Last Thursday I was in Johannesburg and decided to check out the newly revamped Sterkfontein Caves and Maropeng exhibition which are both part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site. The Cradle of Humankind lies only an hour’s drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria in the beautiful and peaceful hills of Magaliesberg. is actually several different fossil sites, (13 major and several minor sites), which collectively add up to possibly the greatest wealth of prehistorical finds in the world. Within the dolomite hills are a series of underground caverns which have acted as geological time capsules preserving thousands of fossils of extinct animals as well as some of our earliest human ancestors (or hominid species). This includes ‘Mrs Ples’ who was discovered in 1948 and dates from 2.3 million years ago and ‘Little Foot’ one of the most complete early hominid skeletons discovered in 1997.

I first visited Sterkfontein Caves home to some of the most important archaeological finds in the world. The sheer number of fossils found is staggering and they are still excavating the skeleton of Little Foot at the caves. Conducted tours leave every 30 minutes and last approx 45 minutes to one hour. You have to take 120 steps down to the caves and 120 steps up again and in some area you have to crouch very low or sit on your backside to get through from one chamber to another so wear comfortable shoes and clothes. There’s an attractive new exhibition at the top which is worth some time.

Afterwards I headed to the Maropeng inter-active visitor exhibition for the Cradle of Humankind which is only 10 minutes drive from Sterfontein. Maropeng tells the story of mankind’s origins and its continuing journey into the future as well as offering exhibitions about the formation of the earth and its living creatures. This is a great exhibition for families, and it’s good to combine with Sterkfontein. Purists might find it a little too glitzy for their tastes but it certainly works at bringing the fascinating subject of our origins alive. You’ll need about one hour for the exhibition.

If you have the full day to explore the area, you could also add the pretty Wonder Caves to the sights you visit. Though less important in terms of prehistory than Sterkfontein, Wonder Cave is actually one of the loveliest caves in South Africa, a vast cathedral-like cavern full of dramatic rock formations, stalactites and stalagmites.

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If you have young children or you don’t wish, or cannot, take anti-malaria medication, South Africa is unique in offering a number of malaria-free Game Reserves. It used to be that you had a make a trade-off between the quality of the game-viewing and the absence of malaria, but this is increasingly not the case as all three of our featured regions, Madikwe Game Reserve, the Waterberg and the Eastern Cape private game reserves offer the Big Five (elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino and leopard) as well as plenty of general game. What is fair to say is that the Eastern Cape, the Pilanesberg and the Waterberg are more accessible than the traditional safari areas. This means reduced travelling time, especially important for families, but the greater accessibility can also translate into less of a ‘African safari’ feel. However this is not the case with Madikwe Private Game reserve which lies in the far North-West of South Africa. All of these area have witnessed a heart-warming return to wildlife conservation with a number of farms restored to natural bushveld, and the largest restocking of wildlife that Africa has ever seen.

The Pilanesberg game reserve, the Waterberg and Madikwe game reserve lie to the north of Johannesburg and Pretoria where wide open plains of bushveld stretch all the way to the Limpopo river. Rising out of these plains are the ancient volcano ridge of the Pilanesberg (1½ to 2 hours drive from Johannesburg) and the dramatic natural beauty of the Waterberg (2½ to 3 hours drive) and beyond to the north that lies Madikwe Game Reserve. The Eastern Cape game reserves are around 1 hours drive from Port Elizabeth and about 3 hours drive from the Garden Route so that many clients add on an Eastern Cape safari to a Garden Route holiday.

Madikwe Game Reserve
The malaria-free Madikwe is now one of the prime game reserves of South Africa. It began in 1991 with Operation Phoenix, one of the most ambitious and successful restocking programme that Africa has ever seen with over 10 000 animals reintroduced, all indigenous to the area. The 75 000 hectare private reserve now boasts a healthy wildlife population including plenty of the Big Five as well as over 360 recorded bird species. You can also expect to see its packs of wild dog which are regularly sighted as well as Black and White rhino and extensive plains game, including sable, gemsbok, springbok and giraffe. Alongside the Eastern Cape game lodges, Madikwe is at the forefront of offering child-friendly safari experiences with some lodges offering children’s game drives and children’s rangers. We have visited several of the game lodges and feature the best of those on our website.

Madikwe lies only 3½ to 4 hours from Johannesburg and 2 hours north of Sun City. Given the distances many clients choose to fly by scheduled charter flight (1¼ hour flight departing Johannesburg in the late morning), or break their journey in Sun City or the Magaliesberg. You can also combine a Madikwe safari with the Okavango Delta as it is only a 1½ to 2 hour transfer to Gaberone Airport which has a direct flight to Maun.

