In this episode we explore the magic, and the practical realities, of taking children on safari. Where early wake-up calls meet endless curiosity, and where animal dung can be just as exciting as spotting a leopard.
We talk honestly about: The right age to take kids on safari, private vehicles (sanity-savers for everyone), Malaria questions and how to balance family time and adult time.
I’m joined by 3 guests:
Lex, who shares what it’s like going on game drive with her own young children — including why seeing safari through a child’s eyes makes you notice the small things again.
Laura, who tells us about South Africa’s iconic Sabi Sabi Reservenear the Kruger National Park, where kids can join game drives and dive into creative, hands-on bush education at the Elephant Centre — no screens, just spoor tracking and sand art.
And finally, Manuela from Mziki Safari Lodge, tells us what happens when children build shelters, purify water, learn fire-making skills, and graduate as certified Junior Rangers.
Deutsch: Du kannst diesen Podcast auch auf Deutsch hören: “Africa with André auf Deutsch”
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It's important, in my opinion, that children learn about the animals of the world, not only to see how interesting and important fauna and flora is, but also to inspire a dream to explore, and travel.
Today I want to talk about going on safari with kids, what the options are, and what parents and kids can expect.
Our first guest today is my friend and industry colleague, Lex, to chat about her experience of going a safari with her own children.
Hi Lex, thanks for joining us today.
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[00:00:56] André: Let's start with some definitions. When I say "going on Safari", and you've been going on Safari for many years, what does that mean for you?
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When the bush is waking up, and the sunlight turning the landscape in a golden yellow, watching the wild animals, in the natural habitat, that's something really special.
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[00:01:51] Lex: Yeah, me too. I hardly ever miss a morning game drive and also having a morning coffee right in the middle of the bush. And then again, heading out in the afternoon until the sun slowly sets and everything is once again in that beautiful light. And then, of course, enjoying the famous sundowner at sunset.
I also like listening to the guides, that share their knowledge about the animals in the area and the little details.
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[00:02:33] Lex: Um, for me there was no major difference, but maybe it depends also on the children. But with mine it was just as wonderful an experience as any other safari. We spent really hours out in the mornings and afternoons, yeah, it was just very beautiful to experience the safari once again through the eyes of a child.
And it also helps me to appreciate the small details and fundamental aspects that sometimes experienced safari goers, uh, overlook. For my daughter, for example, discovering different types of animal dung and the stories that came with them was, uh, a highlight.
I think with children you should plan a bit more time, especially if they, speak little or no English, so you have time to translate. I also recommend booking a private vehicle, sometimes you even need to, and so you can really adjust the pace individually.
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[00:03:48] Lex: Yes, I would recommend that. But even, um. I mean, most of the guides or the lodges that offer safari with kids, they have trained guides, especially for kids, and they know how to do a safari very interactive. And so, I think it's never gonna be boring also for the kids.
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[00:04:11] Lex: Um, naturally given my job, I have been on safari with my kids, with African Bush Camps in Zimbabwe and Zambia, um, as well as with Ultimate Safaris in Namibia. So, in Zimbabwe we have special family camps in all areas where we operate camps and lodges, and there we welcome kids of all ages.
Our first trip, mine were only four and six years old, so still quite small. But as I've said, it was a really wonderful experience to be on safari with them. And we booked a private vehicle and went on really extensive safaris in that open vehicle. our guides are trained to work with kids and have, as I said, fascinating stories to tell about every plant and type of animal.
We were also in Hwange in October. Uh, Hwange is, famous for hundreds of elephants, big elephant herds. And, um, at our camps, at Somalisa Acacia, you can just sit around either in the pool or around the elephant pool, which is, uh, actually only for the elephants and they, you can watch them come and drink and really see hundreds of elephants.
And then in Zambia we were in Lower Zambezi where you can also do boat safaris um, and in Namibia travelled with my family with Ultimate Safaris. And they're also the guide, especially trained for kids. And experiencing Namibia as a family with them is very relaxed because, uh, it's long distances.
And then you have the guide that has really interesting stories. It's very interactive as well. And how they, um, interact with the kids is wonderful.
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[00:06:16] Lex: Personally, I only bring like the emergency medication and make just sure that we do not get bitten. And all our camps have like mosquito net and “Peaceful Sleep”.
