Mkulu Kei safari horse trail in South Africa offers a riding holiday experience along the Eastern Cape, Wild Coast, of South Africa. We atre situated north of East London, just past Cintsa. For your horse beach riding adventure, equestrian working volunteer gap vacation or children’s pony camps. A combination of riding horses on a wild, unspoiled pristine coastline, history, rural life, birds, game, rolling hills, jagged cliffs, culture and heritage. A mix of equestrian experiences, scenery and terrain. The Wild Coast a scenic underdeveloped pristine coastline experienced on safari horseback a must do experience. "A real ride to many places at any paces"

You could be here on your coastal safari horse riding vacation, Mkulu Kei Horse Trails The best of equestrian holidays.

This horse trek in South Africa offers a so much more than just an out- ride on holiday. Experience, beach, rural life and Safari riding, while giving you the chance to sample the undeveloped beauty of the South African Wild Coast, Transkei.

Day rides for your shorter rides, overnight trails for your longer trips, pony camps for children, your working holiday volunteer gap destination, first time riders or advanced. Read on we have the product for you.

Awesome hacking conditions, the best equine riding countryside, hours of time in the saddle.

Extracts taken from a book - The Absolute Border. Alan Jefferies The infamous Kei Mouth Road “hell-road”.

The old Titanium mine. While on holiday in Kei Mouth over December holidays 1951 Trev Miller discovered alternative layers of dark and light sand deposits the sample was sent to a laboratory in Johannesburg the results indicated the presence of Titanium Oxide. The preliminary claim pegging culminated in a prospecting license. Dated 24th April 1953.

The dunes between Morgan Bay and Kei Mouth became the main focus. It was the Kei Mouth Village Management Board that stopped the operating of the Cape Morgan Titanium mine.

Today Conrade the previous owner of Wavecrest hotel continues to fight of the mining along the Wild Coast where large deposits are found. It would be very sad to see our beautiful coast strip-mined.

A popular equine area through out history. Until the regular use of motor vehicles in 1920 horses were used as the only fast transportation and provided pleasure during recreational times - everyone owned a horse. A policeman, Piet Rheeder from Rocky Ridge, a farm just outside Kei Mouth, taught his horse to acquire the taste of the local beer brew made from fermented maize. His horse became so addicted to the concoction that he sniffed out hidden caches. Only with permission were occasions celebrated with legal beer. Perpetrators were baffled by the ability of a mere horse to sniff out their well hidden and often buried catches. Rheeder’s horse was always rewarded with a long drink, allowing a sufficient quantity left to provide evidence in court.

A rigid set of rules governed stabling and care of horses. They were always kept in shining, top condition. Patrols lasted as long as a week away from base with pack horses following policemen on their mounts. Every farmer was required to sign a register providing written proof of the area covered, which was then presented to their superiors at the end of lengthy patrols.

There are records of the Cape Mounted Rifles, stationed at Komgha in 1889, practicing their riding skills on New Year’s Day on the beach at Kei Mouth. As sword and lance were still part of their weaponry, their skills were measured by their ability to stab and lift pegs embedded in the sand. Local farmers drawn to the sea for their holidays, soon joined in. The Border was the first to formalize gymkhana events on a regional basis in South Africa and it was decided on 6th October 1934 to move the grounds from Fort Warwick, at Impetu, or the “place of maggots” to Kei Mouth. Those present agreed to pay an annual subscription fee of one shilling. The outbreak of the Second world War saw a postponement of the Kei Mouth gymkhana between 1941 and 1946, because many participants left to fight overseas. It was revived on New Year’s Day 1947 a well supported event and continued very successfully until numbers attending began to dwindle with the development of motorized transport and fewer people acquiring riding skills and sadly ended in 1984.

Our own horse whisper. A skilled rider and legend in Kei Mouth, Mr. Bobby Salkinder would demonstrate his riding skills. Vaulting over his horses back at the gallop, stand upright on his horse’s saddle with 6 borrowed horse clasped in his hands, charging down the length of the course. Perfectly balanced and in control which left the audience awestruck. In 1955 in an Afrikaans paper he was asked to name the secret of his success. “That’s easy” “A horse is like a person. Speak nicely to them treat and feed them well, and they will do anything for you”. Bobby summed up his relationship with horses in simple terms.

