Wilderness Adventures Horse Riding

Located on the famous Western Cape Garden Route of South Africa, Wilderness Adventures offers horse trails and safaris, pony camp and even the unique experience of a horse riding stunt academy.

Elbrus Ourtaev, the proprietor of Wilderness Adventures has worked as a stuntman in many international films, specializing in horseback stunts. Whet your appetite by booking to witness Elbrus in action, as he trains and works with our stunt horses or request a viewing of the promotional video on the stunt horses and riders!

Trail RIding:

Splendid Horse trails through the indigenous forest in the new Garden Route National Park are an absolute must if you are headed to this delightful area of South Africa any time soon. If not you may need to plan a trip here soon. During these horse rides you may see the abundant wildlife common to the area which is also home to the Knysna Elephant. These elephant have recently been sighted at Berg Plaas.

Rides are structured to accommodate everyone and the trails are secure. Wilderness Adventures' horses are well trained and gentle to allow you to explore these majestic forests at a pleasant pace on horseback. You will relish the freedom this experience will afford you of being wholly able to enjoy nature's treasures.

All trails are supervised by highly experienced guides. The guides are fluent in English, German and also Russian.

All trails are accompanied by 1 or 2 experienced guides and the groups are kept small, for maximum enjoyment for our guests.

We offer a variety of trails to suit your various needs.

A leisurely 1 hr trail through a Gum Tree forest is suitable for a family with small children.

Also through the Gum Forest a 1.5 hr trail is suitable for all those that wish to have a shorter Ride. This ride is very tranquil and sightings of baboons and other small game occur occasionally. For the experienced riders and the gutsy ones we trot and canter on these rides.

We then have a trail through the Garden Route National Park that goes through Pine Plantations, the superb indigenous forests and comes out at a small waterfall. The duration of this trail is approximately 2.5 to 3 hrs and is totally suitable for the beginner riders and children from about 8 years old.

The longer ride up to the White river riding through the mountain ranges of indigenous forests, you will find yourself surrounded by unsurpassed beauty. This trail is suitable only for experienced and fit riders. Duration of this trail with a picnic at the White River is approx 4-4.5 hrs.

For group bookings of 4-6 experienced riders we offer a trail through the mountains into the Klein Karoo. This is a 4 day trail, with overnight accommodation.

Cossack Stunt Academy:

Wilderness Adventures is managed by a family of talented Stunt riders and trainers. With instruction and demonstration relevant to you or your child's age, you can learn the advanced techniques passed down from the Academy of Cossack riding in Russia.

The yard is designed as a fun place where kids will not only learn to ride and do stunts but will also learn how to take care of horses and to see these animals as truly noble beings that deserve loads of love and respect from us, their humans! We are not a competitive yard. Our focus is to build confidence, learn life skills and develop confident and caring riders.

Pony Camp:

For little horsey fanatics over school holidays, we offer an interesting, busy and stimulating Pony camp with a difference. The Pony camps are for experienced children only. They must be able to walk, trot and canter. Mornings begin with grooming and feeding of the ponies. Children learn about actually owning a pony and the responsibilities that go with that pleasure. We cover a bit of horse behavior education. The children will learn to read signs which tell us if the pony is well or in ill health.

After the ponies have been cared for we enjoy breakfast together before saddling up to explore the indigenous forests in the area. Riding instruction is given on these fun rides out in gorgeous surrounds where your children can fill their lungs with healthy fresh air. After the trail, children and ponies can cool off in the dams and enjoy some playtime with the ponies.

Lunch will be welcome to their sharpened appetites after the morning's action and then fun lessons in stunt riding are offered. These lessons convey valuable skills and balancing that can be also applied to the various riding disciplines your child participates in, as well as being loads of fun. Before the day draws to a close and evening arrives, we review some of the newly acquired horsey knowledge with pony quizzes and then it is time to groom and feed the horses again. Lessons are also given in jumping and general riding lessons. The camp builds up to a fun gymkana. Each child gets a CD of their Pony camp to show off to mom and dad.

The children stay in tented accommodation and are always supervised. They all have so much fun that none want the camp to end and nobody wishes to go back home!!!

Wilderness, Garden Route, South Africa.

• Expert, multilingual guides
• Horses
• All riding and safety gear
• Longer trail rides include meals, refreshments and accommodation where necessary.

All are welcome. No prior horse riding experience necessary as we will adapt the experience according to your personal needs and skill level.

Please enquire for exact current rates, and all other rates not listed above (e.g. stunt academy).