UMGENI, SOUTH AFRICA: The 7-Day Journey Ride £1,100

Seven Days. Into the Wild. Bad Pony Approved

Ride with owner, Tess Miles, from a working farm through bushveld and sugarcane fields deep into the Umgeni Valley reserve, spending three nights at Fountain Hill Estate before crossing into Cumberland Nature Reserve for the final stretch. Each day brings something different. Cliff top farmland, a dramatic gorge ride to a hidden waterfall, open grasslands with game on all sides and a river crossing where you swap the saddle for a rowboat while the horses go by truck. The highlight? Summiting a massive kranz with views over the entire valley that will genuinely stop you in your tracks. Sundowners, campfires and horses grazing nearby every evening.

Ride alongside wildlife through deep gorges, past waterfalls and across open grasslands with plenty of room to canter. This landscape has been home to humans for 30,000 to 40,000 years. You feel it. Two reserves, surrounding farmland, a river to follow and a small group led by the owners throughout. Quality horses, unique scenery and wildlife around every corner.

This is South Africa as it should be experienced.