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Posts Tagged ‘south africa’

When the winters in the Northern Hemisphere become too much, many people now head to one of the world’s prime tourist destinations: Cape Town, South Africa. This city has turned into one of the top ten tourist destinations in the world during the past decade.

One of the main reasons for coming to Cape Town is of course its numerous beautiful, white, sandy beaches. When the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is shivering under a layer of snow, those lucky enough to be in Cape Town is basking in the sun, sipping a South African beer.

Cape Town is an ideal family destination. Even if you have a baby in the family that need not stop you from having a holiday filled with fun in the sun. Fly in, rent a car, get baby-friendly accommodation and start to have the time of your life. For the baby’s sake, just make sure the car is fitted with a Graco car seat.

Just as an example of how sophisticated Cape Town guest houses are becoming: a guest house where we stayed recently even had a Spa Baby where our baby could be bathed in the (more natural) upright position. Of course not every guest house will have one, but it pays to inquire before the time.

Another favorite tourist attraction of the Mother City, and one that you can hardly miss, is Table Mountain. This colossal massif juts out from the ocean to loom over Cape Town like a mother hen guarding her children. An open secret that all Capetonians know is that if the wind blows on one side of Table Mountain, you are sure to find a peaceful beach free from wind on the opposite side. The view from the top of Table Mountain is incredibly beautiful. You can either hike to the top or take the cable car.

And then there is the V&A Waterfront. Here you can dine at one of the numerous world class restaurants while watching boats come and go in a living harbor. A little further afield you will find the Cape Winelands region – where some of South Africa’s top quality export wines are produced. Another must-see is the Cape Point nature reserve. Here you can take a cog-wheel train to an observation post point where you can watch two of the world’s great oceans meet: the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. There’s also a fine restaurant with views of False Bay and the granite mountain ranges of the Cape Peninsula.

You are not likely to get a lot of time for reading in Cape Town, unless you do so late at night. If you are an avid reader, bring along your digital book reader. Once everybody else has settled down and are snoring like lawnmowers, you can continue to read your favorite travel story in peace and quiet.

If you have never been to the so-called Garden Route in South Africa, you are missing out on some serious fun in the sun. This stretch of coastline starts at Mossel Bay in the west and ends at the the Tsitsikamma Forest near Plettenberg Bay in the east. In between are a number of scenic little towns full of character and life.

Mossel Bay is an historic town with many well-preserved colonial buildings. The town overlooks the Indian ocean. It used to be the lesser-known of the Garden Route towns, but nowadays it teems with tourists. There are also a large number of hotels and guest houses. The service levels are high – at our guest house they even had baby bath tubs for those in need of it.

Further east you find the beautiful towns of Groot Brak River and Klein Brak River, both popular resort towns drawing thousands of South African holidaymakers during the peak December/January tourist season. When the Northern hemisphere is groaning under a blanket of snow, it’s of course summer in South Africa. This fact makes it an ideal winter holiday spot for Europeans.

Sixty kilometers to the east of Mossel Bay the road enters the commercial and industrial center of the Garden Route. George has numerous excellent restaurants, cinemas and shopping malls. This the place to go when it’s raining and you can’t go to the beach. Fifteen minutes drive east of George lies Wilderness – a stunning combination of white beaches and lush green mountainside. Once again there are many restaurants, some with live music at night (during the season). We once spent a great evening at one of these restaurants where I noticed that the guitar player had a Martin acoustic electric guitar, just like the one I have back home!

Once you leave Wilderness, the road meanders through a series of green hills with the occasional glimpse of the sapphire blue Indian Ocean in the distance. The town of Sedgefield is in an area with numerous stunning lakes and is therefore equally popular with tourists. Our guide book mentioned that there’s a fine costume jewelry wholesale distributor in town, but we couldn’t find it.

