Horse Riding Holidays on the
" Wild Coast " in South Africa

The South African Wild Coast, Transkei, a scenic underdeveloped coastline experienced on a safari horseback adventure, is a must do experience for anyone looking for long riding beaches and breathtaking views on well trained horses. Mkulu Kei, the best of riding holidays.

"A real ride to many places at any paces"

The coastline consists of sandy and rocky shores. It is a region in which the influence of the warm, south moving Agulhas Current of the Indian Ocean is greatest, countering the effects of the cold, northwards migrating Benguela Current. The mixing of tropical warm and Antarctic cold waters along the coastline, coupled with the climate changes as winter rainfall is replaced by predominantly summer one, makes for a most diverse conditions, there is a great variety of plants and animals.

With 360 deg breathtaking views the sound of the horse's hoofs on the sand or splash of the water will live with you forever. Imagine the feeling; the African sun on your skin, the wind in your hair and the spray from the sea on our face, don't dream it; experience it. You could be here on your coastal horse riding vacation and equine safari holiday with so much more.

Whether you imagine riding along open savannah grasslands, pristine coastal forests or unspoiled Wild Coast beaches, there's a Mkulu Kei Horse Trail that suits your available time, horse riding capability and budget ...

• Wild Coast Photo Gallery

And what better to experience South Africa's beautiful coastline than on the back of a horse ...

The Wild Coast

The Wild Coast is a remote, unpopulated stretch of South African coastline between East London and Port Edward. This stretch of some 280 km of cliff faces, perfect beaches and rich tidal estuaries is situated between the Mtamvuna River in the north, and the Great Kei River in the south. Inland, to the west, lie the Stormberg and Drakensberg mountain ranges, which reach an altitude of 2400 meters, descending with great ridges to the Indian Ocean in the east. You could be pony trekking with Mkulu Kei horse trails on our ponies and horses, an awesome riding adventure. With so many tracks and options of terrain we can travel far and ride further than the hikers. With an array of choices of paths, we can take a longer route to the high land over 4X4 tracks and motorbike trails then back through a winding hidden valley trail and through coastal Fynbos on to a sandy long beach for a canter or gallop an all-inclusive equestrian adventure.

On the Wild Coast the sun shines day after day, month after month on this beautiful and extensive tract of undulating pastoral country studded with whitewashed, thatched rondavel huts, making for hours of undisturbed horse riding whether on the beach or inland.

Since Portuguese mariners first pioneered the sea route around the Cape to India, this notorious coast has claimed countless ships such as the Grosvenor, Waratah and Oceania. The ocean between Kei Mouth and Morgan Bay, a stretch of +- 6 kilometers, has claimed six ships. William 1862, Papa Risetlo 1888, Kathleen Anderson 1903, Khediwe 1910, Hugelia 1913 and Talana 1934. The prospect of finding sunken gold and diamonds has lured treasure hunters to the Wild Coast over the generations. Although coins, trinkets and fragments of porcelain from sunken hulks are still occasionally washed up along the shore, it is of course the natural wonder of the Wild Coast that attracts the majority of visitors to the resorts that are scattered along the coastline. Ride past the remains of an old steam shipwreck Frontier 3 that ran a ground in 1845. Jacaranda ship wreck a ‘must see’ by anyone visiting the Old Transkei and a stark reminder of the force of the ocean in the Wild Coast. The Jacaranda, a Greek coaster, ran aground in good weather on 18 September 1971. Due to time and huge tides of late the shipwreck is disintegrating fast, so book now before you miss it.

The Xhosa People

The people, whose source or origin is believed to be near an unidentified a river in the Drakensburg mountains, are Nguni-speaking people who moved along the coastland establishing themselves in the area between Kei Mouth and Mbashe Rivers in approximately 800 AD. The rural people live a life richly coloured by tribal traditions, superstitions and beliefs. Brightly coloured examples of the beadwork, together with traditional pottery and basketwork can be bought from roadside vendors and at some trading posts. The whole region, once known as the Transkei homeland, is the home of a major section of the Xhosa-speaking southern Nguni tribes. With the scrapping of apartheid land partitioning, the Transkei homeland became part of the South African province, Eastern Cape known as The Border and "Adventure Province".

Climate

Moving southwards from the Spice Islands, the Agulhas current of the Indian Ocean creates a sub-tropical fantasyland of flora and fauna from different climates all flourishing side by side like nowhere else in Southern Africa.

The climate along the coast is nearly always warm to hot, with humidity levels rising from December to March. Inland, the climate is temperate with warm summers and mild winters. Soft gently falling rain occurs (up to 1000 mm a year), which can affect river crossings but there is no Bilharzia or Malaria.

The mean daily, daily maximum, daily minimum and mean annual temperatures for East London are illustrated in the graph, which shows data over a twenty-year period. It indicates that the coastal zone has a more equitable range of temperatures with relatively mild summers and winters. The cooling and warming effects of the sea in both summer and winter generally influences the coastal zone.

Take advantage of our mild winters when booking your Safari horseback trail holiday in South Africa.

