Horse Riding

Whether it's trekking through amazing landscapes or getting that little bit closer to the wildlife, there is something special about riding in South Africa.

There is a full range of riding available from one hour hacks, to riding on a reserve, through to week long safari rides. As can be the case in many countries it can be a little tricky to find out what's out there as many of the smaller places operate very locally and rely on accommodation providers to recommend them. Their web presence can be limited to a very basic page or just Facebook or similar.

But that doesn't mean they aren't there to find!

You will also find that when it comes to longer riding trips you will discover multiple companies selling the same trip and it can be hard to find the actual company that will be hosting you. We have listed some options and ideas that we know are available - we try to ride somewhere different every trip so have tried quite a few of these out. There will be more to discover. As with many of our lists there is a skew to the Garden Route as that is where most of our itineraries tend to go but we have lots of information on file to answer your queries. For ease of quick conversion here are some weight limits converted from kilos. 14 stone (196 pounds) - 89 kilos

14 and a half stone (203 pounds) - 92 kilos

15 stone (210 pounds) - 95 kilos

Botlierskop Game Reserve

Located inland between Mossel bay and George, this reserve has 6000 hectares to explore. They have regular game drives and also provide accommodation. Two and three hour rides are offered, any experience, from 7 years upwards, maximum 100 kilos. Two hours is R1020. They also have a faster option for more experienced riders, 3.5 hours at R1820. Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve

Just outside the town, this 2000 hectare reserve has game drives through the day and offers two hour horse rides twice a day at R850. Weight limit is 98 kilos.

Gansbaai and Pearly Beach Horse Trails

These trails are about 45 minutes south east of Hermanus, so less than three hours from Cape Town. They have a range of rides available for different levels of ability, and at different prices. Weight limit 95 kilos. The more regular options are R1600 and up to 3 hours.

Grootbos Reserve

On the road between Hermanus and Gansbaai, this 3500 hectare reserve doesn't have game drives but rather a range of activities on offer as part of a luxury stay, of which horse rises are one option. Heaven and Earth Trails Hermanus

This farm based riding centre is inland from Hermanus and offers rides into the Overberg. They are for age 7 upwards, and up to 100 kilos. They are R600 for two hours, although the first half hour will be in the school as part of an assessment.

Paradise Stables Franschhoek

Located to the south of the town, in Robertsvallei, this farm based centre has an age limit of 12 and weight of 100 kilos. They offer one hour rides for R650 and then a couple of wine tasting tours - 2.5 hours and one winery at R1500, and 4.5 hours and two wineries at R2000. The winery visits are 30 to 45 minutes long. Black Horse Trails Wilderness

Located in the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains, just inland from Wilderness, this farm based centre offers a range of trails of different length. Age limit is 13 and weight is not specified. Their shortest option is 1.5 hours at R550, and the longest 2.5 hours at R100. All but one of their rides is suitable for beginners.

Cape Winelands Riding

This riding centre is just to the south of Paarl, in the heart of wine country. They have a mixture of options from short rides (1, 1.5, 2 and 3 hour rides) as well as wine tasting rides that are 2.5 hours riding with about an hour for the tasting. They also do half and full days! In addition they offer a centre based week and a wine trail that stays at different places. Prices are quite varied given how much they have on offer starting at R850 for the shortest ride up to R65900 for the five days full board wine trail. Age limit is 8 and weights are 110 kilos on shorter rides, 90 kilos for the longer rides.

Klein Karoo Horse Adventures

Based in De Rust, to the east of Oudtshoorn, they have a range of trails on offer. There are shorter rides, with a three hour Stompdrift Trail at R1200, as an example. Weight limit is 100 kilos. In addition they offer longer routes such as their 7 night full board Klein Karoo to Coast route, with prices on application. One example is at the foot of the page.

All of the above is just meant to give you a flavour of what is possible - if there are people visiting an area there is normally something equestrian nearby and there are also many more to pick from aside from the ones we have listed. Sadly our favourite one appears to have stopped trading. The last picture is from horseback in a reserve, showing how close you can get to animals.

And to finish, here is an example of what Klein Karoo has on offer, and one beach ride option from Cape Town. Just click the images if you want to book.

Klein Karoo - ninety minute ride

Beach Ride - an hour on the beach next to the Atlantic