The Okavango Delta Safari
- Ride through the legendary Okavango Delta, one of Africa’s last untouched wilderness sites,
- Stay at Macatoo luxury tented camp, set on raised platforms, offering panoramic views over the floodplains,
- Experience thrilling gallops among giraffes, zebras and bucks, in water and on land.
Non-riders are welcome to Macatoo Camp, and can enjoy a wide range of activities (game drives, fishing, mokoro canoë tours, etc.).
Set in the heart of the Okavango Delta, Macatoo Camp is accessed via Maun Airport (MUB).
Maun is easily reached by air from Johannesburg (approximately 1 hour 40 minutes by direct flight), as well as from Victoria Falls, Windhoek, and Cape Town via connecting flights. There are typically around two direct flights daily from Johannesburg to Maun, operated by Airlink, CemAir, and Air Botswana. Please ensure to plan international connections carefully to arrive in Maun early enough and avoid losing a day of safari.
Upon arrival in Maun, a Macatoo Team member will meet you at the airport and assist with your onward transfer by light aircraft. Enjoy a scenic 30-minute flight over the Okavango Delta to the camp’s private airstrip.
From the airstrip, you will continue to camp with a 45-minute game drive or boat transfer, depending on seasonal water levels — a lovely introduction to the Delta and its wildlife.
The Okavango Delta Riding Safari is designed for fit and experienced riders. As you will be riding up to 6 hours a day, you need to be confident about keeping up with the group, capable of riding at all paces, rising to the trot and controlling your horse at the canter across open country.
You will ride in groups of 8 riders, along with well-trained Thoroughbreds, Namibian Hanoverian, Percherons and Kalahari-Arab crossbreeds, ranging between 14hh and 18hh (140-180cm). To ensure their well-being and proper rest, you will rotate between two or three horses throughout your stay.
Please note that riders need to be over 12 years old, and weigh no more than 95kgs (210lbs or 15 stone). Riders who are younger or over the weight limit would need to make special arrangements for this with our reservations team and need to be advanced riders.
Non-riders are also very welcome to join the journey : While equestrians explore the trails in the morning, we offer alternative experiences including game drives, fishing, boat tours, walks, and more - ensuring every participant enjoys a memorable and personalized experience at Macatoo.
*Horseback riding in Okavango Delta involves inherent risks due to the presence of wild and potentially dangerous animals. While your guides and horses are experienced in managing these situations, some risks cannot be entirely eliminated. For your safety, you should be prepared to respond quickly and to gallop out of trouble if needed.
When you reach out through our booking or contact form, our team will provide you with a comprehensive brochure of your chosen journey. This booklet includes the full itinerary, details about accommodations, rates, and available departure dates (along with many pictures to give you a glimpse of the ride!).
If the journey aligns with your wishes and you would like to join, we will send you a detailed riding form to complete. This helps us understand your riding level, background, and experience, ensuring you meet the required skill level for the ride. This step not only prioritizes safety but also guarantees an enjoyable experience for the entire riding group.
Once our team and riding guide confirm your suitability, you can secure your saddle by paying a 30% deposit and the full payment will be 60 days prior to your departure date.
For your convenience, this can be easily completed via our secure payment link or through a traditional bank transfer.
Saddle up for one of the most unique riding safaris across Africa’s extraordinary Okavango Delta.
Deep in Botswana, within the Moremi Game Reserve, the Delta offers a deep immersion in a pristine, ever-changing nature, where landscapes and wildlife shift with the natural rhythms of the floodplains. Every year, as the Delta floods, most areas are inaccessible to vehicles, leaving vast expanses of unspoiled land calling out to be discovered on horseback.
Guided by local and experienced riding guides, along with very well-trained horses, you will ride in the open savanna while enjoying thrilling and splashy canters through the vast floodplains. With every hoofbeat, the Delta reveals its own magic: herds of elephants grazing in the distance, giraffes reaching for the highest leaves, dazzles of zebras on a trot, and a symphony of migrating birds filling the sky — a magnificent scene and a sensory journey that stays with you long after the ride is over.
At Macatoo Camp, you will stay in one of the few luxury camps set deep within the remote, wild heart of the Okavango Delta. Its spacious tents, perched on raised platforms, offer panoramic views that bring the sights and sounds of the Delta directly to your doorstep.
An Okavango Delta riding safari combining untouched landscapes, close wildlife encounters, and refined tented camps — an adventure to treasure for a lifetime.
THE SCHEDULE
☽ P.M - Upon arrival at Maun Airport, you will be met by a member of Macatoo’s team who will assist you with transferring onto a small plane for a 30-min flight into the Okavango Delta. From the air, enjoy stunning views of the floodplains and wildlife below.
