For a different and sometimes thrilling way of seeing African wildlife, DAVID GEVISSER recommends a horseback safari.

Published in: The Western Australian - Travel - Thursday February 3 2000

"Trail riding in Africa is as varied as is the great continent itself. I have enjoyed day rides on the white beaches of the Cape Peninsula and through the gentle, beautiful wine country of the Boland; I have ridden the mountains and valleys of the incomparable Garden Route; I have thrilled to the vastness of the Drakensberg mountain range, and to the distant hills of Swaziland. Further to the north are trails in the remote Waterberg, and across the Limpopo the lush water-meadows of the Okavango. There are riding trails in Zimbabwe, and Malawi, in Namibia and in Kenya. The thrill of galloping in the midst of the dust and excitement of a migrating zebra herd in the Serengeti, is almost indescribable. Finally, to the north across the Sahara, I have ridden in Morocco, at Taroudant, on the edge of the desert, on magnificent, highly strung, incredibly fast Arab mounts.

Each of these has its own magic. All that is common is that you are a rider on a horse, and that you are seeing country and vistas and wildlife in a manner that is unique, combining a love of open country, of the wild and of the joy of riding.

There is just such a unique experience when riding out with Wendy Adams from her Equus Horse Safaris base camp, deep in the Waterberg mountain area of the Northern Province of South Africa. It is one of the few remaining truly wild parts of Southern Africa, and has changed little from the days of Paul Kruger's old Transvaal Republic when troublesome Boers were allocated farms in the Waterberg to ensure that they were well away from their betters. It was, and to some degree, still is hunting territory, largely inaccessible, but today happily the core of vast conservation areas that are about to be consolidated into a World Biosphere Reserve, closely protective of nature, ecology and its animal and human population.

One of these conservation constituents is Lapalala Wilderness, an immense 36 000 hectare (80 000 acre) tract of wild country, only partly accessible by old hunting trails. It is classic bushveld and mountain terrain, dry and dusty in the winter months, but exploding into life with the first summer rain. It is home to an extraordinary range of plant and insect and animal life. The wildlife is not seen in the vast grazing or migrating herds of the Serengeti, but rather singly, shyly or in small groups. Eagles, hawks and vultures wheel and swoop overhead; cormorants perch immobile on trees above a stretch of water; the bush is alive with birdlife.

It is through this initially strange country that you ride from Wendy's camp, hidden in thick bush along a stream bed, dry in winter but gurgling happily in the hot, rainy season. Your home is a well-equipped permanent safari tent, with WC and hot-water shower en-suite. Drinks are round an open fire, meals in a superb thatched open-sided lodge cooked by a skilful chef. There is an excellent range of South African wines to add to the pleasure of a relaxed three-course dinner eaten by candlelight - there is no electricity at the camp. Conversation is of course of horses, and animals seen, of experiences and thrills in other remote parts of the wild world. In your group of eight, there are probably riders with tastes and experiences similar to your own, coming from Germany, United Kingdom, America, Switzerland, Holland, Italy and France. The sounds of the wild surround you, just beyond the wall of your dining area. There are never more than eight guest riders, accompanied fore and aft by Wendy and one of her experienced guides. The horses are superbly trained, fit and glossy, of sturdy "Boerperd" stock crossed with Arab.

A typical day starts with a light breakfast in the early hours of the morning, then a 3 hour ride, followed by a solid "brunch". Afterwards, a siesta until 15H30 and then another horse safari until sundown. As with any game viewing, you may see everything - or nothing! What is certain however, is that during your stay you will see warthog, zebra, impala, waterbuck, eland, kudu, wildebeest & giraffe. You may see the rare cheetah, leopard, aardwolf, aardvark or bat-eared fox. You will quietly walk your horse to within 50 meters of a group of grazing white rhinoceros, or a solitary grumpy black rhino. You are in fact enjoying the rare privilege of riding through the Lapalala Wilderness rhino sanctuary - one of the few cherished areas in Africa where rhino is protected from the hunters plying their gruesome horn trade.

Wendy and her guides are as well versed in all of this as they are in the ancient lore of the bush. Under their gentle tutelage, what appears to be a scuffed mark in the sand transforms into the animal that made it; a small heap of dung discloses its origin and its owner's food preferences; a bulb shaped like a monkey's tail is hollowed out to carry a live coal; a shrub bark is an emetic; a tree's leaf an antiseptic. This is country where rock paintings and iron-age ruins and ancient remedies are almost a part of the present. History and custom have merged. Time has slowed to the rhythm of your horses hooves.

Game viewing can of course be accomplished in easier ways, but to me, it is the combination of horse riding, of being in the bush, of seeing animals, plus a slight but ever-present sense of danger, that never palls and that brings me back regularly to Africa's remote riding experiences.

The Lapalala Wilderness is one of these places. The dusty Waterberg, with its infinite variety will enthrall you as it has done Wendy and me, and all the many guests who have ridden with her. You may thrill to the migrating herds of the Serengeti, or surrender to the wild charm of the Okavango, but I will guarantee that a taste of the Waterberg uniqueness will turn you into an addict."