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[00:06:32] Lex: Yeah, exactly. Um, and well, especially with Zimbabwe and Zambia, since our camps are located in very remote regions, and malaria can only be transmitted by a mosquito that has previously bitten an infected person, the risk of an infection is relatively low.
But of course, we are in the risk area, but for me personally, um, it's okay just to bring the emergency medication, make sure about mosquito bites. Yeah.
But as I said, I'm not a medical professional, so it's best to discuss this in advance with your doctor, but for me it was not a issue with the kids, to be honest.
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[00:07:26] Lex: Um, actually I think, the visit of Lower Zambezi, our lodge there Lolebezi was very special. in Zambia, we were there in October when the river, was quite shallow, and so they surprised us with a lunch on the river, which was really special. And, uh, the kids were even swimming in the Zambezi...
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[00:07:49] Lex: yeah, but that was in that shallow area where no hippos are. And of course, the guides were, were, were. Sporting the area, but still it was a very special, um, moment.
And then in Lake Kariba, um, my son was, very happy with fishing. I mentioned we, we also do all different activities and, that was a very highlight for my son. It was nice to see how proud he was, uh, to bring the fish out.
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[00:08:20] Lex: Yes, he caught actually most of the fish, I was not successful, neither my husband, but my son, he was really like the one bringing out fish. It was really cool.
In Camp Doros, seeing those black rhinos on foot, and learning all about how they're protected and how endangered they are in the whole world,
and that was also something very special for me to teach the children how important it is, all this conservation work that.
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[00:08:54] Lex: Um, it's the leopard, Mm-hmm, for both, I think. Yeah, I think Leo also loves the lion, so.
André: And what's your favourite animal?
Lex: mine is the elephant. I love watching them, and uh, really am fascinated by elephants.
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[00:09:17] Lex: Thank you André. It was my pleasure.
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Our second guest is Laura Letanocski. She's responsible for the marketing in the German speaking countries for the Sabi Sabi Lodges in South Africa.
Hi Laura, and welcome to the podcast.
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[00:09:46] André: Give us a brief introduction to Sabi Sabi and where it is located.
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[00:10:19] André: Wow.
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[00:10:30] André: Before we talk about kids on Safari, what does a day look like when we're traveling to Sabi Sabi as adults without any children?
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And, um, can get ready for your morning game drive, which leaves at 6:00 AM. In the time between there is always coffee and snacks, so you don't have to start with an empty stomach. And then you head on to your morning drive, um, where you will also have the morning coffee a little bit later when you've seen your first lions maybe.
And um, after very exciting game drives, you will usually head back around 9, 9 30 to the lodge, where a proper breakfast is waiting. And after that you have time on your: you can have a siesta, you can use the pool or enjoy the spa. And, next on the program, it's obviously lunch. Depending on how hungry you are after having a big breakfast. And I always say, you don't have to feel bad if you skip lunch, because there's always a lot of food
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[00:12:05] Laura: Yeah. No, I always say the excess baggage you don't take home in your luggage, it's more on the hips.
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[00:12:13] Laura: After having a very, very delicious lunch, you, um, have more time to enjoy the lodge. And, at 03:30, High Tea is calling. So, there will be iced coffee, maybe some bubbles, um, some sweet and savoury treats, and at 4:00 PM you head onto your afternoon game drive, where also the obligatory sundowner is happening
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[00:12:41] Laura: Yeah. And after the gin and tonic, when the sun has set, you head off to the night drive. You look for the nocturnal species, and especially leopards, which Sabi Sabi quite famous for. And at seven or seven 30, you will be back at the lodge. So, there you have either time to freshen up or maybe head straight to the bar for some drinks, and then dinner is waiting for you.
And after that, time at your leisure or you go to bed, because wake-up call is again at five 30 in the morning.
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[00:13:36] Laura: Yeah. But that's why we have the siesta time in between.
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And now if I'm traveling with children, if I'm coming with my family, what does a day look like then?
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[00:14:09] André: Okay.
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And sometimes you even start later, because to fetch all your chickens, and get them off into the car is sometimes harder than you think.
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[00:15:14] Laura: Yes, exactly. So, they always try to not mix a honeymoon couple, for example, with a family, they really look to, to match the right people.
