South Africa: Conservation on Horse Back + Teaching

You’ll be based at Kwa Madwala, a private ‘Big 5’ (leopard, buffalo, lion, elephant and rhino) 4000 hectare game reserve, situated just South of the Kruger National Park, between Swaziland and Mozambique, home to a renowned safari lodge called Manyatta, beautifully built into the sides of local kopjes.

Over the years we have sent teams of volunteers to this fantastic location who work in the lodge and on their conservation and community projects while experiencing the adventure of animal safaris, elephant rides, micro-lighting, rifle shooting, 4x4 driving and much, much more.  

Kwa have now taken on a selection of hardy bush Boerperd horses to offer the unique opportunity to explore, track and conserve wildlife on horseback through this stunning African bush environment.

As a result we can now offer Leapers the chance to help and work with their horse related activities (approximately 3 hours per day) and contribute to their conservation and community projects (approximately 3 to 4 hours per day Monday to Friday), while enjoying all the adventure that this location has to offer. 

This gives you a rare opportunity to ride horses in Africa amongst the wildlife, help conserve animals, as well as helping communities beyond the reserve borders by spending time with children in poverty striken townships.

For those going for 10 weeks in January, April or September we also include a 4 night Indian Ocean beach adventure on an island off Mozambique with the chance to swim and hike and explore - its stunning area.

What type of horses?
They are commonly known as “Boerperd”, a word derived from the Dutch/Afrikaans word “Boer” meaning “farmer” and “Perd” meaning horse – directly translated 'farmers horse'. They are now officially recognized as a breed and known to be strong, lively, yet even tempered, hardy and sickness resistant  who can happily cope with living in the African bush. They have Spirit, Diamond, Barberton, Coolboy, Black Magic, Carolina and Maximus plus 6 other horses.

Type of saddle?
English and western trail saddles.