Is the Horse Riding Safari on the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans for Me?

Camp Kalahari sits amongst the acacias and Mokolwane palms of Brown Hyaena Island, on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans. Here, you’ll get to explore this wild, unspoilt area like many of the earliest explorers, hunters, and missionaries did – on horseback! Embark on adventurous outrides around the crusty flats, meeting the habituated meerkats and following the animal highways that bring life to this lunar-like landscape.

In between all your riding explorations, enjoy a walk with the San Bushmen and siestas around the swimming pool – a soothing escape from the desert sun. At the height of the zebra migration, the adjoining grasslands are awash with zebras, wildebeests, and more.

Expect incredible scenery, memorable wildlife encounters and, above all, super horse riding!

Your 4-Day Itinerary

Arrive in Maun, where you are met and check in on the scheduled flight to the airstrip and drive through to camp.

Charming and understated, you’ll find 12 Meru style tents filled with campaign furniture, comfy four poster beds, old maps and Persian rugs. Eclectic in style, the main area offers a small library and comfy sofas. Dinners are served at the long dining table, the perfect place to chat about you’re day’s riding activities.

Relax at the lodge until your first ride experience, after meeting the team and a brief meeting.

Back at the lodge for dinner and night.

Includes & excludes

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Drinks: All local brands included

Activities: Included

Transport: Included

There aren’t many experiences that beat riding a horse through Botswana’s Makgadikgadi salt pans. Here you’ll spend your days unearthing all the delights that thrive in this living desert.

The environment will dictate what you’ll see and do each day, from meeting the habituated meerkat and the desert adapted wildlife that live here. Like the brown hyena – the third rarest large carnivore in Africa, and an animal that’s virtually impossible to see elsewhere on the continent. But that’s just the beginning: look out for bat-eared foxes, aardvark and aardwolves scampering across the salt, elephant plodding through on their nomadic journey and dazzling numbers of zebra and wildebeest during the migration. And where there’s a zebra, a predator will never be far away.

You’ll ride out to the famous Chapmans Baobab, once the campsite of early explorers like Livingstone and Selous when they pioneered the area, and meet the San bushmen learning about the ancient secrets of the desert.

Includes & excludes

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Drinks: All local brands included

Activities: Included

Transport: Included

It’s time to bid farewell to your horse, and begin the journey home.

Transfer to the airstrip and fly back to Maun. Fly back home or extend your safari with a stay in the Okavango Delta, a visit to Victoria Falls or Cape Town.

Every itinerary can be crafted to your needs, from adjusting the length of your stay to including different accommodation and refining the route. Your safari is yours, shaped around your idea of a dream experience.

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My husband and I went to Southern Africa for our honeymoon and it was unbelievable and truly the trip of our dreams. We wanted to visit Cape Town, Botswana, and Zimbabwe on a middle range budget but still getting as nice of things as possible and Megan made it happen. Megan was so on top of everything and so organized I couldn’t believe it! I felt so safe knowing that we were in her hands.

We stayed at the Victoria and Alfred hotel right on the waterfront and got to see the penguins and national parks in Cape Town. Then, in Botswana we did safaris in both the Okavango Delta and Chobe. We stayed at Kadizora Camp in the Delta first. This camp was so quaint, beautiful, peaceful, secluded, and the food and staff were beyond amazing. We didn’t see even one other jeep while we were out and saw the big 5 minus Rhinos which don’t live in that area.

The second place we stayed was Elephant Valley Lodge in Chobe and the there was a watering hole right in front of the camp where elephants and other animals would come to drink right in front of the camp that you could enjoy while drinking coffee or eating dinner. We also saw 3/5 there minus cheetahs and rhinos. This view was incredible and made the camp so special.

In Zimbabwe we saw the breathtaking Victoria Falls and did the funnest zip line. Even though we had several COVID tests while we were there it was all worth it and we respected each country keeping their people safe but still allowing us to visit. I cannot say enough about Megan she is truly incredible and we will be using her when we come back to different parts of Africa.

"Adelle was incredibly helpful from start to finish. Set us up with a great itinerary for our 8-day safari. We were able to see lots of animals and get a great cultural experience in Botswana between the 3 lodges that..."

Andrew Willis, United States · 20 May 2025 ·

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"- Communication: Always available, friendly, and responsive (10/10) - Service: flexibly adjusting the itinerary to our needs and including all requested components (9/10) - Value for money: 9/10 - Reliability: We were absolutely amazed by the organization and reliability of..."

Lea & Jonas, Germany · 27 Nov 2022 ·

"Fellow travelers, I had not a worry ! as the itinerary went so went our adventure! From the Drivers to the Hotel staff to the small aircraft pilots! Wonderful! Always there to make our travels smooth and refreshing ! I..."

Xenia, United States · 11 Nov 2022 ·

"My husband and I went to Southern Africa for our honeymoon and it was unbelievable and truly the trip of our dreams. We wanted to visit Cape Town, Botswana, and Zimbabwe on a middle range budget but still getting as..."

Tahnee and Clifton, United States · 23 Sep 2021 ·

"I had a great experience working with Megan to book our Botswana 5-day safari. She was always quick to respond and even helped us add on an additional guest last minute. Everything ran super smooth from start to finish. Absolutely..."

Lauren Gabel, South Africa · 11 Jun 2021 ·

"Working with Megan from Discover Africa to setup our safari was a breeze. She manage to get us to all of the locations we wanted to get to and the camps we wanted to visit. She was incredibly responsive and..."

Jon, United States · 15 Jun 2017 ·