Are you looking to do something in your gap year? Have you been thinking about taking a career break – just to see how the other half live? Are you stuck in a rut and need to get out and experience life in rural Africa? Are you back packing round South Africa and fancy just having a home base for a while? Do you just need to get away for a few days or a couple of weeks?

Join us for a wonderful learning experience at Sunray Farm, Home of Torstone Sport Horse Stud and Wild Coast Horse Trails. Open to adult horse lovers over 18 years of age. We offer a fun filled holiday, while working and riding horses and would love to have you come and stay with us.

We offer a unique working riding opportunity on a farm on the Wild Coast of South Africa. You will have the opportunity to work with young foals & yearlings, possibly help start 3 year olds and be able to exercise and school our other riding horses. We offer beach rides to holiday makers and offer up market over night trails to international clients. We also compete in endurance riding!

You are sure to gain valuable equestrian experience, learn about alternative and natural horse care and spend many hours in the saddle improving your riding. We require that candidates be horse lovers and can walk, trot and canter confidently, no other experience is necessary as we will teach you as we go along. If and when we have capable volunteers, we give riding lesson to local disadvantaged children.


We provide the following:
- Meals(at least one cooked meal per day served at the main house) & groceries (to do your own thing at breakfast and at lunch time)
- Laundry
- Emails – check mail on internet once or twice a week, after hours.
- Accommodation – we have a second house situated about 300 m from the main home stead. It is fully furnished, has two bed rooms and a caravan. The house is communal and for the use of working riders who are staying with us.
- Use of farm truck to go to Morgan Bay and Kei Mouth
- Tack and equipment for horses (you can bring your own saddle if you have one)
- Transfers to and from East London Airport.
- If everything is done and there are no rides booked, there is lots of free time for the beach, game viewing, exploring our wonderful country and generally having a good time!
- At least 1 x 3 night/4 days Wild coast Horse Trail.

You provide your own:
- Drinks, and soft drinks, cigarettes, chips, sweets and other tuck!
- Toiletries
- Extra diesel in the truck if you use it to go out.
- Cell phone, so that you can keep in contact with the outside world!
- Pocket money
- Other items of a personal nature.

We expect you to participate in the following:
- Grooming, bathing, and general care of the horses
- Feeding when necessary
- Cleaning tack and equipment
- Working with the young foals & yearlings at Sunray Farm.
- Exercising & schooling horses at Sunray Farm
- Exercising & care of the trail horses at Kei Mouth
- Assisting with out rides and trails at Kei Mouth
- An option to participate in a long distance endurance ride during the season.

A normal working day is from 8 am to 5 pm with an hour for lunch. We spend the morning caring/working/schooling/exercising horses and then do the development program in the afternoon. However, animals and holidaymakers do not keep time, so we may occasionally start a little earlier and finish a little later.

OVER NIGHT TRAILS
You are invited to ride with us on an over night trail, should there be one running during your stay. (And if there isn’t one – we’ll do one for you.) You will be required to assist with bathing and grooming of the horses and cleaning tack during the ride.

RIDING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
We offer you the chance to teach underprivileged children to ride and work with horses. The program is totally dependant on volunteers to keep it going. We offer our horses, tack, and facilities, but sadly due to time we are not always available to teach the children. If you feel that this is something worthwhile that you would like to do, we will support you in your endeavours and help you organize the children to come and ride during your stay with us.

GOT A FRIEND WHO WOULD LOVE TO DO THIS KIND OF THING, BUT THEY DON’T RIDE AND WOULD PREFER TO DO SOMETHING INVOLVING REPAIRS AND MAINTENANCE, HUNTING AND OR FISHING?
No problem – chat to us for more details.

Wild Coast Horse Trails – 1 to 10 night horse riding holidays

Full detail on the trips below are available on request:

1 night/2 day Weekend Break
Two days of great riding, overnight at Trennery’s Hotel and be treated to their great seafood buffet!

2 night/3 day Weekend Special
Three days on horse back spent exploring the stunning country side and beaches of the Transkei. Over night at the comfortable Trennery’s hotel, seafood buffet on Saturday night!

3 night/4 day Mid-Week Break
Fabulous beach riding and breathtaking scenery ensure a fun filled mid –week break. Once night Trennery’s, & two nights at Wavecrest Hotel.

4 night/5 day Mid-Week Getaway
Five full days of glorious beaches, wonderful horses, & brilliant riding. One night Trennery’s, two nights Wavecrest, One night Morgan Bay Hotel.

6-night Wild Coast Horse Trail
Magnificent beach riding at its best. Starting in Kei Mouth, this trail is about experiencing Africa like you have never seen it before. We explore local legend sites and rural villages, interacting with the Xhosa people along the way; before experiencing the untouched beauty of the Wild Coast coastal environment. The beach canters are endless! For the rider wanting fantastic and exciting beach riding, & experience rural Africa on horse back.

Wild Coast Beach Trail
Magnificent beach riding at its best. Starting in Kei Mouth, this trail is about experiencing Africa like you have never seen it before. We explore local legend sites and rural villages, interacting with the Xhosa people along the way; before experiencing the untouched beauty of the Wild Coast coastal environment. The beach canters are endless!! one night Kei Mouth, two nights Trennery’s, two nights Wavecrest, One night Morgan Bay, add on extra nights at the Cock Inn or private game reserve.

