SOUTH AFRICA HORSEBACK SAFARIS – October 2007 NEWSLETTER

“THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE”

Bookings available for 2008 via our sister site. www.lekkerholidays.com or follow the link

/www.lekkerholidays.com/contact_us.php

So, our main season has drawn to an end and our final guests left us yesterday, what a wonderful year it has been, both Steven and I are incredibly grateful to all our agents, clients and friends (plus clients who became friends!)  who have supported us this year and made Songimvelo such a huge success in 2007.

The feedback from everyone has been much better than we hoped for and we are delighted to offer a full schedule of dates for Wilderness Safaris in the 2008 season - which is being booked as I type. Please see our website for departure dates and guests testimonials. As we sit here and put together info for this newsletter a few memories stand out in a year full of laughter and adventure;

July – a momentous month for clients creating a special song for safari – The Hippo Rap ! – Really it was one of those occasions you had to be there!!

September and October saw the Irish arrive in force, and we can really say the Luck of the Irish worked for them on all occasions, beautiful weather, stunning game viewing and laughter throughout all the weeks. The elephant viewing was superb and we sat for over an hour watching them plus tiny babies descend the mountains and move off in to the bush, a real WOW moment. Steven’s tough exterior was totally ‘busted’ and the nick name Pavlova will now stick for a long time – hard on the outside, soft and gooey inside! These guests certainly got the measure of this bushman.

Every time we ride in Songimvelo the game is special and in abundance, from baby giraffe taking their first tentative steps, curious buffalo watching us stalk Elephant for that perfect picture, tiny baby Rhino leading their Mum on a headlong dash through the bush, new born elephants being lead by their mother’s tails over the rough terrain, majestic secretary birds stalking their prey, Hippo wallowing next to the camp and joining in with the laughter, and herds and herds of antelope species racing across the plains on their own migration.

We have it all.

I have also received a large number of requests to see photos of our two new stallions – mentioned in last quarter’s newsletters – so please find the lovely boys pictured here. Eros is the Bay and Edelwood the Grey, however Edelwood has now had his name changed to Mahashi (Zulu for Horse), mainly because I kept calling him Eddie and driving Steven mad in the process so a name change was the only way to stop the nicknames! 

Now that the main safari season has drawn to a close, both myself and Steven will be marketing hard over the coming months to try and reach as many people as possible for the 2008 season. Our schedule is as follows, and please let me know if you want to meet up with us:

9th- 11th November – Lucy will be at Your Horse Live in London on the In the Saddle stand

12-15th Nov – Both Steven and Lucy will be on stand AF1020 at World Travel Market in London

12th Nov – evening with In the Saddle in London for clients

16-19th – Both of us will be in Ireland with Zara’s Planet

Jan 11th-Feb 2nd – Steven will be in the USA, visiting trade shows in New York, Maryland, Virginia and California

Hambanatsi School

Our school project is coming on in leaps and bounds and the most wonderful part of our support there is seeing the school and children starting to take a huge pride in their classrooms and grounds. They now proudly display the SA flag and are trying to cultivate garden areas outside the classrooms so that the whole school feels more like an environment the children and community want to look after and learn in. My thanks to everyone who left donations or bought essential items like books and pens to help them, in particular I have to mention Olwen Law, Zara Stassin, Eamon & Rita Holmes, Sven van Damme & Evi Vereecke whose generosity was amazing – you have all touched my heart and given those children a start in life that otherwise would not be possible.

For next year we are looking at a playing field and following on from South Africa’s triumph in the rugby (I had to mention that or Steven would never forgive me) we want to level off an area and organise for a pitch to be built. Anyone who visits us next year can bring PE kit or sporting equipment that would help with this, a little piece of anything that you don’t want goes such a long way here so please think of the school when you are about to throw out old clothes / Kit.

New Year in the Bush!

Following the success of last year, we are again repeating the New Year ride with a very special opportunity to see in 2008 in one of the most unique locations in the world. The safari will run from the 28th December to the 3rd January, with first night being in the bush, and last night being at Dawson’s Lodge for a perfect end to a perfect safari. New Year’s Eve will be full of excitement with the Swazi dancers coming in to the bush and the serenades of a Marimba band to see out 2007 beside a camp fire in the heart of Songimvelo.

28th Dec – arrive at Songimvelo, afternoon ride – overnight at tented camp

29th Dec – All day ride with picnic, overnight at tented camp

30th Dec – Ascend to the mountains with pack horses and overnight in mountain cabin

31st – Descend Mountain, across open plains, afternoon of relaxation and entertainment in evening

1st Jan – moderately early start (!) riding 4 hours and then afternoon at leisure

2nd Jan – Morning ride and then transfer to Dawson’s lodge for afternoon and evening

3rd Jan – Outbound transfer for onward flights

Prices – GBP 1700.00 per person

Includes – all meals, accommodation, entertainment, park fees, professional guide, 4/.5 hours riding per day, tfr to Dawson from Songimvelo

    Excludes – flights, car tfr to / from Songimvelo, beverages at lodge

We still have some availability, so please let us know if you want to come and share in this unique experience.

If you are interested in booking a Horse Safari with Lucy & Steven at South Africa Horseback Safaris

Please contact

Mail – J.laws@saunlimited.com

Or go to our booking form at

Web - www.lekkerholidays.com