What is it really like to work at a horse safari camp?
There are some things you might have already guessed about what it is actually like to come and be part of the team at Okavango Horse Safaris.
But there are some things that you might not expect…
You’ll probably end up wanting to take a horse home. Or a couple…
Call us biased, but there is something extra special about our horses. After riding through the bush for hours exploring our beautiful concession in the Okavango Delta you will realise why horses are just so perfectly suited to our terrain. Too deep for a jeep? No problem, we’ll splash across. Too shallow for a boat? No problems when you have four legs. Too far to walk? Enter your handy four legged friend.
As a participant on our gap year programme, you will be lucky enough to ride a selection of our wonderful equines, and we will be very surprised if you don’t find that one favourite who you bond with. That one horse you trust, not just riding in an arena or down a road like at home, but in a vast wilderness with large, unpredictable wild animals present. It is a bond like no other and the way our horses take it in their stride is very special indeed.
Not to sound mean, but when our riders cry saying goodbye to the horses, we know its been a successful stay.
You’ll find living in a tent very normal
If you pitched a tent in a field at home and told your mates you were going to live there for a couple of months, they would probably think you had gone slightly nuts. It is a bit different here in the Delta. To protect the pristine wilderness, nothing permanent can be built, so prepare to enter a wonderful world of wood and canvas.
Unless you have been on safari before, you might also want to recalibrate your idea of a tent. No folding camp beds here, you’ll have a proper bed, plenty of storage for all your gear, the ability to stand up, and a loo. Nights under canvas never felt so good.
And once you have got used to falling asleep to the munching, crunching and chirruping of the Delta’s myriad of nocturnal creatures, the thought of going back to live in bricks and mortar might seem a bit… well… boring.
You’ll realise that a campfire can often have the Veritaserum effect
The camp guests have been out riding all day, and you might have been out with them, or perhaps holding the fort back at Kujwana, our base camp. Either way, everyone gathers round the camp fire after dinner, under the spectacular night sky, stars unobscured by pollution. Reed frogs chorus, the leadwood fire smokes atmospherically, and the assembled cast sip their gins, whiskeys and wines.
Then, quite often, something strange happens. The beauty of the setting, the wildness, the distance from real life has a strange effect on people not unlike the magical truth telling potion, Veritaserum, in Harry Potter. That guest you thought was quiet and shy turns out to have an absolutely wicked sense of humour. The chap you thought a tad rude starts telling hilarious tales of his misspent youth. The quiet lady who has been taking it all in tells you she has been saving up to come here for years, that it is her dream come true. These strangers from around the globe chat as old friends, united by adventure and that magical smoke, of the leadwood camp fire.
The one we don’t want to tell you about
We don’t want to tell you about this in case it puts you off coming. But we feel we ought to. Have you heard of Africa Fever? If you have, you are probably already infected. If you haven’t then prepare yourself.
Imagine you’ve been working with us in camp for a couple of weeks. You realise that you feel so at home here, more at home than in your actual house. That’s weird.
Then, a feeling of dread as your leaving date looms. The horses snuggle more (it’s like they don’t want you to go…), the food tastes even better, you have such a laugh with the team, the stars shine bright, every canter feels like freedom.
When you get home, you struggle to focus. Every time you close your eyes, visions of Botswana appear. You detect a whiff of the neighbours garden bonfire on the breeze and tears prick your eyes as it reminds you of a campfire in Africa, long ago (even though you only got back last week). You go to the South African shop in town to buy the biltong and rusks you miss so terribly (I just got back from Botswana! you tell the distinctly unimpressed shop attendant). Riding a horse down something as boring, as aggressively man-made, as a road, where the largest animal you’ll spot is a cow, feels so mundane.
There is only one cure, my friends. You need to book your next trip.
Contact us
Interested in volunteering with us? Drop us a line and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!