And as we anyways have a window seat, procedure, there's always just six people on the car.
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[00:15:32] Laura: Exactly.
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[00:15:34] Laura: So, um, the chance that a honeymoon couple ends up with a family of four is usually very, very low. Yeah.
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[00:16:13] Laura: Exactly. it's always very helpful. But, as we have so many families at the Bush Lodge, the chance that, you end up with, let's say adults, normal guests, is very low.
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[00:16:30] Laura: So, there is a very, very nice program. Bush Lodge has something called the Elephant Centre, which is a mix between education and kid centre. There is no electronics, no tv, no game boys or whatsoever. And we have education staff working there. So, people that come from the education sector or that provide also educational activities for the kids.
So, as already mentioned, the kids will go on the game drives in the morning and in the afternoon. So, the program will happen in between. And when you've been on a game drive for two and a half or three hours, there is a lot of energy that has been built up, especially when you are a six or 7-year-old.
So we start after breakfast, the kids can be dropped off at the elephant center, and we start with some active activities, um, it's outdoor games, it's a bit of sport. So, we could, for example, do a game in the maze or play field soccer, or go into one of our jungle gyms.
We have, a Land Rover that has been turned into a playground-safe vehicle. So, they can really get some energy off their system and have fun during that. And after this, we love to dive into more, um, artsy activities.
So, for example, we could start with sand art, where the kids can do art with sand. they build sculptures or they do drawings and things like that. Or, um, they could do an Ndebele Doll which is, um, Ndebele, is a tribe from Southern Africa. With all these activities, they also learn, about the different cultures in Southern Africa. So, the message about, what this means, um, the doll or the signs, will be transported in a very, child appropriate way.
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[00:18:35] Laura: We usually say between four and 12 years. If the kids are three, then we'll certainly be made an exception. If they are younger, they could possibly go and spend time there, but they would need a babysitter just to look after them, because it's different looking after 4-year-old or a 2-year-old.
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[00:19:05] Laura: Exactly, so, they are working very individually once the kids are there, and the programs are changing every day, and they don't have to do everything. So if they want to spend the whole day there, but they don't want to do just the sand art part, they can just play on the playground or get some paper and pencils and just spend time on their own and have some fun, or play with other kids.
So, it's never a must, but it's a really nice, way to dive into different kind of activities while being at the Elephant Centre.
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[00:19:43] Laura: exactly. Because once you are with children and you can be a child, you just be a child.
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[00:20:03] Laura: Yeah, that's very true. So, the afternoon is, for all things nature. So, kids have lunch around one, so they can join their parents for the lunch. And after that we could do nature walks or nature talks.
So, there will be guides going with the kids, they will do different kind of experiences to learn everything about the wildlife and the natures. Maybe they can bring questions that came up during the game drives. They saw something and maybe they didn't want to ask on the vehicle, because they didn't want to ask the parents or the guides, and then they bring it later to the Elephant Centre, because they know, "I can bring a question and then we all try to find the solution" or something like this. So, it's also, um, very much about, coming together with all the kids and
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[00:20:56] Laura: maybe, having new friendships resulting on that. So, they will be doing like little guide trainings and tracking experiences. So they will try to find out what kind of animal was walking there. Maybe it was a lion or it was an elephant, or something like this.
And, also, because maybe the weather might not be nice, and you don't want to keep talking, um, about nature for two hours, because that's boring as well, at some point for the kids, um, they might be doing, recycled material 3D animals so they can talk about the elephants while building an elephant out of like a plastic bottle, for example.
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[00:21:54] Laura: Absolutely, because I always say: everyone has to be happy, not only on a safari, but on a holiday. And if you go with kids, the kids have to be happy, and then the parents will be happy too.
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One question that comes up a lot, Laura, is Malaria. And Sabi Sabi is next to the Kruger Park, so that is in a malaria area. And while neither you nor I are a doctor, what do you normally say to families that have questions about that?
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But, um, what I can say, is that we haven't had any malaria cases occurring in the past 25 years. Neither with guests, or staff at Sabi Sabi directly or in the towns, directly next to our reserve.
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[00:23:25] Laura: Exactly, exactly.
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[00:23:32] Laura: Thank you, André. It was really, really nice talking to you about, how a family safari can look like.
