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“MOVE quickly, move quickly,” I heard Ant call out on the walkie-talkie in his

deep South African accent as our jeep hurled up the hill towards a desert-like cloud of sand. We were in the middle of a game capture, but another minute or two and we

would have missed all the action. Less than 10 minutes, and it was all over.

Buffalo captures are rare in Africa, but when they do occur, the veterinary surgeons at work are as quick with their hands as me-chanics changing tyres during a Formula One race. There is no margin for error, and no time for small-talk.

As Paul Huber and his back-up team treated this heavily pregnant female for a serious wound, I looked on in awe at the speed of the procedure. Minutes earlier she had been roaming the bush, but, with the intervention of a helicopter, complete with a highly-talented pilot, a vet with a tranquilis-ing gun, and a ground team of jeeps, drivers,

SAFARI on HORSEBACKAnt’s Nest

Equestrian journalist Siobhán English travelled deep into the Waterberg region of South Africa for a luxury riding safari adventure at the award winning Ant’s Nest where she was treated to game viewing at its best.

A resident herd of wildebeest at sunrise

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“It felt like I was on the film set for a National Geographic documentary.

Lights, cameras, and a serious amount of action.”

The thrill of galloping with giraffe is the high-light of any riding safari holiday

Horses are un-tacked and turned for home after an afternoon ride as riders enjoy sundowners on the hilltops. The horses are always home in time for breakfast, having met so many wild animals along the way

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agile horses, and experienced riders, this powerful animal was now safely sedated and undergoing fast life-saving treatment. Any delay and she would have died from stress. “Everyone run to the jeep,” Ant called out as she took to her feet.

The fact that buffalo are classified as one of the ‘Big Five’ - the top five most danger-ous animals in Africa - made this quite the adrenalin rush. Having observed them from a distance of 100 feet on horseback days ear-lier, I was now within inches of one, and I had a wonderful opportunity to observe its majestic beauty. It was nerve-tingling, but I was anything but anxious.

Thankfully, unlike so many other animals in Africa, African buffalo, or Cape buffalo, are not an endangered species, but they are protected by the many private reserves across the country. In this regard, they can be worth up to $50,000 each, with cows and calves costing a lot more if in demand. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of the 900,000 that exist live in protected areas like the Ant’s Nest reserve, which has 50 or so in its herd.

For that game capture I had waivered the offer to ride alongside the guides, and in-stead watched from the jeep, but my chance was to come later in the week. This one was far too good to miss. Galloping through the bush on the mare, Ice, in pursuit of a darted sable and acting as a mobile GPS for the air and jeep teams, it felt like I was on a film set for a National Geographic documentary. Lights, cameras……and a serious amount of action.

Like buffalo, sable are valuable assets to a

private reserve, and the sale of these animals from time to time will not only maintain a healthy breeding herd, but are highly ben-eficial to the company’s finances with price tags of $20,000 each. In this case, nine sable had been purchased by a nearby reserve, which made for a busy, but thrilling day in the saddle as these stunning antelope were gathered up to be transported by truck.

This was, without doubt, the highlight of my wonderful week at Ant’s Nest and Ant’s Hill, deep in the Waterberg region of South Africa. Miles from civilisation and home to countless species of wild animals, this private game reserve is one of many across this vast area, which spans some 14,000 kilometres.

THE ADVENTURE BEGINSFive days earlier I had flown in from

Ireland, via Frankfurt, Germany to Johannesburg, and then four hours north by road before arriving at a gated entrance, with high game fencing surrounding the 12,000-acre reserve. Poaching of rhinos is not uncommon across the country, hence the need to protect the reserve’s most valu-able inhabitants.

Rhino horns are highly sought after for Asian medicine and can make anything up to $400,000 (or $50,000 a kilo). Tragically these animals are killed for this alone, so owners go to great efforts to prevent this barbaric practice.

After an afternoon in the company of one resident, the white rhino Irwin, I was won over by these giants who possess both wit and charm. Irwin seemed to enjoy our

HOW IT ALL BEGANThe history of Ant’s Nest and Ant’s Hill

begins with Anthony Baber (‘Ant’ ) who grew up on an adjacent farm. His great-grandfather Ted Davidson, settled here in the late 1800s and became one of the great-est pioneers of the Waterberg region.

