The Last Minute Travel Fact Center

We watched as elephants trecked through the hotel while on safari in Africa

Juliette was nearly two years old, we travelled from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania both the mainland and Zanzibar but my wife and I both love Africa and we could not resist the temptation to visit our many friends in Africa and visit the continent we love so much.

We had a wonderful trip and had no problems with finding food for our daughter or cots in the hotels. In fact the whole trip was just perfect. We made sure that used mosquito nets, and to cover her with a strong mosquito repellent she wasn’t bitten once in the whole trip.

So if you are thinking of travelling to Africa with your family but are worried whether your children will enjoy the safari and whether they will be safe, we hope you will be encouraged with our personal experiences. Juliette has been on many safaris since a very young age and we have many friends who have children that have grown up in the safari lodges so the answer is a simple one, yes children are fine in the wild conditions.

Children tend to love the wildlife and a safari is usually a wonderful experience for children of all ages. It can get a bit long and hot for children so we have some suggestions for you;

• take with you some animal spotting safari games
• learn the Swahili names for the animals which will help the children build a relationship with your driver and should provide fun.
• Keep the kids busy with downloadable “safari games” free from the web. We have a FREE children’s activity pack which you can view or download and print free of charge and includes a safari animal check list with Swahili animal names, plus some other fun stuff.

A remarkable experience we had one night while out on safari, I want to mention it because it might be useful for other parents travelling with young children while on safari…
We went on a night drive in Zambia in an open vehicle with other guests from the lodge.This was so exciting and turned out to be one of the most amazing we have ever done. We noticed a young leopard that night, later we found ourselves right in the middle of a herd of buffalo being ambushed by four female lions. We could see that the lions missed their prey. In all the commotion our daughter started crying, suddenly the lions who typically judge vehicles as part of the landscape had begun to think the vehicle as a probable prey, like a small animal in distress. It was fortunate that our driver spotted the change and drove away at full speed with a pack of lions following us.

Because the food in safari lodges are flexible you won’t have any problems with children’s food. There should be no problems keeping children interested in this new and stimulating world where they will face a different way of life and maybe poverty for the first time, but I think the lifestyle of Africa can play an essential part in the education of our sometimes pampered children.

Each safari and lodge have guide lines that must be adhered to – if not then danger, trouble could follow. As these are set there to keep you and your family safe it is wise that you and your children abide by them. Certainly the first thing to do is sit down with your children before departure and explain that Africa is a different world from the one they are used to, where there is danger around. There is no need to overemphasize but camp rules are there for your protection and must be followed, because if they are not, the consequences can be serious. For very young children I recommend you choose your camp carefully and confirm with your travel advisor which are most appropriate for children. We can guide you on this from personal experience as we have been on many safaris with our children. We also have a lot of information for going on safari & travelling in Africa

It is recommended that young children should not be vaccinated and are excused in most countries for yellow fever but truthfully I don’t feel this should be of concern. It is an uncommon disease which you wouldn’t come across in a safari lodge. Your focus of concern should be malaria which is a problem all over the tropics. The local residents get it regularly and it is typically regard it as no worse than a bout of flu. But depending on the strain, it may be dangerous and a better solution is prevention. Very young children can’t take malaria tablets, please get advice from your doctor. Make sure that you rub mosquito repellent liberally, cover up arms and legs before sundown and ensure that the children sleep under mosquito nets. If you take these safety measures you can reduce the risk of malaria to almost zero.

Don’t be scared about taking your children to Africa, it is a wonderful experience for them and we have been back with Juliette many times, but do cover them up well and no safaris in open vehicles for very small children

Note: The above information is advice given on the basis of the author’s experience at the time of writing and the author cannot take responsibility for any traveller choosing to take the advise above. All travellers should speak to their GP taking advice from the relevant authorities before travelling.