South Africa Horseback Safaris

It is with great sadness that I have to announce that as of the 3rd January 2009 South Africa Horseback Safaris will no longer have the concession to ride in Songimvelo Game Reserve.
 
If anyone is aware of what is happening here in South Africa at the moment then you will know that there is a huge land claim / reform policy to return areas of land to ‘historically disadvantaged people’. In short this means that tribes / clans / families can claim land if they can prove that they were forcibly removed by settlers / apartheid government or any other illegal means. No less than 30 families have laid claim to the area that we know as Songimvelo Game Reserve and whilst the current SA government have stipulated that areas of natural beauty or land that is used for conservation may not be utilised to any other effect it is becoming clearer that the game reserve will be turned in to farmland for cows and planting over the next few years.

We are totally devastated to lose the opportunity to access this beautiful area, anyone who has ridden with us will know that it is steeped in history, rich with flora and fauna and with the most varied and diverse species of game in South Africa. It truly is a huge loss not just to us as a company but to South African Heritage as well.

We have one final year to share this park with guests and will be running our Wilderness Safaris for the remainder of 2008 season plus our Special New Year Safari from 28 Dec – 3 January. After that it will no longer be possible to ride horses in this reserve. Please may I ask that you market this safari as much as you can so that we can really get as many people as possible to see it in all its natural beauty before the concession ends.

PLEASE CAN I BE CLEAR - it is business as usual for remainder of 2008 season with both Lodge Based Riding and Wilderness Safaris.

All is not finished for the Rufus’s though, we have spent a long time building up one of the best team of safari horses in the business and anyone who has ridden with Steven will attest to his expertise and knowledge of the bush. All that skill can not go to waste, so for some time now we have been looking for new concessions to continue our horse safari business.

We are excited to announce that we are signing a 99 year lease to be based on the outskirts of Kafue National Park in Zambia with a view to riding within the park itself for horse safaris. In short this means we will be building permanent structures and a small lodge for two legged and four legged friends! This park is the largest and oldest in Zambia consisting of some 22,480 square kilometres and is based in the South West of Zambia itself. Not only is it a stunning part of Africa but we will also be based fairly close to Livingstone and Victoria Falls so there is a great opportunity for guests to see one of the wonders of the world after riding in the Real African Bush. Kafue offers the Big Five apart from Rhino (which there are plans to reintroduce in the next couple of years), and there are immense herds of Buffalo and Elephant that wander across the open plains in the northern end of the park across the Busanga Plains.

It really is a very ‘large slice of heaven’ easily accessible by light aircraft from either Lusaka or Livingstone International Airport. Zambia was voted the 13th top country in the world to visit in 2006 – in short because of the availability of the Falls but also because this country promotes itself as the real Africa, all the wonderful smells, sights and sounds that assail you as soon as you step off the aircraft make you realise that you are seeing Africa as it should be, without fences and as natural as it was intended. Kwacha is the local currency but the majority of business is being completed in US$. English is typically their first language (although there are 70 indigenous languages!) and everyone we have met there is incredibly excited about the prospect of the first International Standard Horse Safari starting up.

The concession area is adjacent to a lake called Itezhi-Tezhi and its varied shore line includes grassy banks cropped by hippo, rocky bays, and stretches of submerged trees which provide perfect perches for water birds, such as the fish eagle – the national symbol of Zambia, cormorant and a host of other birds.
 
There are many more details we need to finalise before we can advertise official itineraries, rates and departure dates for 2009, but I wanted to make you all aware as brochure printing and website promotions will need to be changed so that Songimvelo is not continued for 2009 season. Over the next few weeks we will have more information for you all on the Zambian Project and I will release all the details as they come through so that you can advise any potential clients of what is happening as we really want to start taking bookings for this brand new concession in 2008 so we can start the new season in a new country with a brand new concession.

I will be attending both Punchestown 23-26 April in Ireland and Badminton 1-4 May in the UK this year, so if anyone is available please do come and see me so that I can advise of any updates and provide some promotional material for you all.
 
I would also like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere thanks to everyone for all your hard work and support in making Songimvelo a success story, whilst on the one hand we can not wait to start the new project in Zambia it is also tinged with sadness that we will have to leave this wonderful area behind and all the hard work that it has taken to place this area on the International Map. We most certainly could not have done it without you all and we really hope that you can continue to support us in our new venture – Kafue Horse Safaris.
 
Kindest Regards
 
Steven & Lucy Rufus
 
South Africa Horseback Safaris
Po Box 15815
West Acres
Nelspruit
1211
Mobile - +27 (0) 721860558 / +27 (0) 794934860
Mail - rufus@sahorsebacksafaris.com <mailto:rufus@sahorsebacksafaris.com>
Web - www.sahorsebacksafaris.com <http://www.sahorsebacksafaris.com>

Location

Songimvelo game reserve was proclaimed a conservation area on the 4th March 1983. It covers an area of 50,000 hectares, which makes it the largest provincial game reserve in South Africa. Situated 100 kms south of the town of Barberton, it borders on to the Kingdom of Swaziland. 250 kilometres to the north east will bring you into Mozambique. Kruger Park is also easily accessible by car.

Some of the most extraordinary facts about Songimvelo include its rock formations that have been dated at 3.5 billion years old, making them some of the oldest known geological formations on the world.

Early Stone Age man also inhabited this area and artefacts have been found dating back to 1 million years old. Stone walled sites from the later Iron Age are also very common and can be viewed across the reserve. Indications that the area was inhabited by the San People (Bushmen) can also be found. More recently the discovery of gold in the area encouraged hoards of Europeans to migrate to the area in search of their fortunes.

The park boasts more than 1400 different species of plant life, including the extremely rare Woolly Cycad, which is the only place in the world this tree can now be found. There are 14 other threatened plant species that survive in this area, and their conservation is a high priority to the park.

There are 20 species of herbivores all of which were re introduced after they had been hunted to extinction prior to the 1980’s. Animals seen include elephant, white rhino, buffalo, giraffe, kudu, eland, impala, blesbok, blue wildebeest, zebra, sable, hartebeest, tsessebe, bushpig, warthog, klipspringer, steenbok, duiker, mountain reedbuck, hippopotamus, waterbuck, oribi, baboon, vervet monkey, bushbaby.

There are 3 very important animals situated in the park:  white rhino which were almost hunted to extinction and now the park is home to 40 of these magnificent animals. ‘Disease free’ Buffalo are also present (these are carefully bred buffalo that are free from Tuberculosis and Foot and Mouth). There is also an important population of Springbuck that are ‘Heartwater’ resistant (this is a tick born disease that can kill livestock if not managed carefully).

To date there is only one carnivore present in the park, that being the Leopard, which can be very elusive as it hunts mainly at night.

Songimvelo is also an important catchment area for a number of streams and rivers where the water is utilized downstream for agricultural areas. These include the Oom Saulu River and the Komati River which flows through Songimvelo and on to Swaziland.

The park consists of mountains, valleys and flood plains that can only be accessed by horseback. Only 5% of the park is useable by car and the roads are suitable for 4X4 vehicles only, making the park a treasure trove of well kept secrets. Even the field rangers patrol on horseback.