Positives
· Probably the most consistent game-viewing of the malaria-free game reserves
· Excellent wild dog sightings
· Classic African open bushveld terrain – you really feel like you’re on safari
· Can transfer easily to Gaberone for a direct flight to Maun (Okavango Delta)

Negatives
· It’s a long time from anywhere so you may choose to fly by charter which is expensive for a family
· You cannot easily combine it with another activity except for Sun City

Recommendations
Jacis
Tuningi
Madikwe Safari Lodge

Waterberg
The Waterberg, only 2½ to 3 hours drive from Johannesburg, is a stunning area of natural beauty, a dramatic forested plateau dissected by ravines and waterfalls with panoramic views over the plains below. The area is home to several malaria-free private game lodges offering Big Five game viewing and luxurious accommodation. There are also some Safari Houses - game lodges which are booked by one family or group of friends. Horse-riding, for both beginners and experienced riders are a particular speciality of the region.

Positives
· Close to Johannesburg so easy for self-drive or road transfers and good for shorter 2 night stays
· Very beautiful

Negatives
· May not feel wild enough for some visitors
· Game-viewing is not as certain as in Madikwe or some Eastern Cape reserves

Recommendations
Entabeni
Marakele
Makweti

Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is one of the prim malaria-free wildlife areas in South Africa. The original Addo Elephant National Park with its private concessions has been joined by several private malaria-free game reserves.

The Addo Park offers excellent elephant sightings. This is partly due to the unique Addo bushveld - the dominant plant is the pink flowered Spekboom, which is a favourite food of the elephants. Alongside the thrill of close-up elephant encounters, it is now home to black rhino, lion, hippo, unique Cape buffalo, many species of antelope, not forgetting the endangered flightless dung beetle!

Being a National Park, visitors are free to enjoy game-viewing on a self-drive basis but a number of the lodges nearby also offer open 4×4 game drives into Addo in the morning or afternoon. There are several private concessions within the park as well such as Gorah Elephant Camp, Riverbend Game Lodge and Nguni River Lodge.

The Eastern Cape is also home to several malaria-free private game reserves. These include Shamwari, Kwandwe, Amakhala, Lalibela and Kariega game reserves. Thousands of hectares have been returned to natural bushveld that supports predators as well as abundant plains species. Most of these lie between 45 minutes and 1½ hours from Port Elizabeth and offer an intimate and informative experience. You enjoy game drives in open-vehicle game drives with an experienced ranger who can give you a deeper understanding of the wildlife and the natural cycles of the bush. Drives are in the early morning and late afternoon when game is most likely to be active.

Positives
· Adjacent to the Garden Route so that you don’t have to fly to get to your safari destination
· Very attractive countryside
· Many lodges to choose from, some with excellent kid’s safari programmes

Negatives
· Most lodges are accessible and so you don’t get an overwhelming sense of being in the wilds of ‘Africa’
· Can be very cold in the winter months (June to early August)
· You need to pick your lodge carefully as game-viewing varies between the various private game reserves of the Eastern Cape.

Recommendations

Kwandwe
Blaauwbosch
Riverbend
Lalibela

 

For more Information & Travel ideas visit our main website at http://cedarberg-travel.com/

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Zambia  is rapidly gaining a name for itself as a child-friendly safari destination for those in the know… In large part this is due to the development of the East African concept of ‘safari houses’. With a safari house, your family party takes the whole lodge, not just one or two inter-leading rooms. The lodge usually comes with its own ranger so that you have a private vehicle for your game drives and a private chef, sometimes even a house-keeper or butler as well. As you can imagine this leads to a much more relaxed and flexible family holiday. No constant worrying about whether Johnny is making too much noisy, no self-consciousness about an impromptu game of rugby on the lawn. You are free to choose your own game-viewing rhythm, heading out early one morning and taking it more relaxed another day. You can choose your own meal times and as importantly decide on what you all want to eat – great for families with slightly picky children.

Three favorites of ours are Chongwe River House in the Lower Zambezi, Luangwa Safari House in the South Luangwa National Park and Tangala House near to the magnificent Tangala House.

Chongwe River House is one of two ‘Safari Houses’ built and designed by Neil Rocher who is well known for his previous work. It is located in the Lower Zambezi National Park close to Chongwe River Camp. This magnificent private house is ideal for families or friends (up to 8 guests) looking for a little privacy.  It is completely self contained with its own private staff (hostess, guide, chef and batman), allowing you complete flexibility. Every bedroom is individually decorated with its own en suite bathroom and there’s a large plunge pool for relaxation. Game viewing takes place on foot, by boat, by canoe or on night drives. Fishing for tiger fish is also available on a catch and release basis.

As the pool is unfenced and close to the house, and as Zambia is an all-year Malaria area, I wouldn’t recommend this lodge for small children under six years old, but other than that I cannot fault it!

