Family-Friendly Kruger Safari & Children’s Cubs Program

Touching down in the Greater Kruger is a special experience, especially for children. So many dreams accompany your arrival in Africa, involving the biggest animals and most famous safari sights and just as you arrive and transfer to your lodge, many of them are realized. Elephants with their beautiful tusks saunter by with their trunks swinging along the ground, giraffe poke their heads above the trees and silently watch as you pass. A river is dappled with hippos and a floodplain covered in buffalo is seen out the window. Even around your camp, you are likely to spot wandering zebra, nyala, bushbuck, and plenty of monkeys.

For the next few days, you will be staying at an intimate child-friendly camp that celebrates Londolozi’s 90 years of history. Your chalet is designed for families with a convertible children’s room and a private deck perfect for overlooking the riverine bushveld below as elephants often wander. Earlier in the day, you will have landed at O. R. Tambo International Airport and then transferred onto a flight to the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, where your Londolozi guide will meet you. Your journey to the camp will bring animals, and then an afternoon game drive will start ticking off more and more of your family’s safari dreams.

Your children will start in their den, splashing about in fish ponds, jumping behind the wheel of a Land Rover (a stationary one), putting the final touches on their private hideout, and taking in all the fascinating information about the wildlife world. The hideout is their safe space and retreat, which is carefully watched by the Cub Coach, a dedicated naturalist guide who will slowly reveal the secrets of the land. Hands-on activities will teach your children about animal tracking and identification as well as bug catching, dung spitting, African dancing, drumming, and which spoor goes with which animal. Fun and engaging, this Londolozi Cubs Program help children to understand their role in conserving nature and how to survive in the wilderness along with the confidence to discover a wildlife world filled with wonder.

When your children are engaged in the Cubs Program, you can savor an insider’s view of Kruger’s riverine life as you gaze down from your chalet in the ancient matumi trees. Sit back, read a book, watch the wildlife world roll by as you soak up the blissful serenity found in this part of the world. Safari is not just about the intimate moments with the animals as when you are this deep in nature, the only thing to break your tranquility is an elephant’s horn or a mischievous troop of monkeys.

The Cubs Program usually takes place during the middle part of the day as the sun is at its highest and even the animals are taking a snooze. Game drives take place in the mornings and afternoons, each lasting around two to three hours dependent on what you see and the prevailing mood of your family. Established in 1926, Londolozi Game Reserve is part of the Sabi Sands group of reserves which border Kruger National Park. The wildlife is legendary here as permanent water helps to maintain a high level of residents.

The complete Big Five is on display, and every drive will be an inspiring journey. Watch lions as they stealthily follow zebra across the bushveld, and then hold your breath as predator and prey collide. Elephants tower above the vehicle, nearly close enough to touch. Over half of the world’s rhinos occupy the Greater Kruger ecosystem, and it is a thrilling sight as the bashful giants cross the trails. Baboons, hippos, springbok, kudu, eland, wildebeest and cheetah gracefully move through the grass to bring a wildlife world with fresh experiences on every single drive.

Hidden in the wilderness and surrounded by the calls of wild animals is your next property. Intimate and exclusive, this double-story brick and thatch villa has three en-suite bedrooms which will enable you to connect your children’s rooms. Your family will be the only guests, and this will be your home for the next several days. Wander through the garden, take a dip in the swimming pool, dine in the al fresco boma, and relax in the lounge. Your villa will have its own full-time chef and butler, with menus and drinks tailored to your liking along with a private ranger who will customize your game viewing activities.

This property is not just your private villa as it is located in a private concession. Only a very limited number of people are permitted to explore this bushveld, and it is packed with enchanting sights. Manyeleti Game Reserve is another of the unfenced reserves that adjoin Kruger National Park. Wildlife moves freely between the reserves so that you can enjoy all of the delights of the world-famous Kruger. The elephants will be hooting, the buffalo grunting, and a series of antelopes will skip past your villa as this private concession creates an exclusive safari for you and your family with it highly unlikely that you will see another vehicle or person throughout your stay.

Zebra herds and buffalo clash at the river with hippos emerging at dusk to wander past your vehicle. Elephants will soon roam by, and you will then glimpse the necks of a giraffe tower. Most game drives encounter white rhinos, while the abundance of lions makes for thrilling scenes. During the day, you will take private game drives through the reserve, usually lasting two hours and encountering the big and famous animals. Like Londolozi, you will explore a compact area, so you will not need to travel far to see most of the sights. Perfect for families, you can avoid the rather long and bumpy journey in the Kruger that children often dislike, bringing exciting wildlife to them without the lengthy travel time.

As you are in a private concession, your ranger will introduce you to a whole array of new activities. Embark upon thrilling bush walks to see the antelopes from a different perspective, and then take a nighttime drive to look for nocturnal characters and see the bush at its most untouched. Dine beneath the stars and then enjoy a lesson in the different constellations. You can also visit a local community, go on cultural walks, or simply lie back to appreciate the tranquility of Kruger in your private villa.

Daily flights connect the Greater Kruger with Cape Town, making for an easy combination between safari adventure and Africa’s favorite city. Enjoy a final morning in the bush as you watch the animals that skip around your camp, before taking a game drive to the airport after waving farewell to the elephants and lions and rhinos. A private driver-guide will greet you at Cape Town International Airport and stay with you for the next three days to customize and organize your trips to wherever you want to go. Your five-star hotel is at the V & A Waterfront, a modern pedestrianized area around the old city harbor. Your interconnected family room is complemented by a beautiful balcony that looks over the boats that rock in the water. Within easy walking distance, you will find a wide variety of restaurants and shops, while the driver can take you to restaurants and attractions across the city.

Wildlife also inhabits the southwest corner of Africa, and it will be different to what you have seen while on safari. Your guide will take you along the Table Mountain chain, passing under the peaks of the Twelve Apostles and then into Hout Bay, where you will take a 30-minute boat tour to see a huge colony of Cape fur seals. Continue south and wind past an empty white beach before stopping in Simon’s Town, where jackass penguins fill the sand of Boulders Beach. There are hundreds of penguins all waddling about in their comical style. Some jump off of cliffs, others protect eggs, and the odd couple makes a beak kiss. Just as on your safari, you will be just a few meters away, and it will be a delightful sight for the whole family. From here, you will continue to the lighthouse on the tip of Africa and gaze out over the Atlantic. On the way back to Cape Town, your older children may want to stop in Muizenberg, where the waves are perfect for learning to surf.

Your final day is left free, and Cape Town has plenty to offer. Perhaps you will want to take the cable car to the summit of Table Mountain, visit Robben Island, go shopping in the vibrant markets or spend the day lounging at the beach. With a private driver-guide at your disposal, you can explore anywhere in the city and if you are not sure, your guide will be full of ideas and advice. Visit Camps Bay and sunbathe beneath Table Mountain, marvel at the colorful houses of Bo-Kaap, or take a journey to the sand dunes around the north of the city.

After breakfast, you are transferred to the airport for your departure flight. Take off and gaze over at the Table Mountain chain as your family waves farewell to Africa.