Wild Coast Horse Safari
A lovely itinerary with a little bit of everything; some game viewing, rolling country-side and great beach riding. This trail begins on a private game & cattle ranch, takes you over magnificent countryside and across the Great Kei River to fabulous beach riding in the Transkei. We explore local legend sites, rural villages and experience exciting beach gallops! two nights beach cottage, one night Kei Mouth, two nights Trennery’s, one night Morgan Bay add on extra nights at the Cock Inn or private game reserve.

10 Night Wild Coast Adventure Trail
A fabulous combination of both our itineraries.
2 Nights beach cottage, 1 night Kei Mouth, 2 nights Trennery’s, 2 nights Wavecrest, 1 night Morgan Bay. Includes all meals, drinks, accommodation, horse riding, back up and luggage transfers, airport transfers, service of professional guide & our personal attention. We recommend finishing this trail with 2 or 3 nights at the Game Reserve.

Game Viewing
All trails can be extended to include a game viewing safari at a nearby private game reserve. Accommodation in luxury safari tents, view rhino, lion, giraffe, zebra and many other game species. All meals & drinks, game drives & horse back game viewing included. Transfers from the coastal resorts and back to the airport included.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Prices quoted exclude flights to and from South Africa, internal flight to East London (SA).
• Unless otherwise stated includes road transfers from the airport to and from the wild coast resorts.
• Include all meals, drinks, accommodation, horse riding and equipment, the service of a qualified guide, and a back up vehicle to transfer your luggage from point to point, (Weekend Special & Mid-week-breaks exclude bar accounts & drinks).
• Beginner and novice riders can be accommodated.
• The riding is paced according to the riders abilities.
• We ride 2 ½ hours in the morning and again 2 ½ hours in the afternoon, depending on the weather, sea tides and what the riders can manage. Sometimes it is a little shorter, and sometimes a little longer.
• Our horses are relaxed, easy to ride, fit and forward going, Most have snaffle mouths; we ride in Liversage trail & endurance saddles.
• The horses are a selection of Arab, Part Arab, Anglo Arab, TB, Boerperd, Percheron crosses. They stand between 14.2 hh and 16 hh.
• We normally have 2 to 8 riders per trail, which makes for great company and lots of individual attention.
• We are able to take 1 (one) rider on a trail. We will always try and get more than one rider for a departure, but if we are unable to, we remind you of the following; Prices quoted for holiday arrangements assume a minimum of two clients. If the minimum is not reached 3 weeks before the commencement of the holiday, we reserve the right to offer you the following alternatives:
  Postponement of the holiday to a date suited by both parties.
• Continuation with the original date, converting the ride to a private ride on payment of a 50 % single supplement.
• Should a rider not want to share accommodation with another rider, or we have no other rider for them to share with; a 10 % single supplement will apply.
• Please note that there is a 10 % surcharge on standard rates if the trail falls into high season & SA school holidays.
• Payment must be made in South African Rands.
• Wild Coast Horse Trails reserves the right to increase or decrease the prices previously quoted for holiday arrangements before a booking is confirmed.
• External factors beyond our control may affect the holiday costs such as accommodation tariff increases, taxes (e.g. VAT), exchange rate fluctuations etc.
  

RATES

VALID 01 JANUARY 2009 - 31 DECEMBER 2009
6-Night and custom made trails. These trails are inclusive packages but exclude drinks & bar accounts at hotels. Included are:

• All meals
• Accommodation
• Horse riding
• Service of professional guide, groom & our personal attention
• Specials discounts available to South African residents

1 night 2 days Weekend break: Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon - includes seafood buffet! R2,000.00 per person sharing
2 nights 3 days Weekend Special: Friday morning to Sunday Afternoon – includes seafood buffet! R4,000.00 per person sharing for 2 nights


2009 WORKING HOLIDAYS
28 day Working Riding Holiday
- R8,800 for the 4 week package
- R2,200 per additional week (7 nights)
- Includes all meals, accommodation and riding
- Riders may participate on an overnight trail at a reduced rate of R2,000 per person per night
- Less than 4 weeks (minimum 7 nights) are available at R550 per person per night

VALID 01 JANUARY 2010 - 31 DECEMBER 2010 (prices to be re-assessed in January 2010)

Special discounts for SA residents.

6-Night/7-Day and custom made trails - R2,500 per person per night sharing. These trails are inclusive packages but exclude drinks & bar accounts at hotels. Included are:

• All meals
• Accommodation
• Horse riding
• Service of professional guide, groom & our personal attention
• Specials discounts available to South African residents

A brand new itinerary in conjunction with Dinaka Game Reserve and Horizon Horse Safaris - R2,500 per person per night sharing.

• A combination ride 4 nights Wild Coast & 4 nights Dinaka Private Game Reserve.
• The combination of riding through rural Africa, a wild untamed coast line and wild African savannas - two extremes - like the continent itself, must make this one of the most stunning & diverse African Horseback Adventures available.
• This ride is suitable for intermediate and confident riders only.