After spending most of the morning mistaking gigantic termite mounds for giraffes, I’d very nearly given up on result my ‘African bush eyes’.

Then one of the mounds started to go. As our guide gestured for us to canter closer, the protruding anthill morphed into a young giraffe, which launched into an awkward lope ahead of us.

Six adults emerged from the bush to join its gangling flight and, for a magical mile or two, horses and giraffes ran as one across the vast floodplain.



Right there in black and white: Taking an exhilarating ride among zebra in the Okavango Delta

With our mounts needing at least eight galloping strides for every one of the giraffes, we eventually fell behind and slowed to a walk to give the horses a chance to recover — and ourselves a moment to savour the undiluted thrill of riding with huge game.


Home comforts: The opulent Macatoo camp, where the bush may be outside but inside, you'll get a good sleep

The British-run African Horseback Safaris has more than 40 horses with which its guests can explore its half a million acre slice of the Delta.

For the first long ride of my five-night stay, I was allocated Mufasa, a lively dun-coloured crossbreed who immediately claimed the prime spot behind the lead horse, ridden by our Botswanan guide Sekongo.


 Pack your trunk: A herd of elephants are likely to come crashing through the waterways at any time
We were barely out of sight of the camp when Sekongo abruptly raised his hand — a gesture to halt that Mufasa obeyed even before I had registered it. A lone elephant was grazing just ahead on the edge of marshland, close enough for us to hear the resonant grind of his teeth.

 Wild: The Okavango Delta experiences seasonal floods which shape this 10,000 square mile area
Even with the silent throbbing of bones beneath wet jodphurs, I didn’t want the morning to end. It was a rude interruption to come upon a Land Rover parked by a deep lagoon — we hadn’t seen human life since leaving camp — until we spotted a large picnic table set with linen and glasses.


 Loping: The sight of animals, such as giraffes, in the wild is an unforgettable sight
Even if the standard of accommodation, service and food was as high as I’d experienced on other high-end safari holidays, the remoteness of Macatoo, in the far west of the Delta, served only by a private airstrip, coupled with the camp’s understated dining and entertainment areas, provided a bush experience that felt authentic.

 Adventure: One way to truly experience the wild is to take a nap out in the Macatoo tree house
There can be fewer more instantly gratifying locations for fishing or birdwatching than the Eden-like Leopard’s Pool. It was only the second time I’d ever picked up a rod, so I was tickled to have an ahead of schedule tug on my line. Nervous of my catch being swiped by the fish eagles shrieking overhead, I lost my first catch.

Travel Facts

African Horseback Safaris offers trips from £360 per person/per nighttime, excluding flights and travel insurance (www,africanhorseback.com). Flights from London to Maun, Botswana, can be organised with Holmes Travel. Return flights start from £1,066pp with BA and Air Botswana.