Swazi Culture & Scenery

Horses & Riding

Tack

Liversage enduro saddles (trail saddles) with simple snaffle bridles and rope halters. There are water bottle holders on the saddles, and on full day rides, there are numnahs with pockets so that you can also carry snacks/extra layers. They recommend that you bring your own water bottle to reduce waste. Riding Helmets are compulsory.

Horses

Your horses have been carefully selected and bred for comfort as well as easy and happy riding. The herd comprises mainly of crossbreeds from a foundation stock of Arab, Warmblood and Boerperd with some recent additions of Percheron, Friesian, Clydesdale, Appaloosa, Lusitano and Thoroughbred crosses. Most are 15-15.2hh as smaller horses are usually more agile in the mountains.

The rides take you across technical terrain where you will cross rivers on horseback and may have to dismount and lead your horse over tricky paths.

Riding

There are 2 itineraries:

• Mlilwane Ride (Centre Based) is a based ride
• Mlilwane Ride (Camp-Out) is a trail ride

Ages

Riders of 8 years or older can join the Mlilwane rides

Health

You need to be fit for long hours in the saddle and able to dismount and lead your horse on foot for some sections. On the camping ride, camp is remote, so you need to be in good health.

Weight

85 kg / 187 lbs / 13 stone 5 lbs

Food & Accommodation

Food

You dine in the restaurants at the two main lodges/camps. Hippo Haunt at Rest Camp and Trading Post at KaMsholo provide a buffet breakfast and dinner with a la carte lunches. Saddlebag lunches are provided on full day rides with snacks or sandwiches with fruit and juice.

If you opt for the two nights fly camping then meals are cooked over the open fire.

Vegetarians can be accommodated and some special diets but please check with us first as sourcing some food stuffs can be difficult. Vegans cannot be catered for.

Accommodation

You can stay in a diverse mixture of accommodation, depending on the itinerary chosen - please see individual itineraries for more details.

On the Mlilwane Ride (centre based) you stay on two different reserves and in two different sets of rondavels. The Beehive huts or Lontweni rondavels at Mlilwane Rest camp are en-suite - the camp is quite large so they choose the more private options where possible. At Kamsholo you stay at Tinsele camp which has just 8 rondavels with ensuite bathrooms, so has a smaller and more personal fee.

On the Mlilwane Ride (with sleep-out) you also spend two nights camping. Camp is fully supported with bell tents (stretcher beds and proper bedding), bucket showers and long-drop toilets but has no electricity.

Single rooms are limited and extra cost.

Itineraries

Mlilwane Ride (Centre Based) Standard accommodation.

Mlilwane Ride (Camp-Out) Tented / Standard accommodation.

Other Activities

On the centre based Mlilwane Ride, non-riders are welcomed and you can opt to do as much or as little riding as you like. This is a much more flexible itinerary which is suited to families and mixed groups. The itinerary can be adapted to suit your groups needs.

Travel

Eswatini is less than 400km from Johannesburg airport. You can either take a road shuttle or short flight.

If opting for the road shuttle then we recommend arriving in Johannesburg the night before and spending the night in an airport hotel, so that you can take the c. 08:30am departure from OR Tambo. The later 11:00am and 14:00pm departures will mean missing your first chance to ride and arriving in the dark, which is not recommended due to free-roaming cattle, goats etc on the highways. Your guides will transfer you the final 10km between Ezulwini shuttle stop and the reserve.

On departure day, the shuttle departs Ezulwini at c. 07:00am, 10:30am and 13:30pm - the 10:30am one should have you back at OR Tambo in time for a flight that evening. However, please bear in mind that you are departing from KaMsholo, which is a 2hr drive from the shuttle stop - for this reason you may prefer to take the flight option back to Jo'burg.

You MUST book flights which allow time for passport control and to collect your luggage before making your way to the shuttle - we recommend at least 2 and preferably 3 hours. The journey to Eswatini takes c. 4 hours from the airport to the border, plus 30-60 mins for passport formalities and another c. 30mins to your destination.

Flights are also available from Johannesburg into Eswatini with Eswatini Air and Airlink Eswatini. The airport is King Mswati III (airport code SHO) and it's approximately a 50min flight, plus 1.5 hours drive from the airport to both reserves (the airport is about halfway between them). The flight departing OR Tambo at c 10am is likely too early for those arriving that day, but there is a flight departing c. 13:00 which would just get you there in time for the afternoon ride if there's no delays. The 14:30 on departure day should have you back into Johannesburg to fly home that evening - and even allows time for a final ride on KaMsholo.

Testimonials

Fiona E., March 30, 2026

There was a good variety of riding through some stunning scenery with regular opportunities to view game at close range. The Mlilwane camp was well positioned and quite relaxing. We enjoyed sitting on the verandah just looking at the view and listening to the sounds of the bush. The holiday was good value for money. On the evening jeep safari we had the rare opportunity to see crocodiles mating before heading for sundowners on the mountains. The outdoor breakfast was also memorable. Favourite memory? Viewing the scenery from Execution Rock and riding at close range with zebra and giraffe.

Jackie M., March 24, 2026

Big Game Parks are wonderful authentic reserves. We had great riding and great company (both guests and staff). Favourite memory? Riding up the mountain to enjoy a delicious breakfast outdoors. Horses? Yes, I rode 4 and they were all well behaved and in good condition and the saddles were comfortable. The guides were extremely well informed, friendly and approachable, spoke good English and looked after us and the horses.

Johanna F, May 16, 2025

It was so much fun. The country is small but it has an interesting culture and the people are sooo friendly and welcoming with their huge smiles. Ann was the perfect host, sometimes riding with us but always having lunch and dinner with her clients. And as she spent so much time with us, she also told us many stories and facts about Eswatini. She is extremely nice, perfect for this kind of thing. The same with the guides – not just guiding through the landscape but also sharing insights to their way of life. Very interesting, I loved it.

The horses – lovely, lovely, lovely. I rode 4 different ones and loved them all. Especially at the KamSholo we got to ride very forward-going horses with lots of wonderfully fast canters. I do not know why I was expecting slow rides, but I was definitely surprised in a good way. The horses were well-behaved, friendly, curious and taken well cared of.

The landscape was varied, and we didn’t have one day similar to the previous one. Always something different. The weather was also perfect as it was 20 plus some degrees during the day every day. Nights a bit chilly, but that was no problem with a good layer of clothes.

Oh, almost forgot the animals! At Mlilwane they are just THERE. Warthogs, zebras, all kind of antelopes... they are literally walking in the camp a couple of meters away from you. I have been on safaris, but this was quite unique as I have never been so close to them actually. You could almost touch them (not that I would really want to pat on a warthog 😃). They do not have lions or elephants, but it didn’t matter as there are other animals all over the place. In KamSholo there were a quite a bit of giraffes as well. They are indeed beautiful animals.

I am usually ok to go home when the trail ends, but I have to say, I would have loved to spend a few more days there and was kind of sad to be going home.

Martin and Suzanne, May 16, 2025

A fantastic opportunity to get to know a little about Eswatini - the people, the environment, the animals - all whilst riding wonderful horses and with superb hospitality.

The accommodation was luxurious and food excellent - including a couple of lovely surprises arranged by our host. We each rode 3 different horses - all were ideal for the job - fit, responsive and very well cared for. Saddles were comfortable and suited to trail riding. All our guides were very friendly and knowledgeable. They made sure that we were safe at all times and we were kept well- informed about the area in which we were travelling, about the local people and the wildlife we encountered.