticky toffee pudding. Then we split up again as some headed to the treetop platform for the night.
Day 6: Departure
Even though I only had time for a short ride, it was another lovely morning. Elephants, buffalo, zebra, tsessebe, kudu, a huge group of ostrich from a distance (and 3 up close). When all of a sudden my horse jumped what seemed like 10 feet to the side…and a shadow moved in the grass. The honey badger! Our guide led us in a slow lope alongside for about a minute so that we could get a good look at her!
Then it was over. Just enough time for a quick shower before I was rushed off to the airstrip to catch my plane to Maun. From Maun I was headed onward to Cape Town for a couple days to recover before flying back to the States.
Want to book your own stay at Macatoo?
Given the remoteness of the camp, a travel agent is strongly recommended to make logistics easy for everyone. Check out the family owned and operated Lazy Lizard Travel or consider Equus Journeys–an equestrian focused travel company (who, despite being based in the UK, can assist travellers worldwide).
