Posted on October 23, 2020
In this blog post, In The Saddle guest Inge from the Netherlands looks back at her visit to Kambaku Safari Lodge in Namibia earlier in the year.
Inge, a big thank you for sharing your holiday experiences with us – we’ve loved reading about your trip.
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In need of a holiday break in early March 2020, In The Saddle managed to make a last-minute booking for an adventurous week horse riding in Namibia at Kambaku Safari Lodge.
Upon arrival in Namibia I became aware of my luck considering the weather circumstances. The area had received good rains in the weeks prior to my arrival, and so I entered an oasis of beautiful green landscapes full of tall grasses and flowers.
After a smooth 4 hour drive from the airport, the wonderful Kambaku staff welcomed me with a colourful cocktail and showed me around the lodge. My room was beautiful and equipped with all the bush essentials such as mosquito net, mosquito spray, post cards, drinking water, shower gel and shampoo. The rooms surround wonderful gardens, designed for some good relaxing during the day, and a fire place for the evenings.
Kambaku’s gardens look out onto the reserve beyond
For my first ride I was given Sorris, a wonderful strong gelding with relaxing big movements in walk, trot and canter. His kind, relaxed nature quickly got me familiar again with riding (after many years). It also allowed me to enjoy the view of nature and the animals that we encountered during the ride.
Encountering a herd of wildebeest with the lovely Sorris
For most of my afternoon rides I was teamed up with Kimi, a sweet mare who pulled off some acrobatic tricks to get rid of the flies. She listened very well to my wishes and left a lot of distance between her and the horse in front of her, therewith choosing very carefully where she would be setting her hooves during trots or canters.
Aboard Kimi, with guide Jeremiah on Barak
The Kambaku staff did a great job organising activities that would be combined with horse riding. Several times at the end of an afternoon ride they would have a sundowner organised with drinks and some snacks.
Time for sundowners
The horses would be let go from the sundowner location to graze in the bush and find their own way back to the stables.
The horses make their own way home from our sundowner spot
Another great activity that was organised was a night out at Kambaku’s bush camp. We arrived just before sunset. I got to freshen up after the horse ride, whilst guides Jaco and Heinz prepared dinner. A trail of oil lamps was hanging around camp, so that we could find our way in the darkness of the bush and its many suspicious sounds. Dinner was followed by an evening around the campfire, chatting and trying to spot the stars and the Milky Way.
I spent one night camping in the bush
The morning started off with a bush walk, spotting animals during their morning routine. We even found some older tracks of a leopard that had been roaming around the area. After the walk it was time for a bush breakfast, before breaking up the camp and heading back to the lodge. The bush camp was a very exciting and a truly African experience.
Finding leopard tracks
During all the horse rides we managed to spot many different animals. Some were in herds and some were roaming around by themselves. Kambaku is home to herds of zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, impala, waterbuck, kudu, oryx and ostrich. We also spotted many birds and some jackal, as well as tracks of leopard, hyena and caracal.
The lodge serves breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Guests share meals all together at the same time. This way Kambaku truly manages to make everyone feel part of a bigger group and makes it very welcoming for single travellers. I can recommend a stay at Kambaku, since it has really been a magical experience for me.
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If you would like to plan ahead for a riding safari at Kambaku in 2021 or 2022, please contact Abbie on +44 (0) 1299 272 239 or email abigail@inthesaddle.com