Upon landing at the camp’s airstrip, a 45-min transfer by game drive or boat (depending on the season) brings you to Macatoo Camp, where you will be warmly welcomed with a refreshing drink.
After settling into your tent, afternoon tea and homemade cake are served during a briefing with your guide, before heading to the stables for your first ride.
This evening ride offers a gentle pace, allowing time to soak in the golden light of the sunset and capture unforgettable moments with the abundant birdlife and wildlife.
Return to camp for a warm shower before gathering for drinks and snacks in the inviting mess tent, followed by a candlelit dinner around the fire.
Time in the saddle : Approximately 2-hours late afternoon
☽ Dinner & Night at Macatoo Camp
☼ A.M - Begin your day with tea, coffee, and rusks served to you in bed, followed by a light breakfast enjoyed around the campfire. Then, set out on your first long morning ride - depending on the season, this may involve some galloping across dried flood plains, swimming through flood waters or pushing-on through seas of tall grass to watch giraffes, zebras, antelope, elephants, buffalo.
☽ P.M - After a hearty lunch featuring the camp’s renowned chicken pie, enjoy a restful break before afternoon tea and your evening ride. Embark on a leisurely ride at sunset, taking in the tranquil savanna and its stunning scenery with the sounds of the birds and game grazing nearby. Sundowners are often enjoyed out in the bush before returning to camp to freshen up. Dinner at Macatoo is always a memorable moment, with the location varying each day to enhance your experience.
Time in the saddle : Approximately 4-hours in the morning / 2-hours late afternoon
☽ Dinner & Night at Macatoo Camp
☼ A.M - Wake up to your daily morning tea, coffee, and rusks served in bed, accompanied by the dawn chorus, before preparing for a morning ride along new paths. Today’s ride offers fresh landscapes and exciting wildlife viewing opportunities – guides are always hoping to see the rare semi-aquatic antelope, the red lechwe.
☽ P.M - Following lunch, take time to unwind - either in the swimming pool to refresh and relax your muscles, or on the deck to enjoy the sun while watching for zebras, buck, elephants, or baboon families that frequently wander close by. Later in the afternoon, enjoy the daily homemade cakes before heading out on your sunset ride, or choose to replace riding with other activities such as fishing from boats or the riverbanks, where hippos soak in the water.
This evening, dinner will be served in a different location, carefully chosen to offer the best setting for your meal.
Time in the saddle : Approximately 4-hours in the morning / 2-hours late afternoon
☽ Dinner & Night at Macatoo Camp
☼ A.M - This morning, embark on a ride deeper into the heart of the Delta - reaching remote wilderness areas where horses allow a closer approach to the wildlife. As you cross high palm islands with sweeping views over the Delta plains, you may spot giraffes, elephants or buffalos in the distance. The ride concludes beneath a majestic baobab tree, where riders and non-riders reunite for an unexpected champagne breakfast, sharing stories from the morning’s adventures.
☽ P.M - Back at camp, enjoy lunch followed by time to relax before saddling up for your wonderful sunset ride, accompanied by the peaceful sounds of the savanna as animals prepare for the night. This evening, you head to the hidden tree house, where dinner is served overlooking the plains.
For those who wish, there is the opportunity to spend the night under the African night sky, listening to the rhythms of the bush - from birds settling to roost and baboons barking, to the distant calls of the lions - with your guides staying nearby for comfort and peace of mind.
Time in the saddle : Approximately 4-hours in the morning / 2-hours late afternoon
☽ Dinner & Night at Macatoo Camp
☼ A.M - For those who spent the night in the treehouse, wake to the sounds of the bush before returning to camp to freshen up. By your fifth day, your muscles are conditioned and confidence in the saddle is high, setting the stage for the most exhilarating ride of your stay. Canter through clouds of bushman hair grass and across vast plains dotted with fig trees, letting your horse carry you toward the floodplains where faster gallops bring a true sense of freedom.
☽ P.M - A well-deserved lunch awaits back at camp, followed by a relaxed final afternoon. You may choose a helicopter flight to explore further into the Delta or an evening game drive in search of hyena clans or lions on the hunt. As night falls, enjoy dinner at camp while bushbabies leap through the terminalia and acacia trees overhead, their bright eyes briefly catching the light.