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And finally we talked to Manuela Palamar. Together with her sons, she owns a family friendly Mziki Safari Lodge in South Africa. Mziki is located in the northwestern part of the country and has a special program for children.
Hi Manuela, and welcome.
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[00:24:06] André: Give us a brief introduction to your lodge please.
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So, we are very small lodge with only eight groups. We are an extremely children friendly lodge. I would say one of the most children friendly lodges in the private game reserve, uh, category there is because we accept children of all ages.
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Manuela: So, it's a private game reserve with 6,000 hectares and a normal Safari Day looks, uh, that you arrive for lunch. Then we have the afternoon safari, with the sundowner in the bush and then dinner in our open air boma or in the bar area and a semi-closed boma. And then in the morning you do the morning safari with tea and coffee break and our homemade rusks and crunchies, yeah. And then you come back for a full breakfast.
André: You say that you're particularly child friendly. What do the Safari activities for families and kids look like, and from what age can kids go on safari?
Manuela: The reason why we accept children is, because we want to explain nature and what we can learn from nature or from wildlife and expose them to certain elements, which is very, very important. Even adults and parents are most grateful for our Junior Ranger courses, and they equally participate in them like the kids.
André: I like that. A fun way for the family to spend time together.
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Um, this is done during the game drive with spoor reading or pointing out special plants. Because there is a vegetation where you can make a toothbrush, or you can make medicine out of certain leaves, or a tea. And then the kids will do, uh, shelter building after breakfast, for example.
There's an hour reserved with the Ranger. And all our rangers, I have to say, are very, very children friendly. So, they go just outside of the lodge and the kids have to build a shelter without breaking anything in the bush or without any other help.
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[00:27:10] Manuela: So they have to use whatever they find in the bush and make a shelter to protect themselves from rain or from the sun.
Or another element is, water purifying. Because sometimes, for survival, you very much need to know how to purify water. And then also fire making. Fire making is done on in certain levels, so for the younger ones it's a bit easier. But then for the older children, they can also use the rocks, but the Rangers always there to assist them.
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What else do you offer the families?
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Language barrier is not really a problem because, uh, we have guests from all over the world, and they talk with hand and sign language. And as we're in the bush, it can easily be pointed out, you know, be it an animal or be it a tree. It is really very easy to communicate.
At the end they get a certificate where it's personalized with their name. There's also a quiz, and some of the questions are not so easy, but then of course the parents are part of the test, and together they usually achieve a very high percentage. So, our rangers love it.
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[00:29:02] Manuela: The other activities also what the children learn is archery. We have a small bow for children and that's usually great fun for the whole family. There are board games, also wildlife related children puzzles, uh, reference books. There is a large swimming pool.
So, this is all very interesting for the children and you know, very often when they check out and they say goodbye, the children are honestly crying and have tears in the eyes, they don't want to leave. Children, they love animals and they're not exposed to this kind of an environment in their home countries.
We have a lot of repeat families and three generation family groups.
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One question we always get, can we see the Big five at Mziki?
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And our rangers just love it. They're all very, very passionate and what what is really key for them is, if the kids take away why we have to protect the environment, uh, and what we can learn from nature, that is really what they appreciate the most.
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[00:30:42] Manuela: So Mziki is a very personal lodge. You know, our team is also already between 10 and 20 years with us. So, this is our second family.
One of my sons is taking over the operation of the lodge, uh, when I retire. And so it stays in the family.
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[00:31:05] Manuela: Yeah, and this is Mziki in a nutshell, thank you.
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My personal opinion is that it only makes sense to go on safari with children age six and above. At that age, kids are more likely to sit still when they need to, and everyone has more fun.
The suggestions for private vehicles, for families with kids are great. That way everyone's relaxed and no one gets annoyed if the child gets restless or wants to go home. I also think it's amazing how many different activities the children can do. At a young age they're still so curious and soak up everything new. The saying, "travel broadens the mind" really does apply here.
Animals have always fascinated all of us from a young age, and going on safari and seeing the world through the eyes of the kids is something very special for adults.
So, tell me, what do your children really want to see if they can go on safari? What did your children particularly enjoy when you were on safari with them?
Send me an email at podcast at africawithandre dot com. Then maybe I can do a follow-up episode and share their ideas. Until the next time!
