4 days - Maun to Maun

The Kalahari Desert is a real wilderness area covering about two thirds of Botswana. Unlike the classic deserts of rolling sand dunes the Kalahari is largely made up of grasslands, salt pans and acacia forests. Although it is a seemingly inhospitable land, it supports a diverse range of wildlife from lions, cheetahs, leopards and brown hyenas to plains game such as wildebeest, gemsbok, duiker and springbok. With the coming of the rains the desert comes alive with the new grass attracting huge herds of zebra and wildebeest in an amazing migration, second only in size to the famous migration of East Africa.

The Central Kalahari Game Reserve is one of the world's largest game reserves, at about 53,000 square kilometres. It was originally set up in 1961 as a refuge for the San Bushmen. In recent years this has been the cause of many problems, as the Bushmen were forcibly removed from the reserve and placed in settlements on the outskirts. Thankfully, however, this decision was successfully defeated in court in 2006 and the Bushmen are now returning.

Grassland Safaris is situated in a vast stretch of unoccupied land between the cattle ranches of Ghanzi and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Big and small game from the reserve move freely onto the farm, complementing the wildlife sighting opportunities the farm already offers. This is the land of the San (Bushman), although these days many of the San have given up their hunter-gatherer lifestyles and work on the cattle ranches, using horses to assist them in their work, from looking after the cattle, tracking dangerous predators, to just visiting their neighbours.

During your stay at Grasslands you will have an opportunity to explore the area on horseback escorted by a 'San' tracker and have a once in a lifetime chance to join the local people on a food gathering experience. This will enable you to see their amazing skills at "reading" the signs of the veld and to understand how the San manage to survive in such a seemingly hostile environment.

The riding is tailored to suit the your requirements. The going is ideal for long extended canters and the open plains make a sharp contrast to the watery beauty of the Okavango. Although this ride can be booked as a stand alone holiday it makes a perfect add-on to a 5 or 7 night ride in the Delta.