View our 7 day Kaapsehoop Wild Horse
Trail
The South African highlands is the place of some of the country’s most
romantic history. Adventurers, swindlers, dreamers and layabouts were
lured by the discovery of gold; transport riders blazed their trails and
men lived off the land by hunting from horseback. A tradition of
campfire stories evolved and the life of the transport rider was
immortalized by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick’s tale of Jock, the dog of the
Bushveld. This is the home of the first National Park, where toughened
game rangers living in primitive conditions conserved an area the size
of a country, and defended their lives against rogue lions by using
penknives.
These folk - the gold-miners, the transport riders and the game rangers
- had one thing in common. They moved on horseback. Now you, too, have
the chance to see the country of their dreams.
Kaapsehoop Horse Trails, established in 1994, is a professional and
personalised trail riding operation.
Riding is tailor-made to suit the client's needs. A pony lead around the
garden can be arranged for the young enthusiast. Trails through our
beautiful area, vary in length from 1 hour to a wilderness trail (up to
5 days).
Riders need not necessarily be experienced as we offer instruction to
make the rider comfortable and confident.
Kaapsehoop is situated 25km southwest of Nelspruit on a buttress of the
Mpumalanga escarpment. The Kaapsehoop area offers protection to between
nine and twelve pairs of the globally threatened Blue Swallow and is
designated as an Important Bird Area. Kaapsehoop is a good locality to
see Southern African bird endemics, an asterisk in the text marks these
species. A 470ha portion of Kaapsehoop grassland falls under protection
of the Natural Heritage Site while the state owned forestry company owns
a another substantial expanse of grassland wedged between the reserve
and town.
The Wild horses of Kaapsehoop
Many fairy-tale stories exist with regards to the origination of the
wild horses. Approximately 160 to 200 feral horses roam the 17 000
hectares of Kaapsehoop and surrounding areas. The breed type seems
predominantly Boerperd with herds ranging in size from bachelor herds of
+- 3 to larger more structured herds of 15 to 20 horses. They are
enjoyed by visitors and locals alike and share a protective interest by
the residents of Kaapsehoop.