Imagine untouched white sandy beaches, cliff top views overlooking the ever changing turquoise sea and a genuinely unique and exciting African experience. Experience an ever present spirit of adventure on horse back as you look after a herd of horses and enjoy some of the best beach riding in the world. So if you are looking to develop your riding skills, discover the culture of Mozambique and make a difference in Africa helping our horses, please join! This is indeed a unique experience for horse riding enthusiasts.

 

Horse Riding and Conservation Mozambique

This programme offers you a unique experience to develop your riding skills, learn about the culture of Mozambique and make a difference helping our horses in Vilanculos & the Bazaruto Archipelago.

What you will learn

The Volunteer Programme is based on the coast in Vilankulo and offers students the chance to acquire a wealth of information about equine management, riding skills and life in Africa. Students are required to help organize out rides, manage clients, groom horses, participate in feeding and assist with any veterinary activities that may occur during their stay. In addition to working with the horses in Vilankulo, trips will be arranged to the Bazaruto Archipelago to work with our horse on the island.

You will explore than just one place in Mozambique!

You will become part of the family and form a deep bond with the horse under your care. Expect long riding sessions up some of the finest stretches of coast line in the world, and rich happy memories of your gap year in Africa.

The Horses

These are not just any horses either, smuggled out of Zimbabwe escaping the chaos caused by Mugabe´s regime by their owners they would have quite a story to tell, if they could talk.

We now have 60 horses in Vilankulos. 10 on Benguerra island and 50 on the mainland. Sadly depleted we only have 70 left from the original 104 that left Zimbabwe.

Gain hands on experience in Equine Management

We aim to equip students with the hands on experience, knowledge and skills to actively participate in running an African horse safari. We provide a wealth of information in equine management, riding skills, client hospitality, animal husbandry and community involvement.

Other Activities

Off-days will be organized at different times during the week, as weekends are usually busy. Adventure activities are available in the area. Should volunteers decide to participate in these activities (such as scuba diving, snorkelling, dhow sailing & fishing) they can be arranged at participants’ own expense.

The waters around the Bazaruto Archipelago are one of the largest marine conservation areas in the Indian Ocean and optional activities include scuba diving, snorkeling, safaris and fishing

Language lessons

We can arrange intensive one-to-one Portuguese language courses in Vilankulo the cost is 10US an hour. The benefits of learning Portuguese are huge and you will be able to build rapport and strengthen relationships with local Mozambicans.

Why Horse riding in Mozambique?

Our volunteers usually have a love of horses. The beach riding is some of the best in the world. We are also the Gateway to the Bazarutto Archipelago. We are close to Gorongoza and Tofu. We have some of the best dive sites in the world. We interact with schools and other projects to give our volunteers a good view of life in Mozambique. No day is the same!

Photos

The story behind the conservation project

 

Itinerary

We do not have a routine as such as every day is different for us. We like our volunteers to help in all aspects of horse management. They do conversational English teaching in the mornings and hold leadership skills courses with students from the local school. We are involved in a fishing village called Enriques where we take clients so they can sample Mozambican food. Our volunteers have to opportunity to visit the islands either on Dhows or motor boats. Most do a dive course to take advantage of learning to dive in some of the best tropical dive sites in the world, with high Whale shark populations.

Example itinerary

  • 5.00 am: Wake up get dressed and enjoy a early morning coffee. Prepare whatever you need for feeding and health checks.
  • 5.30 am: Jonathan our driver, will arrive and load up with feed, halters and medicines. You arrive at the paddocks in the cool of the early morning. Catch the horses and tether them to their feeding poles. Prepare feeds, and feed each horse its ration with nose buckets. While they eat, a visual check is conducted on every horse to check for cuts, grazes, ticks and general condition. Any problems are then addressed with the help of our grooms and senior volunteers. All horses hooves are then picked and inspected, again any issues are then dealt with. Each animal is then sprayed for ticks and released. This is then repeated in the second paddock. One or two volunteers may go, during this time, to the dam with Albert to collect water to fill all the troughs.
  • 8.00 am: Return to the house and eat breakfast. This is likely to be tea, coffee, toast, jam, scrambled or fried eggs, cheese, bacon and juice.
  • 9.00 am: Volunteers will then carry out their allotted tasks. This may include teaching in the riding school, lesson preparation, tack repairs and maintenance, treatment for any problems discovered that morning.
  • 12.30 am: Lunch is served. This may be spaghetti bolognaise, stir fry, chicken casserole etc. All served with bread and butter, juice and salad.
  • 1.00 pm: After lunch you will get free time for relaxation. You can go to town, have a sleep or generally relax from the midday sun.
  • 3.00 pm: Participants will now prepare and start teaching riding lessons or taking beach rides. Those with limited riding experience may be requested to join the riding lessons. Other volunteers may work with horses who needing extra exercise or training.
  • 6.00 pm: Return to the house, unload and put away all tack and equipment.
  • 6.30 pm: Dinner is served, again a main meal with all the trimmings.
  • 7.00 pm: Free time. Relax on the veranda, listen to the crickets and tree frogs, chat about the days events, enjoy a cold beer and, for the most enthusiastic, prepare for the following day.

