My first safari was over 30 years ago. One lasting memory is the vast wide-open blue skies and the infinite horizons. The seemingly edge of the earth thrusting itself up to graze the pale sky. The sky in Africa always seems bigger than anywhere else in the world, an endless horizon stretches forever. Occasionally peppered with billowing pristine white clouds, it’s like IMax scenery!
My first Journey to South Africa felt life changing; where have you visited that makes you feel you’ve been here in another life? The Magic of Africa is in everything you encounter: the kind welcoming nature of the people, the stunning diversity and beauty of the landscape, the rawness of the realities of local lives living amid wild creatures, one feels disconnected from everyday life in the bush, and there is a magical sense of connection here. Africa is an addictive drug; I’ve been enchanted by this continent and each of my twelve visits.
Taking children to some regions in Africa require Malaria meds; honestly, after Covid and the vaccination concerns it raised, finding a property that is in a Malaria free region is a blessing! Tswalu in South Africa is such a place and has an entire section of the website devoted to families on safari!
Children of all ages soon become immersed in the outdoor classroom that is Tswalu, in a malaria-free region of South Africa, making it extra safe for a family safari with a baby or young child. There are three Motse Family Suites, the Tarkuni Villa, and two two-bedroom Loapi homes to accommodate any and all needs for a multi-gen family.
A family safari is a great shared adventure, and an opportunity to strengthen family bonds and create lifelong memories. Whether learning the art of tracking, identifying animals, or finding the Southern Cross in the night sky for the first time, a safari with children is very special. Young eyes are opened to a completely different world, where the realities of sharing space with wild animals necessitates taking certain precautions and learning about bush lore. Children of all ages soon become immersed in the outdoor classroom that is Tswalu, where the guide and tracker become the teachers and learning about the importance of conservation is not only educational but great fun. The advantages of having a private safari vehicle, guide and tracker are particularly relevant for families, and children of all ages are welcome on game drives.
Days on safari are individually planned for each family, from drives and walks to dining and down time. The duration and scope of each activity, on and off the vehicle, will depend on the age and special interests of your children. Other activities include bush walks, picnics, horse riding, pizza making and cookie baking. Their Junior Ranger programme includes archery, spoor identification and casting, and learning how to track animals.
Your African adventure begins in one of three luxury safari camps, overlooking the wide, open spaces of the southern Kalahari. Whether you choose the Motse, Tarkuni or Loapi, luxury accommodation and generous South African hospitality set the scene for a deeply private wilderness experience. With the lowest guest footprint in South Africa, at Tswalu there is space to breathe out and reconnect with nature, truly one of the best reasons to go on safari.
Whether dining together as a family in the main camp or preferring to dine privately in your legae, the chefs are on hand to make meal times easy and relaxed. Like everything else about your Tswalu safari, their approach to family dining and wellness is very personal. The chefs can make almost anything, especially if ordered in advance, from fresh fruit and vegetable purees for babies through to homemade burgers and fries and pizza for older children.
SAFARI EXPERIENCES. With wildlife conservation at its core, Tswalu offers privileged access to unique safari experiences in South Africa’s biggest privately protected wildlife reserve. A private safari vehicle, field guide and experienced tracker are guaranteed with every accommodation booking. With this comes the exclusivity to plan deeply immersive days on safari, both on and off the safari vehicle.
Tswalu offers a true wilderness experience on the southernmost edge of the Kalahari, and privileged access to the largest privately protected area in South Africa. From the landmark Korannaberg mountains to the southern Kalahari’s typical arid savannah and iconic ochre dunes rippling away to the horizon, days on safari are unscripted and unhurried.
With guaranteed access to a private safari vehicle, guests have the freedom and flexibility to explore the remote reaches of the reserve in their own time and at their own pace. Besides game drives, safari activities include habituated meerkat encounters, nature walks, tracking, horse riding, stargazing, star-bed experiences, and meeting visiting scientific researchers and resident artists.
Tswalu is first and foremost an ambitious conservation project, sustainably safeguarding vital habitat and the restoring biodiversity. Offering a private and exclusive safari experience for a maximum of 40 guests in one of three luxury safari camps, the ratio of guests to wilderness space is one of the lowest in South Africa. This low footprint, sustainable model of nature-based tourism is vital to supporting the conservation work that is at the heart of Tswalu’s purpose to leave the world better than how it was found.
Taking kids to Africa instills the significance of the natural world and the need to protect it, once you learn about conservation tourism, as a force for good.
Most lodges tend to have a minimum age of six years old, but I’ve seen younger kids travel with their agent parents. Tswalu provides unique animal viewing such as pangolin, aardvark, aardwolf, African painted wolf/wild dog, desert black rhino, black-mane lion, 240 species of birds, myriad antelope, the adorable habituated meerkats, and so much more.
Multiple tent or private lodge options, Tarkuni homestead is the ultimate private sanctuary, with a maximum of 10 guests in 5 suites, and includes a private spa, pool, fire pit, boma, indoor and outdoor dining spaces, and more.
Loapi has 4 one-bedroom and 2 two-bedroom private tented homes for the ultimate exclusive-use accommodation with endless spontaneity, as each comes with a private chef and butler.
Tswalu in South Africa is the perfect destination for a first family safari.
Highly Recommend!
All photographs courtesy of Tswalu.
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