Sixty kilometers east of George lies another historical town. Thirty years ago Knysna only came to life during the peak holiday seasons, but today this town can barely cope with the thousands of tourists descending upon it from all over South Africa and Europe during virtually the whole year. The waterfront area is particularly popular – not surprising taking into account the many excellent restaurants you will find there.

The last town that forms part of the Garden Route is the upmarket beach resort town of Plettenberg Bay. Numerous upscale hotels and guest houses, as well as lots of huge holiday homes, contribute to the perception that this is a hangout venue for the rich. Near Plettenberg Bay you can also bring a visit to the Tsitsikamma Forest – a stunning area of rain forests where there’s still a couple of wild elephants roaming around!

We watched as elephants trecked through the hotel while on safari in Africa

We travelled from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania both the mainland and Zanzibar when Juliette was nearly two years old. My wife and I both love Africa and we couldn’t resist the temptation to visit our friends in Africa and go on safari as a family.

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 especially cautious to use mosquito nets and covering her with a strong mosquito repellent she was not 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 encountered safaris from when she was very young and we have friends who live in safari lodges that have children so the straightforward answer is yes children do particularly well settling in to the wild but with some stipulations.

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.
• FREE to download are safari games available from the web, this will keep them busy. 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.

An amazing experience that we had and would like to mention 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.The night ended up being one of the most fabulous we have ever done. We noticed a young leopard that night, later we found ourselves right in the middle of a herd of buffalo being ambushed by four female lions. The lions missed their prey. Our daughter in all the bewilderment began crying, within seconds the lions who usually regard vehicles as just part of the landscape started to see the vehicle as a possible prey, like a small animal in distress. Fortunately our guide acknowledged the change in mood and drove us away quickly to safety with a pack of lions following us.

Food in safari lodges are typical to be quite flexible so no problems here either. There won’t be any difficulties with keeping the children entertained, this is a new and exciting world where they will be introduced to different cultures and also perhaps even poverty for the first time, the world and experience of Africa might play an important role in the education of our children.

Provided the parents act sensibly there is no real danger 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 recommend you choose your camp carefully and confirm with your travel advisor which are most appropriate for children. We can guide you on this from personal experience 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. Because this disease is rare you will not meet anyone with it let alone encounter it at a safari lodge. Of a higher matter is malaria which is a problem right through the tropics. The local population catch it repeatedly and it is generally deemed no worse than a bout of flu. But depending on the strain, it may be dangerous and a better solution is prevention. Young children cant be given malaria tablets, please get advice from your GP. Make sure that you apply mosquito repellent generously, cover up arms and legs before sundown and ensure that the children sleep 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. Prior to travelling you should speak to your doctor he will provide advice for your travel and probably point you in the direction of further advice from the relevant authorities before travelling.

We watched as elephants trecked through the hotel while on safari in Africa

We travelled from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania both the mainland and Zanzibar when Juliette was nearly two years old. My wife and I both love Africa and we couldn’t resist the temptation to visit our friends in Africa and go on safari as a family.

We had a marvellous safari and really had no difficulty with finding food for our daughter or cots in the hotels. 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.
• FREE to download are safari games available from the web, this will keep them busy.  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.It ended up being 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. In all the excitement our daughter began crying, it took seconds for the lions who characteristically think vehicles as just part of the landscape began to think the vehicle as a promising prey, like a small animal in distress. It was lucky that our driver recognised the change and drove away quickly with a pack of lions following us.

The food in safari lodges tends to be quite relaxed so no problems here either. There should be no problems keeping children interested in this new and stimulating world where they will face a different way of life and maybe poverty for the first time, but I think the lifestyle of Africa can play an essential part in the education of our sometimes pampered 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. To help your children get the most out of the safari we suggest that you sit down and explain to them how different Africa is, where there is danger around. There is no need to overemphasize but camp rules are there for your protection and must be followed, because if they are not, the consequences can be serious. For very young children I would suggest you select your camp carefully and check with your travel advisor which are most suitable for children. We can guide you on this from personal experience 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. Of a higher matter is malaria which is a problem right through the tropics. Locals who catch it regularly usually considered it to be no worse than a bout of flu. Although dangerous depending on the strain, the answer is prevention. Young children cant be given malaria tablets, please get advice from your GP. Make sure that you rub mosquito repellent liberally, cover up arms and legs before sundown and ensure 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. Before travelling you should speak to your GP and take advice from the relevant authorities before travelling.