Please note;

All days here are different, as we have to rise to meet each new challenge as they come, but this is an itinerary of the kind of day you can expect to enjoy with us at Mozambique Horse Safari. Please be aware that, because we are a real project dealing with the day to day running of a herd of nearly seventy horses, we have to maintain flexibility. This can depend on the number of volunteers at the time, the needs of the horses, number of outriders or lessons booked. You have two days off a week to pursue a social life and have fun.

Accommodation

You will be based in South Beach, Vilankulo at Blue Waters Beach Resort or Casa Gucci and on Benguerra Island we have a small volunteer house. Accommodation is a room with bed, mosquito net, ablution shower blocks and the resort has a swimming pool, restaurant & bar. The accommodation is within easy walking distance of the stables and a short ride from the town centre. Vilankulo itself offers easy access to internet cafe’s, ATM’s, supermarket, restaurants, bars, markets and much more. All volunteers are fully catered for and receive three excellent meals per day and a laundry service.  We have internet on the project the cost being 120 mets an hour. (Less than 5US an hour)

features and benefits

Trip Frequently Asked Questions

When does the project run?
Our volunteer project runs throughout the year and we except volunteers at any time.
How long are the placements?
The minimum time period we accept volunteers for is two weeks. The reason for this is that it
can take a little while to adjust to life here and if you left any earlier neither you nor the project
would benefit very much from the experience.
Are there any requirements for participation?
A positive attitude and love of animals. You also need to be a minimum of 19 years old
Where are you located?
Mozambique Horse Safari is located in Vilankulo, Mozambique, Africa.
How do the volunteers get from airport to base?
We will pick all volunteers up from the airport in Vilankulo, Mozambique..
What is the accommodation?
The accommodation is a lovely rondavel which is a traditional African style room with a thatched roof and white washed concrete walls with view of the ocean.
Swimming pool, bar, restaurant.
How far from home do we work?
20 minute walk on the beach or 5 minute drive
How do we get to and from Home/Work?
By vehicle or a pleasant walk along the beach
How can the volunteers wash?
There is a large well maintained ablution block with hot showers.
Is food provided in accommodation?
Yes. Three meals. Breakfast: Cereal, toast and tea or coffee
Lunch: Sandwich and fruit
Dinner: Hot Meal
Is there a vegetarian option?
Yes (please let us know upon booking)
What are the visa specifications for the project?
VOLUNTEER PROJECT
Tourist Visa available upon arrival.
Will the volunteers require any specific kit?
Basic Horse Riding clothes.
Communication?
Internet access is available and a local SIM card can be bought upon arrival for your mobile
phone.
Name of currency?
Metical
Can credit cards, travellers cheques be used in country?
Yes but usually only at high level resorts and activity centres. It is more common to use cash
Is there an ATM available near the home/work?
Yes in Vilankulo but it can sometimes be unreliable.
Will the volunteers have any spare time for extra activities?
Usually two days a week
What extra activities are available to volunteers?
Scuba Diving, Dhow trips & beach walks. June, July and August is whale watching time.
Who can apply for the programme?
Everyone with horse riding experience, but you also need to be prepared to be compassionate, you have to have a generous nature and you must have a sense of humour.
There is a very interesting story about how this project came about. You can read it here.

A long time ago before the Second World War, Patrick’s grandfather Paul bred horses in Berlin, His stables were famous and they trained Gimpel who won the Germans a medal in the Olympics.  Paul married Baroness Munchausen and they lived a privileged life in Berlin where Paul owned a bank in partnership with a Jew called Lewinsky.  Their bank was called the Retzlaff Lewinsky Bank.
Their lives changed with the rise of fascism and soon Paul and his family were black listed by the Nazis for their sympathetic attitude towards Jews.  They packed everything up and sailed to Tanzania where they bought a coffee farm called “Voice of the Lion” The family knew nothing about agriculture and had no knowledge of farming coffee.  There are some enchanting family photographs of the family in mud huts with their priceless heirlooms around them and one can only imagine how difficult it must have been and how hard to adapt to lives that had changed so radically. My husband’s grandmother soon succumbed to veldt sores and died of septicemia.

Then the war came…

When the war broke out the Retzlaff’s were interned except for Godfrey Patrick’s father he was naturalized and fought for the Brits against his own cousins in Northern Italy. After the Second World War Godfrey returned to Tanzania.  He worked on the ground nut scheme which employed ex service men and women.  There he met Vera an English girl who has been a WREN in the navy and they married.  After their marriage they dairy farmed at the base of Mount Mehru and my husband and his brothers were all born in Tanzania.
When Tanzania gained independence Julius Nyere put policies into place that were detrimental to the country.  Vera was worried about the boys’ education and their own security as the land was nationalized so they made a decision to leave Tanzania and start a new life in Rhodesia which is now called Zimbabwe.
I had a very similar background and was born in Ghana; my father was an architect who worked for the colonial services after the end of the war.  My mother was a nursing sister.  We too left Ghana after independence as my father’s position was no longer secure and we settled in South Africa.

