Safari holidays and Travel with Children to Tanzania.
Elephants invade hotel while on safari in Africa
My wife and I love Africa and we couldn’t resist the temptation to visit our friends in Africa and visit the continent, when Juliette was nearly two years old we travelled from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania both the mainland and Zanzibar.
Finding food for our daughter or cots in hotels wasn’t a problem we found which made our trip amazing. Actually the entire trip was just perfect. We were extremely vigilant to use mosquito nets, we covered her with a strong mosquito repellent to the point that 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 spotted a young leopard and later found ourselves right in the middle of a herd of buffalo being ambushed by four female lions. The lions lost their prey. Our daughter in all the excitement began crying, within seconds the lions who typically view vehicles as just part of the landscape started to perceive the vehicle as a feasible prey, like a small animal in distress. Happily our guide predicted the change and instantly drove us away at top speed to safety with a pack of lions following us.
The food in safari lodges tends to be quite relaxed so no problems here either. In general there should be no problems keeping children occupied in their new and exciting world here they will come face to face with a different culture and also perhaps poverty for the first time, but I think the reality of Africa can play an important part in the education of our sometimes over protected children.
Common sense is if the parents are sensible and make the children abide by the safari rules no danger will come to the children. Once you have booked your safari it would be a good idea to sit down with your children 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 inflate but camp rules must be obeyed, because if they are not, the consequences can be very serious. For very young children I would advise you to select your lodge carefully and check with your travel advisor which are most suitable for children. We can guide you on this from personal understanding 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. More concern is for malaria which is a problem all through the tropics. The local population catch it regularly and it is usually considered no worse than a bout of flu. Conversely depending on the strain, it could be dangerous and the key here is prevention. Young children cant be given malaria tablets, please get advice from your GP. Before the sun goes down make sure that you put insect repellent all over their arms and legs making sure any exposed area is covered then check to make sure they are sleeping under mosquito nets. If you use these precautions you can diminish the risk of malaria to approximately 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. Speak to your GP and take advice from the relevant authorities before travelling.