Luangwa Safari House is also designed by Neil Rocher. It is located next to the South Luangwa National Park adjacent to Nkwali Camp. As with Chongwe House, it offers 4 bedrooms for 8 guests and also has private staff (hostess, guide, chef and batman). Luangwa Safari House is open all year round and access to the park for most of the season is by boat or our nearby pontoon.  Game viewing takes place on foot or on day and night drives whilst visits to the local village and school of Kawaza are also available. The area is famous for leopard and giraffe sightings.

Tangala House is a large Safari House on the banks of the Zambezi River, 15 km upstream from the magnificent Victoria Falls. Stylishly built and furnished with a recent feature in the UK House and Garden magazine, Tangala sleeps eight and makes an ideal stay for a family holiday, as it comes with its own staff and guide. The house faces the incredible sunsets across the Zambezi and looks onto the Zambezi National Park. Large herds of elephant often come down to drink on the opposite bank and hippopotamus are regularly seen and heard. There is fantastic birdlife, with over 145 species to date spotted. Tangala is ideal for families and is designed to keep insects out, with glass windows all round. Many inclusive activities that are available from Tangala.  These include bird watching; fishing; game viewing; canoeing; boating; island lunches and picnics.

Sindabezi Island is a sister lodge of Tangala and offers a completely different experience -  a private island paradise on the Zambezi river. Sindabezi sleeps only ten people, in five open fronted thatched chalets dotted around the shores of the island. The island is very rustic in style with no electricity, wood fires and hot bucket showers on demand. The unique design of the chalets allows you to enjoy all the sights and sounds of the river including regular visits from Horace, the resident hippo. At night, you will fall asleep in the glow of a hurricane lamp and in the morning you are woken by magnificent sunrises over the flood plains of the Zambezi river.

Sindabezi Island is ideal for families or a small party looking for complete privacy and is particularly good value. Indeed the island is the only bush camp that can be enjoyed exclusively as a private booking with its own private guide, boat and vehicle.

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As a Family Safari and Holiday specialist, I sometimes have the happy task of taking my children along to lodges to act as guinea-pigs. These are three of our favourites that we visited recently: Grootbos Nature Reserve, Hog Hollow Country Lodge and Cathedral Peak Hotel. I was accompanied by my two oldest children Emma (aged 9) & Mark (aged 6). I’ll focus on some favourite child-friendly safari lodges soon…

 Grootbos Nature Reserve, near Hermanus
Grootbos is one of a handful of places in the Western Cape which offers a fully inclusive experience. On arrival, you are met with a drink and after you’ve checked in, you are led to their activities room where they discuss the various excursions on offer. These include a nature drive on the reserve, a whale-watching and beach trip down to the caves at Die Kelders, horse-riding on the estate, visit to Green Futures (their gardening training college), guided milkwood forest walk, and a whale-watching boat trip out to Dyer island. Hermanus is called the capital of whale-watching and rightly so. During the season, you would be highly unlikely not to see whales in Walker Bay in front of the lodge.
You sign up for whatever activity takes your fancy and you often have a choice of times. This informal yet efficient approach sums up the style of Grootbos. We partook in most of the activities and had superb sightings of whales, both close-up (metres away) and also breaching and spouting. The nature drive was beautiful and I particularly enjoyed the horse-riding on the reserve. Children under 7 years take pony rides in the paddock, and children from 8 to 12 years must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Hardly a hardship for me!

Of particular note was the excellent food. Every meal was delicious and they offered a children’s menu with more straight forward dishes if your children prefer this.
The original lodge, now called Garden Lodge, is looking lovely and the garden was amazing – lush and full of colour. The main lodge is very warm and inviting in feel, and the cottages have been revamped to a more luxurious standard. Each cottage has one or two bedrooms and a sitting room. The sitting room is light and airy and decorated in a soft modern style. The sofa converts into two separate single beds so that even older children could be comfortably accommodated. There are also two bedroom cottages so children can have their own bedroom or families with 3 or 4 children can be accommodated together. These are more expensive of course.

Grootbos is very child friendly and each child is treated as an important guest in their own right. The children went off to feed the horses every morning and there was also a giant sand pit/play area next to the stables. With a high staff complement, Grootbos is often able to tailor their activities to suit your family. The whales, whether seen by boat or on land never fail to impress both children and parents alike. Children are encouraged to eat in the dining room earlier in the evening (6.30/7pm) and parents can either dine with them or have a baby-sitter and dine later. 

