Family horse riding vacation in South Africa

Planet

The partners of this safari company love the bush-veld; it is their home, and as such all are committed to preserving the environment in its pristine condition and transferring disturbed land back to its natural state.

Historically, the farm was used for agriculture; a mixture of crops and cattle. Fortunately most of the intensive agriculture was restricted to small irrigated areas. There are still large tracts of virgin, undisturbed bush and about 2000 hectares of this land has been transferred back to its original wild state. Three of the largest dams on the property are within the reserve area and one sits on the Melk River.

We endeavour to minimise the impact of the lodge on the immediate environment, and are striving to minimise our carbon footprint. Eco-friendly practices adopted at the lodge on the farm include:

All organic waste from the kitchen and manure from the yards are used in the farm’s wormery and the vermi-compost is used as fertiliser for the essential oil crop on the farm.

Dead wood is collected across the entire farm for firewood as a heating source for the main lodge instead of electric or gas fires. The farm is part of the South African Working on Water Project, which is striving to eradicate exotic tree species (that drink precious water resource) from our water systems.

Our water is pumped from underground boreholes and so is restricted to household usage only. The gardens are only irrigated using dam water. Most rooms are equipped with showers and guests are encouraged to shower instead of bath, to prevent excess water wastage.

Where possible our food ingredients are sourced locally. Salad and herbs are grown at the lodge, all meat is locally produced and some dairy products come from neighbouring farms. Occasionally, fish from the dam is included on the menu!
Our waste is recycled: Glass and metal materials are sorted and recycled.

Horses
The horses live freely and naturally as a herd in a 5000-hectare reserve, they can go where they please which is one of our guests highlight. Our afternoon rides end up at a different spot each evening, the guests just untack the horses and let them free wherever they are on the reserve. They slowly make their way back to the stables overnight, grazing on the way.

All the horses come into our stable yard twice a day to get fed, groomed, temperatures taken and checked for any injuries or illnesses. Each stable is approx. 3x4m and each horse has it’s own stable for feeding and checking. Each horse’s temperature is recorded twice a day and if there is anything out of their normal range they do not go on a ride and rather get kept in a big kraal over the next 24hrs for monitoring as well as any injured horses.

Due to their workload and relatively low nutrition in the grass on the reserve, the horses get 2 feeds of good quality hard food a day (amount depends on size of horse, breed and workload) which is a balanced pellet consisting of all the protein, minerals, fats and fibres they require. The horses also get supplemented with Alpha alpha and good quality hay which are both produced in our area.

The horses have regular farrier work every 6 weeks, the dentist once a year and for the young ones every 6 months. The horse physio and chiropractor come once or twice a year to treat the horses which require it, and I do horse sports massage on the horses to maintain them in between.

Our horse managers at each lodge have a wealth of experience to make sure every horse is cared for properly and in optimum condition. All the horses’ workload is carefully tracked to ensure they are not overworked and get time off when required.

People

The Waterberg has always been a fairly isolated community battling the elements to make a living from the bush. That kind of hardship brings people together in a mutual support system that builds strong loyalty. The Waterberg in the 21st century is no different. Whether on an ecological or social basis the area is still difficult to exist in and is made up of characters who are prepared to face those difficulties proactively. As individuals or corporately the Waterberg community relies on active involvement and participation. The Afrikaans people have a saying " a boer maak a plan" - " a farmer makes a plan"- which suggests a strong self-reliance but not just in an independent sense, more in an inter-dependent sense.

This company engages in and supports the following community initiatives and projects:

WATERBERG BIOPSHERE RESERVE (NPO 074-684). Dedicated to conserving the area and stimulating sustainable economic growth and development. Committed to skills development among the youth of our area.

WATERBERG WELFARE SOCIETY (NPO 019-865). Providing a service to people infected and affected with HIV/AIDS.

ST JOHN'S THE BAPTIST CHURCH Soup Kitchen - Feeds 400-900 children a week.

WATERBERG ACADEMY - Community school driven to provide an educated youth for the priveleged and underpriveleged alike.