“Dutchie” Oswald Holland and partner Dick Whittal opened a riding school from 1954-1970, and novice riders were coached in the finer points of horsemanship. Beach rides were very popular during the day, as were moonlight rides when conditions were suitable.

A vacation: There was nobody living permanently in Kei Mouth but on the approximately 1st of December every year, farmers accompanied by servants, livestock and sufficient groceries, including crates of chickens, fattened sheep started their two/three day ox-wagon trek to Kei Mouth for their two month beach holiday. On route they would make a temporary camp, untether the oxen, cattle, sheep, horses, milk cows and their calves on a “outspan” farm, now known as Mkulu Kei Nature Reserve, our family farm.

Diamond fever: in 1925 John Bock 73 year’s old man picked up an unusual shiny pebble. A Diamond! He searched and uncovered more than 583 carats He registered his diamonds, with the exception of 6 large ones. Diamond fever soon gripped the countryside and prospectors poured in. Not one single diamond was located during the feverish searching by any other prospector throughout the area. Only John’s site was producing regular, spectacular results. Discontented rumblings amongst the prospectors hinted at “something fishy” The Authorities caught wind of this and placed a ban on further prospecting and mining operations geologists from De Beers were convinced the diamonds did

New evidence shows little doubt that the diamonds originated from India and purchased by the captain on 4th August 1782 of the ill-fated Grosverendor ship. On voyage from India to England which foundered after hitting a reef north off Port St Johns. Captain Coxon, William Hosea, George McDonald together with 138 other survivors, decided to walk westwards along the coast, in hope of reaching Cape Town and then return to England. The wild, inhospitable coastline took its toll, the survivors died on route from exhaustion, exposure, sickness and starvation, harassed by tribesman and terrorized at night by strange noises. George McDonald was met by a formidable barrier, the Kei River, his final resting – place, one hundred an forty three years before John’s discovery.

Huberta, the famous wandering hippopotamus that traveled from the St Lucia in Natal enjoyed Kei mouth so much she settled down in 1930. She eventually resumed her journey westward after creating havoc and moved on to Morgan Bay. She was shot dead in 1931 and created headlines all around the world.

Nonqawuse's pool. A highly sensitive subject amongst the Xhosa people. “The place of shame”. The pool is where a young orphan Xhosa girl Nonqawuse in 1856 saw strange faces looking up at her, and heard voices from her ancestors that told her that they would help the Xhosa drive the Red coats (British) “Mlungu” (Scum of the sea) away. “The Dead would arise”. ”Slaughter all your cattle- and feast upon them. Make beer and consume all existing grain. Stop tilling, planting and cultivating your lands” “ As a result of these actions- on a given day- Xhosa ancestors- all in good health -

Hundreds of Xhosa’s starved while they waited with great expectancy for the prophesied great day to dawn 3rd January 1857. No accurate statistics exist, but starvation, malnutrition and disease accounted for between 40,000 and 50,000 deaths and 150,000 displaced. There is thought that the vision was prompted by her uncle/small father Mhlakaza and contribution by the Europeans to kill the cattle which at the time where effected by a contagious disease called Rinderpest, which was a huge problem at the time in Africa.

A Horse Ride Through Sub-Tropical Coastal Hills and Riverines to the Beaches of the Wild Coast in South Africa, a horse trekking holiday, with so much more.

Come Ride with Us ...

…and you will see rolling hills, rich Savannah grasslands and thick-forested valleys with multitudes of rivulets cascading down to rivers that eventually spill out onto quiet sandy beaches, fantastic high rise cliffs and spectacular rock formations that make the Wild Coast in S Africa one of the most beautiful places in the world. An incredible combination of cross-country horse riding and the exploration of our beautiful coastline.

A memorable horseback eco-adventure along the, Eastern Cape, Wild Coast, Transkei, SA. For your African horse trekking eco adventure or equestrian working gap vacation destination.

P O Box 25, Haga Haga 5272, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Tel/Fax: (+27) 043 8411 525 A/H Cell: 083 632 7298 During the day please contact me on the cell, I am probably horsing around. Signal can be irregular, please leave a message or phone me on the landline in the evenings.

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