A South African Family Safari

Having eagerly read much of the information in(an unsuccessful but much talked about warthog
the office on South Africa, we decided to go andhunt). We spent a truly blissful four days here
see for ourselves as a family. The family beingdividing our time between riding (horses for all
my husband and myself and our two boys agedabilities), game drives, bush walks, swimming and
seven and nine. With three weeks to fill and agenerally relaxing and mucking about.
variety of tastes to cater for, we planned toThe lodge is set in an area that varies from wide
start the trip in Cape Town, then onto theopen grass plains to steeply wooded hillsides. It
Waterberg Mountains in Limpopo Province, andwas farmland until relatively recently, and the
finally to Madikwe on the Botswana border. Allcurrent owners have reintroduced a large number
three are malaria free areas.of antelope species as well as giraffe, rhino and
Cape Town really does live up to all the hype. Setzebra. Riding among these animals at sunset on
against the backdrop of Table Mountain, with itsNew Year's Eve is something I shall not forget in
wild beaches and rugged coastline, it's like no othera hurry.
city I've visited. Accommodation varies fromThe wonderful thing about having the lodge to
grand five star hotels to the hundreds of bed andourselves was that we could be totally flexible
breakfasts all over the city. Since grand hotelsabout what we did and when. If the children didn't
and small boys don't generally mix, we decided towant to ride early in the morning or evening, they
go for the B&B option. So from our verywould be taken on their own game drive instead.
comfortable B&B base in Constantia with itsThey drove (with assistance) the vehicles, game
own pool we had ten days in which to explore.viewed from the back of a motorbike, pretended
There had been press reports before we leftthey were cowboys in the bush, swam with
about the dangers of travelling in South Africa,horses and shot on the small private shooting
and I did wonder whether we should go or not.range on land that is adjacent to Ant's. It will
However, once we arrived, we felt just as safecertainly be a while before I find somewhere that
as we do in the UK. Driving was verybeats this as such a complete family destination.
straightforward and we managed with a simpleAfter visits by my family and others to Ant's,
tourist map. Highlights for the children were thethere is now a queue of small children, boys in
beach at Fishhoek where they surfed for hours,particular, waiting to give up school and go to
Boulders Bay where they swam with penguins,work there.
and a wonderful boat trip where we barbecuedFor our final four days, we drove four hours
and enjoyed the crayfish on board. Another hitwest to the Madikwe Game Reserve on the
was the Scratch Patch at the Victoria and Albertborder with Botswana. Again it is malaria free, and
Waterfront, a small cave-like room which has awe had chosen to stay first at Jaci's Safari Lodge
floor covered in semi-precious stones. You payand then at Jaci's Tree Lodge. Both properties
for a bag and then cram as many stones into it(run by the owners Jaci & Jan Van Heteren)
as you can (our youngest asked whether it waswelcome families with children from any age. The
OK to fill his pockets too). For any buddingsafari lodge is a tented camp approached via a
geologists, it's a must.rope bridge over a small river. This entrance
From an adult perspective, the Constantia winemade quite a dramatic impact on the children who
estates with their graceful Cape Dutchreally had no idea what to expect from a safari.
architecture are really lovely. The old City dockThey were amazed and delighted to find that our
area of Cape Town has been re-developed intotent was rather bigger and more luxurious than
the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront; it's full of life,the one they use in the garden. When we moved
and a fun place to eat and shop. Cape Pointto the tree lodge, we had an even larger
Nature Reserve was something we all enjoyed;cottage-style room, and they spent great deal of
there are one or two good beaches, a fewtime in the enormous outside shower watching
animals (the baboons caused much excitement)the vervet monkeys scurrying around the
and Cape Point itself is spectacular.walkways.
The wineland areas of Stellenbosch andTheir response to game viewing was more
Franschhoek, about an hour from Cape Town,surprising. My eldest son just loved everything
are stunning, with great restaurants, shops andabout it and couldn't wait for the next game drive.
galleries. Many of the wine estates en route areHe wasn't phased by elephants literally feet away
open to visitors and you can both picnic there andor lions roaring by the bonnet of the vehicle. At
wander through the grounds.the end of four days, he was able to distinguish
From Cape Town we flew up to Johannesburgbetween most of the antelope species and was
and then drove north west about four hours toeven getting into the birds. The youngest was of
the Waterberg Mountains. Our destination wasthe impression that once you'd seen one elephant
Ant's Nest, a privately run game lodge that iswhat was the point of seeing more. We plugged
booked on an exclusive basis by a single group.him into a Walkman and with a constant supply of
As far as we were all concerned, it was heaven.fizzy drinks he too sat very happily during the
The boys could run free, I could ride and mygame drives. Our guide was very good-natured
husband even managed to get in a bit of stalkingand even made Zulu spears for the boys.