Horse riding holiday in South Africa

As a part of our continued commitment to responsible tourism, we operate this trip in a way that aims to reduce impacts and to give as much back as possible to the local communities. We visit local communities and interact with them in a socially responsible manner.

The trip visits the Milwane Nature Reserve in Swaziland and pays a levy towards the upkeep thereof, it also visits rural communities in Swaziland and helps promote local culture. In Drakensberg the trip goes through the Royal Natal National Park and pays a levy to the local community; it also visits a world heritage site and pays towards the maintenance of it.

The tour visits Somgimvelo Game Reserve where the daily conservation fee goes directly into the reserve management. This park consists of mountains, valleys and flood plains that can only be accessed by horseback. Only 5% of the park is useable by car, making this area a treasure trove of well-kept secrets. The reserve has a very healthy population of white rhino and is also home to large numbers of elephant, buffalo, giraffe and all plains animals, so there is an excellent chance of getting up close to some of Africa's big game and contributing to the management of this wonderful reserve helps to ensure the future of the wildlife found here.

We use a locally owned operator on this trip. We have had a long-term relationship with the operator thereby stabilising the income generation and creating a more sustainable future. We have worked with our operator to help train staff in all aspects of their jobs, thereby helping to invest in the people to help improve their knowledge and future prospects and this includes Responsible Tourism training. We use local leaders who are already committed to Responsible Tourism and who have received training and get additional refresher training on a regular basis. The leaders give an RT briefing on issues such as how to help understand local communities and how to help reduce the impact and maximise the benefits to the local communities from the visit. For example they advise on where to shop, what to buy (and not to buy), how to behave and a responsible litter policy.

We use locally trained grooms in each of the areas visited, and this directly benefits the local communities. We use all locally owned and run accommodation on this trip. This contributes directly to the local communities as local staff are employed and locally produced and sourced goods are bought for the accommodation benefiting the wider community.

The group size is deliberately kept small to a maximum of 10 people, to keep the environmental impact to a minimum, the leaders are trained to implement environmental procedures such as, no littering, to bring all refuse out of the remote area, to strictly stay on paths as to minimize erosion, especially as they are on horseback.

We have at our offices worked to reduce our carbon footprint through a reduction of energy use and energy conservation measures. We also actively reduce the waste produced by having active reduction and recycling policies in place. We run annual staff workshops on Responsible Tourism. Global warming is a reality and to help you make a difference by reducing the carbon dioxide that is produced when you travel we offer a chance to carbon balance your flights. We encourage all our clients to do this and do so for all our staff travel. Go on do your bit!