Lukimbi Safari Lodge – Family Friendly Safaris in the Kruger
If you are thinking of a Family safari in Africa , and like the idea of children doing their own thing for part of the day, (so that you can slope off to your book or to the spa or more laudibly, on a game walk), then it makes sense to choose a safari lodge which actively welcomes children.
Lukimbi Safari Lodge certainly fits this bill. Lukimbi seems to have thought through the issues surrounding children on safari in a fair amount of detail, as I witnessed when I visited it with my family (husband Anton, and children Emma aged 10, Mark aged 7 and Torben aged 4). Lukimbi is in one of the private concessions in the Kruger. Though the Kruger National Park is an intermediate malaria area, the risks of malaria are dramatically lower in the winter months from May to August (when it is also the prime game-viewing time in the Kruger) so families shouldn’t just opt for the non-malaria areas if travelling during the northern hemisphere school holidays. The Kruger, along with the adjacent private game reserves of the Sabi Sands, Manyeleti and Timbavati, should definitely be on your short list.
In our experience, the staff at Lukimbi see children as equally important guests and have a thought-out programme for entertaining the children. Perhaps as importantly, a family-friendly lodge such as Lukimbi attracts families which means that there are usually other children around to provide ready-made playmates. This in turn makes the business of children eating earlier so much easier to manage, as they don’t feel that they are missing out on anything – very important with my children!
Usually younger children under six will be able to accompany their parents on game drives, (though this is not guaranteed if the child is hyper-active and unable to appreciate the possible dangers of the bush). In practice Lukimbi tries to put two families together in a vehicle so that your children’s needs and attention span can be more easily catered for. If there are several children at the lodge, they also organize special kids only drives which are enjoyable for children (and parents) alike.
When our children returned from their game drive (at 7pm or 7.30pm), they immediately had supper all together, then they headed to the children’s den to listen to safari stories and relax before bedtime whilst we got ready for dinner. Younger children can return to their room with a baby sitter if you wish, whilst older children can curl up in the den in sleeping bags to watch a dvd and fall asleep at their leisure. (This play room/den is also supervised from 7am to 1pm and from 4pm until you take your children to bed. Games, wildlife movies and toys are available there. )
Activities for children includes game drives with their parents and other activities such as identifying animal tracks and making casts, face painting, bush treasure hunt, braaing marshmallows in the boma and bush movie nights for example. Special folders are provided on arrival for your kids to jot down notes on their drives, and mark off animal sightings.
What I particularly liked about the children’s safari programme at Lukimbi was that it had a sense of progression. If children stay 3 nights or more, your children (ideally 7 to 12 years) can participate in the Basic Tracker programme. See our Lukimbi entry in our website for more details.