The area is a mosaic of culture and tra-dition with rural tribes such as the Bapedi, Tswana and Basotho, populating the 5,000 square kilometres of the Waterberg moun-tain region.

A former cattle outpost, ‘Ant’s Nest’ be-gan operating as a business in 1996 with just one lodge, and a handful of game and guests. The horses arrived some years later and the main house is now surrounded by a selection of private suites and lodges. The old watering hole has been replaced by a spacious swimming pool.

Of British and Austrian parentage, Tessa was born in Kenya but spent part of her childhood in England before returning to her birthplace to run the family hotel in Mombasa. Here she learned the tools of the tourist trade and this stood her in good stead as she developed the business with Ant.

They started with 1,300 hectares, but over the years after the purchase of bor-dering land, and the development of Ant’s Hill, the reserve has now grown to 5,000 hectares. The recent addition of their bush camp offers guests even more choices as it boasts rare black rhino, bushland paintings, natural pools and spectacular walks around the 100,000-acre Lapalala Game Reserve.

All the lodges are filled with Kenyan fur-niture, paintings and artefacts and Tessa in-sists on designing the buildings around her furnishings instead of the other way round.

The busiest months are April and September, but Tessa is keen to attract more international visitors year-round, especially in February and March when so many young animals are on the ground.

INFO BOX: Bookings for Ant’s Nest and Ant’s Hill

can be made through Zara’s Planet, who specialise in riding holidays worldwide. See www.zarasplanet.ie

Ant’s Hill staff member Kay Forrester (mounted) looks on as colleagues Henno Smit and Les Slabbert prepare to load a captured sable antelope. The riding staff play a key role in animal captures

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company, and that of Amber the Labrador. Apparently this old family pet used to make unannounced appearances in Ant and Tessa’s living-room, a real life ‘bull in a china shop.’ Not my idea of a surprise house guest!

Apart from such periodic hazards, run-ning a safari operation of such magnitude in the wilds of Africa is no mean feat. It can be hugely stressful even on a good day to man-age close to 60 staff, and as many horses. However, Ant and Tessa Baber have worked tirelessly to maintain a high standard associ-ated with Ant’s Nest, its sister lodge, Ant’s Hill, and now Lapalala. The riding safaris form the bulk of the business.

Just weeks before my arrival, Ant’s Nest won the coveted ‘Best Riding Safari Operator in Africa’ Award, as voted by a variety of tour operators, journalists and as-sociates. Runner-up to African Horseback Safaris in 2010, it was a major achievement for the company to secure one of the most sought-after accolades bestowed by The Good Safari Guide, which covers some 2,000 safari operators across the African continent.

It was simply impossible not to be smitten by Ant’s Nest with its luxurious lodges, four-poster beds, and five-star dining. I could not help but feel spoilt on this occasion, hav-ing slept in tents on my two previous rid-ing safari holidays. Don’t get me wrong, bush tents are extremely comfortable, but so too are sunken baths and starlit showers. It’s easy to see why the Baber’s second bush home, Ant’s Hill, is so popular with couples with its cosy honeymoon suites overlooking the vast reserve. Ant’s Nest is better suited to large groups and families as the lodges and swimming pool are more spacious. With dogs and horses relaxing close-by, children, in particular, are naturally reluctant to leave at the end of an invariably special week.

I would have been most content at either location, but I was billeted in Ant’s Nest in the good company of Chris Sharpe and his partner Kay Collister from the Isle of Man. Kay was an experienced rider, while Chris had been riding for just two years, but Ant’s Nest is famed for catering for all levels of riders and Chris was more than capable of joining us for the many fantastic canters down the long, dusty roads. As a bird expert, he would test himself to identify anything that had wings, and if he didn’t know it, our head guide, South African Leanne Van Der Merwe, usually did. Sightings during the

“Oh my god! Did you see that?” screamed my guide

week included Egyptian Geese, a Black-Crested Fish Eagle, and the aerobatic Lilac-Crested Rollers.