Patrick and I met..

Patrick and I met when he was at University and we married in 1978.  It was the height of the bush war as Rhodesia battled with terrorism mainly affecting the farms which were the economic wheel. All men were called up for service and many women ran the farms while their husbands spent long months in the bush.
Eventually South Africa gave in to external pressure and Rhodesia was forced to hand over to Robert Mugabe who became the new president of one of the most beautiful countries in the world. During the transition Robert Mugabe assured everyone that he offered the hand of reconciliation and every Rhodesian would now be a Zimbabwean and we would all work together for the benefit of our country.

Mugabe went crazy

Unfortunately in 2000 Robert Mugabe held a referendum and found that he was rapidly losing popularity to Morgan Tsvangerai.  As the economy fell with Government over spending an opposition party was formed in the labour unions.  We had already realized how lethal Robert Mugabe was with the killings of the Matabele in the early 80’s.  Crack forces trained in Korea were sent to Matabeleland where they murdered and raped.  It was not even reported in the newspapers for the fear of reprisal.
As Morgan’s popularity grew so did Mugabe’s anger.  He had to suppress a nation and as it was an agriculturally based economy he had to get rid of us.  So we were one of the victims of the 2001 trashing and looting of farms in the Chinhoyi district.
Our neighbours were nearly killed and what they had to endure during the hours that they were barricaded in their home can be read on my website.  They made a decision to leave for New Zealand and asked if we could take their horses.

We fled with the horses to Mozambique

We moved horses and staff over the country leasing farms where we could. As the land invasions intensified we would have to move on, sometimes packing up in less than four hours.  When I look back on it now it seems like a horrible dream. As more and more farmers left the country horses were left behind. As so many people were loathe to leave their beloved horses and did not want them to be put down we took them in.  We always thought that the madness would stop and that we would be able to use the horses for various things if we were able to farm again.
After our 6th eviction we ran out of grazing for the horses and we made a decision to move them to Mozambique.  We also got involved in an agricultural project in a town called Chimoio 80 km from the border. Here we found the horses refuge.  Unfortunately the business soon collapsed as Mozambique was not ready for commercial agriculture. People we had lent money to were unable to pay back and in some instances paprika was sold outside the country through bribes paid by desperate farmers. Our investors quickly withdrew from Mozambique leaving Patrick and I penniless with 104 horses to look after and a lot of debt mainly incurred by farmers who were unable to pay back their debts. A terrible situation to be in.

Settling in Vilanulos

So Patrick loaded 7 horses into an old truck and drove 455 km to the seaside resort of Vilankulos and started Mozambique Horse Safari with not a bean in his pocket while I looked after the rest of the herd in Chimoio.
The horses adapted to their new life very quickly and Patrick was positive we would soon be on our feet.  Unfortunately on the 17th of February barely two months after Pat’s arrival Vilankulos was hit by a cyclone and the damage to tourism was absolutely disastrous.  It has taken nearly two years to rebuild Vilankuos.
We now have 60 horses in Vilankulos. 10 on Benguerra island and 50 on the mainland.

The herd struggled on

Sadly depleted we only have 70 left from the original 104. Mainly disease as Mozambique has had no veterinary control for over 20 years.  Ringworm is endemic in the Mozambican population and rapidly spread through the horses.  We had animals slaughtered and butchered for meat.  We lost a few to road kill after fencing wire had been stolen from the paddocks.13 were given to the Beira Equestrian Centre.
We have survived and it’s a miracle but mainly through the determination of my amazing husband Patrick who has never wavered and has kept us all going though this rather extraordinary life.

The future and moving on with your help

The Mozambique Horse project has now been in operation for nearly three years.  We offer some of the best beach riding in the world. We have been touched by the letters we receive from satisfied riders who have spent time with us. We are proud of our horse’s achievements and hope that we continue to grow.
Our horses have kept us smiling. They have taught us important lessons and kept our family together through some unbearable times. Hopefully we will be able to continue to look after them and face the challenges ahead, all the time looking forward to a brighter future in Mozambique and maybe in the not too distant future we can all go home.

Price

Duration Standard
2 weeks 1199
4 weeks 1799
6 weeks 2499
8 weeks 3259

Included

  • Accommodation
  • Three healthy meals per day
  • Airport transfers
  • Laundry service
  • All use of the horses and equipment, trail rides and beach rides
  • Guides

Excluded

  • Flights
  • Personal travel insurance
  • Visas
  • Any personal spending money, any extra excursions or activities.
  • Alcoholic drinks and restaurant meals.
  • Internet

Dates

There are no set start dates for this trip, please contact us with your preferred travel dates and we will check availability.