Family Safaris

The demand for a family friendly safari has increased tenfold over the past year, and since launching our Family Safari Brochure in July 2002 we have had a tremendous response from families with children covering a broad age range.

Many of the operators in Africa have responded well to this new area of the market and some have thought carefully about the requirements and constraints when having children in their camps. Activities to suit children of all ages, specialist guides, meal times, babysitters and private vehicles are some of those that have been considered. The subtle balance of inclusion and exclusion of families can take some planning. Although a family safari is by name an adventurous holiday, you do need to feel that safety issues regarding children have been examined. Safety standards in Africa are very different to those in Europe and we do question lodges and camps quite closely on aspects such as fencing around pools, steep drops and the general suitability for younger family members.

A happy and satisfying family holiday general means that everyone involved can find activities to suit them for most of the time. In many of the family-friendly lodges this has been well catered for. This may mean that the parents enjoy a morning game drive, the youngest child is baking biscuits in the camp kitchen and the older children are collecting dung. It's a great bonus for even the littlest person to come home with their own and very special memories.

Wilderness Safaris in Southern Africa have solved what has been a worry for some parents. In most tented camps it has not been possible to add an extra bed into the standard tents. This has meant that children have to sleep in a separate tent. This may in reality be only five metres away, but it?s too far for comfort. To solve this concern, in some of their camps in Botswana and Namibia, Wilderness have successfully created a family tent by adding an extra tent onto the back of the bathroom. Wilderness have also lowered the age range and they now accept children from 8 years of age in all their camps. However, if you wanted to take any camp on an exclusive basis, perhaps sharing it with another family, this lower limit would be waived. Some lodges will automatically provide a separate vehicle for a family group, which means that you can take your game viewing at a pace which suits you. We would actively encourage all families to take this option, even if it?s not offered as an inclusive. It does mean that if one of the children gets fed up on a game drive, you can stop and calmly enjoy a coffee, just sitting or mucking about under a tree without worrying about other clients and their reactions.

The content and timing of meals is another area that most family-friendly camps have looked at. There are few parents that don't enjoy a child-free evening meal at the end of the day (those of us with young children particularly) and children are much happier eating something they recognise at a sensible time. This is also made possible by the general availability of babysitters, childminders or nannies; available at most lodges during the day and evenings at very reasonable rates, but don't expect a fistful of official European-style qualifications. As with many African women, most will have successfully raised large families of their own.

Kwando Safaris located in Botswana's Okavango Delta have a specialist children's guide, Lisa Reed. Lisa has worked extensively with children from the very young to teenagers. To begin with she prepares special materials which are sent to the children at home and she then takes them through a purpose-designed programme while they are in the bush. Serious though it may sound, it's beautifully crafted to entertain, educate and match each child's concentration threshold.

Another question is of course whether to travel to an area that is malaria-free or not. South Africa offers a range of safari camps in malaria-free locations, which of course can be successfully combined with any number of family orientated beach lodges and activities on the Indian Ocean coast or in Cape Town. We have already successfully combined these areas for several families and this includes Charlotte at Aardvark who recently took her husband and seven and nine year old boys to South Africa.

For those who are happy to take preventative medication for malaria, Malarone has now been launched in the UK in a children's formula. It is the first malaria tablet to be designed for kids and so far it has been licensed in the UK, USA, Denmark as well as a couple of other European countries. The best news is that the tablets are small and film-coated, so they are not bitter to taste. The course starts the day before travel and finishes only seven days after your return home.

If malaria isn't an issue, Kenya genuinely welcomes families. Not only at camps such as Rekero and Cottars in the Masai Mara, but also in some of the ranch style properties that offer a perfect base for a family holiday. The private properties such as Loisba and Lewa Downs provide comfortable settings with any number of varied and wonderful activities on tap, in addition to traditional game drives. These properties are owner run and many have raised their own children in the bush, a fact which is most reassuring.

Robin Pope Safaris in Zambia have an itinerary which is particularly suited to families by offering Nkwali Camp in the South Luangwa. It has open lawns shaded by huge ebony trees and a large fenced swimming pool. All the staff are child friendly and safety conscious. Game drives, walks, visits to the local school, cooking and collecting leaf, dung and feathers all feature on the activity list and safari packs and colouring books are all provided. Each programme will be tailored to the number of children and their ages. And meanwhile Robin & Jo Pope are currently renovating their own house at Nkwali, which will be available for exclusive bookings shortly.

Tangala House is another private residence in Zambia, this one is located on the banks of the Zambezi River close to Victoria Falls. It's beautifully equipped and is therefore an ideal place for families with all the facilities of a family home, including nannies. A wide range of activities are on offer in the immediate vicinity including canoeing, rafting, game drives, white water rafting and elephant riding.

Another option would be to do a private mobile safari, possibly in Kenya, Botswana or Tanzania, which country would depend to a degree on the age of your family. Accommodation would be in simple but comfortable tents with your own personal guide and camp staff. You would have the option to tailor-make all your game activities at a pace to suit and involve all the family with the safari experience.

The restrictions with older children are obviously fewer and once they are twelve years old, they are considered to be adults except on some of the more adventurous activities. An excellent teenage holiday would be to spend some days in Victoria Falls indulging in some of the more active pursuits and to combine this with perhaps a walking, canoeing or riding safari.

Many families will combine a safari with some time on the beach, which you can do very well in South Africa, Kenya or Tanzania or you might wish to just concentrate on a beach and water activities type of holiday. If that is the case, you can't do much better than Mauritius where there is a wide range of excellent hotels and resorts that welcome families with children of all ages. The variety of activities is excellent and most hotels have children's clubs that are open on a daily basis.

Each individual family will have its own criteria when putting together a holiday to suit, so it is exciting to see that there is now a tremendous variety of exciting, educational and relaxing options throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean to chose from. As more families are taking the opportunity to visit Africa, it really is worth planning well ahead for either a trip during a half term or a main school holiday. We are now finding that the most popular properties are getting booked up well in advance.

Be warned though, once you have introduced the family to Africa they will keep asking you for more.

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John Spence originally cut his teeth as a cocktail barman in Cape Town and white water raft guide in Zimbabwe. This unorthodox first travel to Africa buried a strong seed of love for that continent which has grown and grown. Endless weird and wonderful trips to Africa on horse back, by canoe, on foot, light aeroplane and behind the wheel of his own Land Rover have yet to fully satisfy his thirst for knowledge of Africa. John?s two children are also set to become safari experts and are beginning to accompany him on some of his less adventurous trips so he?s a good person to talk to about family holidays as well. An itinerary to Africa designed by John will be based on a huge bank of knowledge and a big injection of enthusiasm and adventure.