Posts Tagged ‘zambia’

My wife and I love Africa, we couldn’t resist the temptation to visit our friends in Africa and go on safari. Juliette was nearly two years old when 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. In fact the whole trip was just perfect. We were very careful to use mosquito nets, to cover her with a strong mosquito repellent 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. Our daughter Juliette has enjoyed safaris from the very earliest age and have friends who have raised their children so the easy answer is yes children do adapt well to the wild but with some 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.
• Download “safari games” free from the web this will entertain them when the safari is quiet.  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.

The only real incident that we had that could 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.As it turned out, it was one of the most fantastic 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. We could see that the lions missed their prey. Our daughter in all the confusion started crying: Within seconds the lions who normally consider vehicles as just part of the landscape started to look at the vehicle as a potential prey, a small animal in distress. Fortunately our guide and driver noted the change and immediately drove us away at top speed to safety with a pack of lions following us.

Children’s food in a safari lodge is no problem as the meals are usually flexible so that isn’t a problem for you either. There won’t be any problems keeping the children amused, this will be a new and thrilling experience where they will be introduced to different cultures and maybe poverty, the experience of Africa may possibly play an important role in the education of your children.

Provided the parents act sensibly there is no real danger to the children. Certainly the first thing to do is sit down with your children before departure 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 exaggerate but camp rules must be obeyed, because if they’re not, the consequences can be 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. This is a rare disease which you should not encounter  in a safari lodge. More concern is for malaria which is a problem all through the tropics. The locals catch it frequently and it is frequently judged no worse than an attack of flu. But depending on the strain, it may be dangerous and a better solution is prevention. Young children cannot take malaria tablets but please get advice from your doctor. Don’t forget to apply mosquito repellent profusely all over them, cover their arms and legs before the sunsets and make certain that the children sleep under mosquito nets. If you take these safety measures you can reduce the risk of malaria to almost 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.