Hog Hollow Country Lodge, Plettenberg Bay, Garden Route
I liked Hog Hollow when I first started the business 12 years ago and I like it now. Hog Hollow is set on the edge of an indigenous forest in a private nature reserve with glorious views of the surrounding forests and mountains, not far from Plettenberg Bay. Recent changes are an enlarged reception area with a separate breakfast buffet area, two sitting areas and the new swimming pool on a lower deck, just that bit further away from the lodge for greater privacy. The new suites are beautifully decorated, but do not have the view over the valley, and I still like the original rooms. All rooms have fireplaces, music system, coffee / tea making facilities, but no TVs or telephone.  Dinner was excellent served around the communal table as always.There loads on offer for children in this part of the Garden Route and it’s not clogged with traffic, hustle and bustle. In addition to the superb beaches of Plettenberg Bay and the Tsitsikamma, there is Monkeyland primate sanctuary, the new Elephant Sanctuary, the Treetop Canopy adventure for older children and whale-watching and dolphin boat trips.Hog Hollow has put a lot of effort into catering for children and it’s a perfect place for families. A selection of children’s story books and African story CD were provided on arrival and the kids received milk and gingerbread cookies in the early evening which went down very well. Children under 9 years are not encouraged (rightly) for the main dinner but we had an above average kid’s meal at 6.30pm in the dining room. I wouldn’t recommend crawling or toddling children at Hog Hollow as the deck surround is not fully child-proof and there’s a long drop.

 

Cathedral Peak Hotel, Drakensberg Mountains, KwaZulu Natal
Cathedral Peak is a completely different style of hotel but well worth considering by families. Resort hotels have rather gone out of fashion in recent years but having stayed there with my small children, I think many families would enjoy Cathedral Peak especially if you enjoy walking and being in the Great Outdoors. Yes, it is more regimented than a small boutique lodge and yes, the dinner is usually an extensive buffet or carvery but my children still ask on a regular basis when we are going back to the Cathedral Peak. And we’ll go back next year. I’d recommend at least a 3 or 4 night stay.
Cathedral Park is a traditional mountain resort hotel high in the Drakensberg mountains. Everything is run like a well oiled machine with a range of guided activities and loads of sports on offer. There’s a choice of two or three guided walks each day or you can follow their written walks leaflets for shorter family walks. There’s also horse-riding (for beginners and intermediate). The sports facilities are extensive and well-maintained. A sports room hires out tennis rackets, badminton, golf clubs for the putt-putt, croquet bowls etc. There’s a climbing tower for older children, adventure playground for younger children, golf course and small Spa for parents. The hotel’s clientele is a mix of people just wanting to chill out in the mountains, families and keen walkers so there’s usually a few ready made playmates for your children. There’s a children’s dining room (ideally for toddlers and small children). This is open for breakfast and dinner and has toys and a TV. During school holidays, there are university students on duty to entertain the children during meal times and at some set times during the day. Older children (eg Emma’s age) tend to eat with their parents in the main dining room and then head off the kids dining room to play and watch a children’s movie before being collected at 9pm by their parents who have managed to score some precious time alone. Highly recommended.

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If you are coming on safari during the peak (dry) season, this is winter in Southern Africa. What this means is that it’s cold in the early morning and after the sun sets but usually pleasantly warm, but not hot, during the day. So far so good…

But keep in mind that most safari lodges are built to enjoy the bush as much as possible. What this means in practice is that many lodges are open to the elements so that even if you dine in the lodge, instead of in the boma, this might not necessarily mean that you will be completely enclosed. Be warned!

So I advise you to bring very warm clothes with you for the game drives and that means hat, scarf, gloves and warm jacket. You probably won’t need these for the afternoon part of the drive but once you’ve enjoyed your sunset drinks, you’ll want to start putting on your warm clothes.

Back at the lodge, your evening wear also needs to be warm. If you are dining in the boma, then the dress code is as casual as on the game drives. But many lodges alternate boma dining with fine dining in the lodge or on the lodge’s deck. You may wish to dress up a little. Think  thermal vests (from your skiing gear perhaps?)  to enable you to wear smarter, ( thinner) clothes on top and still be warm. I also recommend liberal use of pashminas. Finally if you are cold, don’t be shy to ask for more blankets even a hot water bottle. South Africans tend to assume that if they ignore the fact that it is winter, the winter will go away. They sometimes under-cater on this score so tell them!

Game drives
Wear comfortable casual clothing on a game drive. I also recommend that you take the following:

• Camera
• Binoculars (at least one pair between a couple)
• Sunblock
• Lipsalve
• Introductory Animal & Bird book – a number of lodges have inexpensive guides in their curio shops. This really enhances your enjoyment.

Children
If you are on a family safari, I strongly recommend taking or buying the following:

• Disposable camera for each child (so that they have something to do and don’t fight)
• Plenty of binoculars (for the above reasons)
• A children’s safari guide. I recommend the Bushveld Safari Guide for Children published by Struik.

Khaki?
Do you need to wear khaki? This is not strictly necessary though it is a very practical colour for the bush and helps you to feel in the mood. You’ll find that most people around you will be wearing a mix of darker, natural colours. The only time we suggest that people keep to the neutral bush colours is when you’re participating in a game walk.

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