Elephants treck through hotel while we were on safari in Africa

We could not resist the temptation to visit our many friends in Africa My wife and I both love Africa. 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. Actually the entire trip was just perfect. We were very careful to use mosquito nets, to cover her with a strong mosquito repellent and in fact she was not 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 encountered safaris from when she was very young and we have friends who live in safari lodges that have children so the straightforward answer is yes children do particularly well settling in to the wild but with some stipulations.

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.

One spectacular night that we experienced that I would like to mention 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.The night ended up being one of the most fabulous 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. Suddenly we realised that the lions missed their prey. Our daughter in all the bewilderment began crying, within seconds the lions who usually regard vehicles as just part of the landscape started to see the vehicle as a possible prey, like 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.

Because the food in safari lodges are flexible you won’t have any problems with children’s food. There should be no problems keeping children interested in this new and stimulating world where they will face a different way of life and maybe poverty for the first time, but I think the lifestyle of Africa can play an essential part in the education of our sometimes pampered children.

Each safari and lodge have guide lines that must be adhered to – if not then danger, trouble could follow. As these are set there to keep you and your family safe it is wise that you and your children abide by them. To help your children get the most out of the safari we suggest that you sit down and explain to them how different Africa is, where there is danger around. There is no need to make too much of it but camp rules for your safety 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. 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 local population catch it repeatedly and it is generally deemed no worse than a bout of flu. But depending on the strain, it may be dangerous and a better solution is prevention. Very young children can’t take malaria tablets, please get advice from your doctor. Make sure that you apply mosquito repellent generously, cover up arms and legs before sundown and ensure 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. Travellers should speak to their GP and take advice from the relevant authorities before travelling.

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.

We had a splendid safari and actually had no trouble with finding food for our daughter or cots in the hotels etc. In fact the whole 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. 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.
• Safari games available for free from the internet, grab some of these to keep them busy.  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.

An amazing experience that we had and would like to mention 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.  It turned out to be one of the most spectacular we have ever done. We found a young leopard and soon we were right in the centre of a herd of buffalo that was being ambushed by four female lions. The lions missed their prey. In all the excitement our daughter began crying, it took seconds for the lions who characteristically think vehicles as just part of the landscape began to think the vehicle as a promising prey, like a small animal in distress. It was fortunate that our driver spotted the change and drove away at full speed with a pack of lions following us.

Food in safari lodges are inclined to be quite adaptable so no problems here either. There won’t be any difficulties with keeping the children entertained, this is a new and exciting world where they will be introduced to different cultures and also perhaps even poverty for the first time, the world and experience of Africa might play an important role in the education of our children.

As far as wellbeing is concerned we feel there is no real danger as long as the parents act sensibly. To help your children get the most out of the safari we suggest that you sit down and explain to them how different Africa is, where there is danger around. There is no need to make too much of it but camp rules for your safety must be obeyed, because if they are not, the consequences can be very serious. For very young children I recommend you choose your camp carefully and confirm with your travel advisor which are most appropriate for children. We can guide you on this from first hand experience 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 local residents get it regularly and it is typically regard it as no worse than a bout of flu. Depending on the strain, it could be dangerous and the answer here is good prevention. Young children cannot take malaria tablets but please get advice from your doctor. Make sure that you apply mosquito repellent abundantly, covering up arms & legs before the sun goes down and make sure that the children sleep under mosquito nets. If you take these precautions you can cut 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. Travellers should speak to their GP and take advice from the relevant authorities before travelling.