Time in the saddle : Approximately 4-hours in the morning / 2-hours late afternoon
☽ Dinner & Night at Macatoo Camp
☼ A.M - By now, the dawn call of the African Fish Eagle feels like your morning alarm. Hot drinks delivered to your bed mark the start of your final morning at camp. Staying close to camp, you will splash through waters on the vast open plains - home to blue wildebeest and Burchell’s zebra. The pace will be lively, designed to pack as much excitement as possible into these final hours. Be prepared to get wet as you approach reed-filled waterways teeming with birdlife, including open-billed storks, squacco herons, slaty egrets, and Egyptian geese.
As you follow the intricate network of waterways lined with large trees, head back to the barn where you will say a bid farewell to your horse and riding guides.
☽ P.M - Following your ride, you will have just enough time to shower, change and pack before the game drive to the airstrip, carrying a picnic lunch to tide you over until your return to the real world.
Time in the saddle : Approximately 2-hours in the morning
What our riders say
Optional activities
Accommodations
Nestled deep within the heart of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, Macatoo Camp is a luxury tented camp hosting up to 16 guests, offering an intimate and exclusive experience. Surrounded by unspoiled wilderness and vast floodplains, the camp offers an intimate and peaceful setting for your stay.
Each of the eight tents is set on its own large, raised platform, offering panoramic views of floodplains that can be enjoyed from the bed or deck. Whether you are celebrating a honeymoon, traveling with family, or simply seeking a peaceful escape, the flexible sleeping arrangements ensure you a comfortable and personalized stay.
Between rides or as the sun sets, relax on sunbeds by the pool, offering sweeping views of the savanna - an ideal spot for bird and wildlife watching. Elephants and giraffes often come close to the deck, while baboon families frequently visit the pool to drink.
At Macatoo Camp, you will experience the untouched beauty of the Okavango Delta without compromising on luxury, enjoying an immersive and exclusive retreat.
Macatoo Camp, Botswana
Remote, Refined & Elegant
The Okavango Delta is one of the world’s largest inland river systems and among its most extraordinary wildlife sanctuaries. Unlike most rivers that flow into the sea, the Okavango spreads out into the sands of the Kalahari Desert, forming a network of waterways, swamps, islands, and floodplains that change with the seasons.
Each year, a flood of water travels over 1,000 kilometers from Angola, spilling into the Delta and transforming the landscape into a stunning mosaic of winding river channels, tranquil lagoons, lush islands, and expansive floodplains.
This seasonal flood attracts some of the greatest wildlife concentrations in Africa, including the iconic Big Five - elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, and black rhinoceros - along with rare species like the elusive red lechwe and wild dog.
Experiencing a horseback riding safari in the Okavango Delta offers a unique way to immerse yourself in one of Africa’s last great pristine wildernesses.
Your Riding Team - Local & Experienced Guides
Macatoo’s riding guides are experts at bringing the Okavango Delta to life, with fascinating stories about its ever-changing landscape, its trees and plants, and wildlife - including an incredible ability to spot even the best-camouflaged animals.
Bongwe, Head Guide, grew up near the Makgadikgadi Pans and offers unmatched knowledge of the Okavango’s wildlife, especially its birdlife, all shared with a great sense of humor.
Thabo, a lead guide, is known for his passion for galloping through floodwaters and his exceptional tracking skills, especially when it comes to finding the elusive cheetahs that roam the hidden corners of the Delta.
Bernard began as a groom before becoming a lead guide. He is an expert tracker, renowned for his ability to find lions in dense bush, and is also famous for leading thrilling boat safaris during flood season.
Chief, a local from nearby Tubu, grew up riding donkeys and later worked as a horse manager. He loves showing the variety of the Delta to the riders and takes pride in leading them to spot wild dogs and other unique species on their horseback riding safari.
Together, the riding guides ensure your Okavango Delta riding sagari is a safe, unforgettable, rich in discovery (and unforgettable) experience.
ThE HORSES
Macatoo Camp is home to nearly 50 exceptional horses, very well-looked after while carefully selected and trained to navigate through the wild Okavango Delta. This herd is a blend of Thoroughbreds, Namibian Hanoverians, Percherons, and Kalahari-Arab crosses - breeds chosen for their strength, stamina, agility, and calm temperament.
These horses (all boys) are well adapted to the diverse and sometimes challenging terrain of the Delta, while each horse is appreciated for his unique ability and personality, and every effort is made to match him with the most suitable rider.
To maintain the highest standards of care, you will rotate between two or three horses throughout your safari, ensuring each horse receives the rest it needs. This rotation also allows you to meet various riding companions and experience different riding sensations, while creating harmonious partnerships tailored to your riding backgrounds and preferences.
Frequently asked questions
A glimpse into the Okavango Delta Safari
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