The radio program was about a safari on horseback in Zimbabwe. The interviewer described how the safari takes you through a wilderness area following paths carved by Elephants. This sounded wonderful, seeing animals in their natural habitat without the confines of a ‘tour bus’ and the company of too many people whose main objective was to add a ‘safari’ to all the other exclusive holidays on their list. I knew this was what I wanted to do and set about planning how I could achieve this, and convince my non-riding, non-"horsey" husband that this would be the experience of a lifetime!

Earlier this year my opportunity arrived. It became apparent our one and only son was to be away on a school trip early in July. This was an ideal time to visit Africa, just coming out of winter it would not be too cold - and inversely, it was important for me (being a fair skinned Celt) not too hot. I decided to do some further research before presenting the idea to my intended companion. I was able to track down the holiday details through a specialist, UK-based horsey holiday provider called "In the Saddle". They were most helpful and advised that if my husband had the correct mental attitude there would not be a problem.

Kopje Tops

We left Gatwick one Friday evening not sure what to expect. Our holiday began in the arrival hall at Harare airport where we were met by Geoffrey, the co-owner of Carew Safaris and creator of the wonderful camp we were about to visit. The safari we had elected to go on was a combination of staying at the main camp, Kopje Tops (this is an African word for a small hill) and then riding out to another tented camp at Bat caves staying there for 2 nights and then back to Kopje Tops for our final farewell dinner and following days riding. We were quickly loaded into an extremely comfortable Toyota Landcruiser on our way to Kopje Tops. The journey took a couple of hours which passed quickly as we began to learn a little of the history of Zimbabwe and about Geoffrey’s operation at Kopje Tops. All this informative conversation was to the background of Fats Waller!

The author outside her hut with no door!!

Once we arrived at the camp we were escorted to our base for the holiday, a charming hut with no door which did seem a little strange. We quickly freshened up and met at the lodge for lunch. The dinning room and lounge area are built high up in what seemed to me an extremely large and comfortable adult tree house. This was when we were introduced to Jane, who was to be our guide. I recognised her voice from the radio program and was now able to put a face to it. We spoke of riding abilities, which in Gordon's case was zero. I explained I was probably of intermediate standard but tended to be on the timid side! After a sumptuous lunch we were to go on a sun-downer ride to aquaint ourselves with the horses and let Gordon feel what life in the saddle was going to be like.

The author on 'Gulf'

We were introduced to our mounts. I was to ride an elegant chestnut called Gulfstream, or Gulf for short. She was a polo pony approximately 8 years old. Gordon was directed towards a 16 hand handsome thoroughbred called Eclipse. Jane assured us he was an old master, which over the course of the holiday he demonstrated again and again.

Gordon rewarding Eclipse - male bonding!

We set off as the sun was beginning to lower in the sky and for the first time I had a real sense of the openness as there really was nothing for miles, the only noise being that of other animals. The ride was at a brisk walk, we soon started to climb up a steep escarpment, we were about to learn the importance of moving your body weight to assist the horses cover the ground. All the horses are taught to neck rein which is very useful if you are a complete beginner, as Gordon was, as it gives plenty of opportunity to grab handfuls of mane to assist in getting you out of the saddle in the uphill stretches. We soon reached the top of the escarpment and dismounted, tied the horses up and scrambled to the top of the rock where we sat, drank our still cool beer, and watched the animals in the valley below. On that visit we saw Kudu and Sable in the distance. The scenery was beautiful, Acacia trees growing out of impossible rocky homes. Soon we were heading back to the lodge, where in the dusk we could see a wisp of smoke escaping from the chimney at Kopje Tops. Once dismounted we handed our horses to the grooms who tended them. Although my introduction to Gulf had been brief, I was eagerly awaiting tomorrow morning to continue our introductions to each other, and more importantly Gordon appeared to have taken a liking to Eclipse and was looking quite confident.

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