RELAXING GAME VIEWINGThough abundant with antelope, as well

as giraffe, zebra, baboons, the absence of elephant and lion in this reserve is what makes it so perfect for the novice rider. There are no armed guides, like in other

areas where elephant roam, and even young children can freely view game from horse-back, foot or by jeep.

Nowhere else had I ever seen horses graze with their wild counterparts, or watch them being un-tacked and sent on down the road ‘alone’ as we sipped our drinks at sun-set several miles from base. “How long does it take them to get home?” I asked one eve-ning over G&Ts. “They will be back in time

We got incredibly close to buffalo. One of the ‘Big Five’, they are extremely dangerous and have to be treated with the utmost respect

The sable captures were a hive of activity

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for breakfast,” Ant smiled. “And if not?” I continued. “Then they will go hungry.”

I didn’t see our horses again that evening, as they must have taken a short-cut, but sure enough, by breakfast, my mount Rafiji was at the stables, tacked up and ready for another day’s adventure. A Boerperd/cross, he was sturdy, and forward-going, yet most obedient, and would stand motionless as we gazed at giraffe and buffalo just a short dis-tance away. Asking him to stand still while

even better an African civet, the largest member of the viverridae family. “Oh my god! Did you see that?” screamed my guide Les Slabert as the jeep came to a sudden halt. It had been 10 years since he’d last seen one, and it would possibly be another de-cade before this rare mammal would cross his path again.

Riding for four and sometimes five hours a morning over varied terrain, we were nev-er short of game viewing, although the late afternoons were also perfect for a leisurely drive in the jeep in search of zebra, especial-ly the two-week-old foal, which I eventually managed to spot on my final day.

My ‘last supper’ by firelight in the boma (stone enclosure) with British student Tor Moss and her family passed by far too quickly, but the morning’s leisurely game drive was the most fitting way to complete the week as I photographed giraffe and horses relaxing side by side in the glorious African sun.

“Why don’t you come back for the Game Census in September?” Tessa suggested.

“No need to ask me twice!” I replied as I began to plot my next African adventure in the bush. HSI

I took photographs was a different story, however, and after two days of negotiat-ing without success, he was aptly renamed ‘Rafidget’.

GIRAFFE ARE SHY CREATURES

Giraffe are shy creatures, and did not ap-preciate us as an audience, yet we always got close enough to identify the individ-ual members of the ’journey’. There were several older cows with their calves, some youngsters, and the most striking of all, a spectacular breeding bull which stood out thanks to his enormous stature and distinct dark brown colouring.

Fresh tracks from a leopard, was as close as we got to one as the ‘big cat’ remained elusive. So too did the hyena, but we did manage to see a rare African wildcat, and

THE HORSES AND RIDERSAnt’s Nest, and its sister operation Ant’s Hill, are sepa-

rated by nine kilometres of open bush, and run indepen-dently. There are 30 horses at each facility, and the wide variety of animals ensures that all levels of riders are ca-tered for.

Rides are tailored to suit, and no one is pushed be-yond their limits. The horses are predominately Thoroughbreds and Arab-Boerperd crosses, while there are bombproof ponies for children.

Day trips can often include a barbecue in the bush, or perhaps a fast canter from one location to the other, giving guests an ideal opportunity to mingle over lunch.

The Maclelan saddles used are based on the fa-mous US cavalry saddle designed for the comfort of both horse and rider alike, but English saddles are also available. Riding hats are compulsory, but other items such as chaps are available on request.

Open all year-round, Ant’s Nest also invites ex-perienced riders to take part in the Annual Game Census each September. Guests will assist in the capturing, releasing and relocation of many of the reserve’s inhabitants.

One of the oldest members of Ant’s Nest horses, Bushman visits the office alone every single afternoon. Meetings or not, he hovers around until someone feeds him. The gelding was clinically dead for 45 minutes during surgery some years ago but was brought back to life by the reserve’s owner Ant Baber

The view from the lunch table at Ant’s Hill is breathtaking

Cheeky warthogs stealing food from the prized sable

Children especially love the pool at Ant’s Hill

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