The day temperatures are not too hot nor too cold. The sea temperatures are only a few degrees colder in winter than in summer, with very little wind and less chance of rain. The cold fronts moving across from Cape Town drop the temperature and can bring rain, however they pass within a day or two. The river crossings are more predictable in winter; we only have to consider the tides and not the extra rainwater influencing the size of rivers which can cause flash floods. If we experience a localized cloud bust valleys between the hills can instantly turn into rivers making their way to the sea. This can be dramatic to see; however they quickly normalize when the rain stops. The big river crossings catchments can extend inland as far as 200kms, heavy rain inland can come down river as a wall of water several hours later and take days to normalise. During our winter months this is less likely to happen, making our winters an ideal time to explore the Wild Coast on your safari horse trail.

Our winter is a good time to book an equestrian trail ride or horse riding holiday. A very pleasant time to ride, not too hot or too cold.

An added bonus is the Sardine run! Every year, between the months of May and July, many millions of silvery sardines travel north from the cold southern oceans off South Africa's Cape Point, hugging the shore as they make their way up along the coast towards KwaZulu-Natal in what is commonly known as the annual Sardine run. Visible even by satellite, these famous sardine shoals travel in seething masses stretching for up to fifteen kilometres in length, three and a half kilometres wide and nearly forty metres deep.

The Sardine Run is a spectacle in itself, but added to this, hundreds of predators arrive en mass to partake in a feeding frenzy. Birds, dolphins, sharks, whales and game fish all gorge themselves putting on a show that will undoubtedly live on in memory for a lifetime! You will see birds, dolphins, and whales, from horse back. One year we counted 35 whales in plain sight at one time! This is an incredible time to visit the Wild Coast on horseback.

Fauna & Flora

The flora rejoices in a vast array of indigenous coastal forest, prehistoric Cycads, tree orchids, Kiepersol, Sneezewood and Yellowwood trees. Lush vegetation with plentiful water, forest and fruit trees provides a beautiful environment for over 250 species of birds.

Inland, coastal and sea birds rub shoulders and compete for sky space.

Above it all, the regal Fish Eagle can be heard to shriek his haunting cry. This is a bird watchers' paradise!

It is a truly exhilarating experience to horse ride through the sub-tropical African bush on the lookout for the returning but still shy wildlife - quietly following the spoor - the way it was 300 years ago. This is the time to shoot by camera. Duiker, Wildebeest, Bushbuck, Steenbok, Grysbok, Bontebok, Kudu, Bush pig, Lynx, Jackal, Porcupine, Ant bear, giant Monitor lizards, Cape Otter, Vervet Monkeys, Baboon and many other. Seeing Dolphins and (in the winter months) Southern Right whales playing in the ocean is a bonus.

Underneath the attractive makeup is a mean and demanding territory. Berg winds, drought periods, interspersed with floods, ensure that only the hardiest vegetation survives. The grasslands are sourveld, sweetveld or a mixed grassveld. Sweetveld is composed of grasses palatable to livestock throughout the year, whereas sourveld, although containing many of the same grasses, is only palatable in spring and early summer.

Making farming even more difficult; of the 32 species of known ticks in Africa this area has 28 and many other "gogga" (insects) many carrying diseases often deadly to the livestock. Some naturally occur here, others were transported by the introduction of game, like the Zebra who are believed to be carriers of the deadly African Horse Sickness. However there is no Bilharzia or Malaria in the area.

Security

The Transkei homeland was in days gone by regarded as a "hot spot", due to safety and security, an area to avoid, which is no longer the case. The Eastern Cape is the forgotten province that has an advantage, in that the area has not developed, but we have forgotten to market ourselves. To many, the perception is it is still an unsafe area! This cannot be further than the truth. Mkulu Kei Horse Trails have been in operation since 1998, we have ridden through the most rural villages, visited local homes, and had the honour of being invited to a circumcision party, a huge honour especially as we had women in our party. The only real form of employment in this area is tourism and the local people are friendly and courteous. Riding through the Old Transkei is as safe as riding a horse.

Waves

Wave action has a major influence on the physical nature of the coastline. It erodes cliffs, sand dunes and beaches, forms rocky gullies and pools and transports sand and rocks on to the shore, often moving large quantities of sand affecting our route and making each horse trail an individual eco adventure. No two trails are ever the same.

Tides

The tidal bulges, produced as a result of the gravitational pull of the moon on the earth and sea, result in two low tides and two high tides every 24 hours and 50 minutes. During the new moon and full moon periods there is the greatest amplitude of tides. A spring tide is experienced with a maximum vertical range of about 2 meters along these shores, greatly influencing the depth of water in the rivers and estuaries thereby influencing when it is safe to cross the rivers and how firm the beaches are.

During high tide, or just after, the beaches are soft and tiring on the horses while at low tide the beaches are wider and firm enough to extend our pace. There is nothing more exciting for a horse and competent rider to open up and race.

A horse ride through Sub-Tropical coastal hills, hidden valleys and rivers to the beaches of the Wild Coast in South Africa, a horse trekking holiday, with so much more.

There are so many equestrian holidays and vacations, why choose us? Read on and find out.

A diversity of terrain, scenic paths and long sandy beaches. Awesome horse riding conditions, hours of in the saddle time with no fences make for hours of undisturbed horse riding whether riding on the beach or inland.

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 South 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.

And what better way to experience South Africa's beautiful coastline than on the back of a horse ...

We at Mkulu Kei Horse Trails, the two and the four legged would like to say a big Thank you to all our guests for sending us their horse trekking photos, these are your holiday memories. Thank You. Cheryl

See you in the saddle soon!

On Your South African Wild Coast horse riding holiday.