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You may choose to ride out every day from the Estancia or
to co-ordinate your stay with one of the planned pack-trip departures into the
fantastic Lanin National Park or to combine both in your stay.
Riding out from the Estancia, you can ride through barren
rolling hills and along the narrow rocky gorges of the Andean streams. You can
ride to the tops of the hills where the mighty Andes rise up behind you and the
vastness of Patagonia stretches out before you. Watch condors and eagles as they
float high above you. Gallop across water meadows or visit the Indian burial
caves where Indian drawings can still be seen on the walls.
Or try your hand at working cattle with the gauchos. The
amount and type of work with the cattle will depend on the season - in November
and December there are the spring round ups and you may help the gauchos move
the cattle to their summer grazing and again in April, help bring them home for
the winter. You might also ride through the neighbouring Indian reservation,
most of the tack is made on the reservations from rawhide produced on the
Estancia so there is usually some negotiating to be done.
The riding program is tailored to the needs and abilities
of those visiting the Estancia and is suitable for the expert horseman as well
as the novice - providing you are reasonably fit and enjoy the outdoor life.
There is scope for faster, more challenging riding when based at the Estancia.
A maximum of 16 riders visit at any one time. Rides are led
by your host and guide, Jane Williams, who is British and married into an
Argentine family, or by Yvonne Corbett. Yvonne is Anglo-Argentine and grew up on
an Estancia in Cordoba.
The horses are criollo crosses, part anglo-normando, of
15.5 to 16.5 hh. They are bred and trained on the Estancia, are sure- footed
and generally well behaved. They are neck-reined and the riding is similar to
Western style. The saddles used are "montura de monte" which are similar to old
English army saddles with a sheepskin on top.
The reserves have been created to preserve the fauna and flora of the diverse
region. Since the Waterberg lies on the inter-continental convergence zone there
are probably as many different species of trees on Ant’s land as in the whole of
Western Europe. Along with Warthog, Giraffe, Zebra, Wildebeest and White Rhino
you have the chance of seeing a wider variety of antelope than elsewhere
including Sable, Nyala, Oryx and Livingstone Eland. There are over forty species
of game including the rare brown hyena and aardvark, as well as over 300 species
of resident and migrant birds.
Pack Trip Itineraries -
On pack trips, you will ride deep into Lanin National Park in the heart of the Andes. Here you ride through dense beech forests and bamboo thickets. From the tops of the ridges there are breath-taking views, in the valleys there are tumbling streams and undiscovered lakes. You ride through forests of the only indigenous Monkey Puzzle trees of the world and across lunar landscapes of black volcanic ash, a legacy of the recent volcanic activity in the area. The snow-capped volcano "Lanin" dominates the entire area.
Pack trips are between three and five days long. A minimum of four riders are needed for a pack-trip to run. You are required to have at least one day's riding on the estancia before leaving on a trek to ensure that you are happy with your horse, comfortable in your saddle and that the planned trek is one that you will enjoy.
Pack trips run from early November to the end of April.
For more information on An Estancia in Patagonia - Argentina Request information or call
Equitour on Freephone 0800 043 7942
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