Christina who has been on 8 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful chance to see African wildlife up close | Exceeded expectations. The guidance had said that riding would be tailored to our preferences. We had assumed that meant a compromise between our preferences and that of the other half dozen people we would be riding with. Not so. The Lodge took seriously that we were less troubled about long canters than we were about seeing and learning about the wildlife. Most days we rode with only a guide, and we were allotted the one who was also a game ranger. We had some amazing encounters with the game on the reserve.

Magdalena who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful lodge and people and horses of course! | Very well schooled and very fit horses. I wanted to take home especialy one.

Sue who has been on 6 In The Saddle rides. A wonderful experience at Kambuku, Namibia | The horses at Kambaku were lovely, calm, responsive and well behaved, and extremely well looked after. The staff seemed to have a knack of matching the right horse to rider. Most people, including myself, kept the same horse for every ride (8 rides over 6 days..)
I loved the fact that on stopping for sundowners (after most evening rides), the horses were untacked and allowed to make their own way home, sometimes quite a considerable distance.
However, I can't give full marks for the riding experience on a couple of counts:
The riding is on mainly sandy tracks through Acacia shrub. The ground is very flat, and terrain can all look a bit of the same after a while. But this did allow for some lovely long canters!
You have to like trotting! As a Western rider, there was too much trotting for my personal taste (and my back!)
I would have been a bit negative about the game viewing experience from horseback, had we not experienced a fabulous interaction with a number of giraffes!
Kabuku is a rare location in accommodating both Riders and Game Hunters. Whilst we had absolutely no problem with hunting (which is well managed, and kept completely separate), and the hunters staying were all lovely people, I think this did have an impact upon our game viewing experience. The Antelopes and Zebras appeared very wary and kept a good distance away from the horses. Only the Giraffes were curious, and we only got one good sighting of them in 8 rides.. That may be down to luck, as we did hear of guests being able to ride alongside Zebra the previous week. But when we saw Zebra, only once, and far away, they ran away still further.

Raffaella (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Perfect holiday good riding and relax | More different scenarios, but think the seasons time was not the best one to see the colors of Namibia

Inge (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Namibia's green explosion | The riding was magical, the guides made a very nice mix between places to trot and canter but also made time to walk through the bushes in the search for different wild life. The horses were cared for really well and were listening really well to the rider and guide. It was so much nicer than I could have imagined, the guides truly are wonderful people making you feel at home.

Julie (this is their first In The Saddle holiday) Amazing holiday of a lifetime, absolutely loved the holiday. | Definitely met all my expectations and more. Looking forward to booking again, South Africa this time. As a single lady I would feel quite comfortable to go on my own.
All the staff at Kambaku safari lodge were amazing. The horses are well looked after and loved.
Definitely re-booking for next year.

Alison who has been on 12 In The Saddle rides. Wonderful, friendly riding holiday | Horses all beautifully schooled and their care was obviously of utmost importance to all the staff.

Marie who has been on 2 In The Saddle rides. Kambaku wildlife reserve Namibia | I was on a non-rider accompanied by an experienced rider. The rider very much enjoyed the horses and riding at Kambaku.

Kimberly who has been on 3 In The Saddle rides. Well run riding stables in beautiful game reserve | The horses are well trained and carefully matched to the rider.