Many of you have experienced the magic of a Mushinda African Adventure – and now you’re dreaming of sharing that journey with your children and grandchildren. The good news? In recent years, many safari lodges have updated their offerings to welcome multi-generational families, making it easier to enjoy this unforgettable experience together.
Our girls were seven and ten when we first took them on safari 30 years ago, which served as our inspiration for starting Mushinda. The girls still talk fondly of the memories from that trip! When our grandson was born six years ago, we couldn’t wait to introduce him to Africa. This summer, we felt he was ready – so we planned a journey for him to meet his African cousins and experience his first safari adventure.
Our first four days were in Johannesburg where our primary objective was to spend time with family. However, we also squeezed in some touring and took our grandson to the Cradle of Humankind, which is an area just outside the city, with a fascinating history and where many fossils of early mankind have been found. We saw fossils and skulls at the Maropeng Museum, which included a boat ride through the millennia with pretend snow, volcanoes and lightning storms – a thrill for a little boy and so interesting for the adults too.
Our next stop was the Wonder Cave which is the third largest cave in South Africa. We descended 86 steps plus an elevator ride to the heart of the cave. Our grandson bounded down ahead of us all, eager to find crystals and gems in the cave. The limestone formations in the cave were magnificent and a true wonder for all of us. We tuned off the lights and stood in pitch darkness underground, imagining what it would have been like to work by candlelight as a miner in the cave many years ago.
From Johannesburg we flew to the Thornybush Game Reserve and spent four nights at a lovely intimate lodge that only accommodates 10 guests. We chose this destination because it is a five star lodge with extremely warm and hospitable staff, which it absolutely was. Waiting on our grandson’s bed was a hat, and a backpack labeled “Future Game Ranger” – filled with many age-appropriate activities, a visual animal checklist and folktales about the bush. The shelves were well stocked with board games and beautiful child friendly books full of animal guides and African folklore – perfect for downtime between game drives.
Each morning, we woke at 6 am, and little feet were the first out the door for the morning game-drives. To see the awe and delight on his face with each new animal and experience was priceless. By dinner he was exhausted, so we chose to dine in front of the fireplace of our very spacious three-bedroom villa. He could shower and change into pajamas while waiting for dinner to arrive, and the adults could still enjoy their meal. Every evening, after supper, our grandson collapsed into bed, but not before updating his animal checklist.
We wished we had a recorder running on the vehicle as his questions and comments were the highlight of our trip. We happened upon an elephant on a game drive and he said “I know that elephant!! We saw her yesterday!”. Another comment was, “Do you know why it is called a game drive? Because you have to play “I Spy” to find the animals”.
Our guide Jono and tracker Victor were terrific with our grandson too. Victor taught him how to spot animal tracks in the dirt, while Jono was very patient and answered Ari’s questions with age-appropriate explanations. While he taught them both secret handshakes. When necessary, our grandson (who usually never stops talking) sat quietly and observed the animal interactions, taking it all in like a little sponge. His favorites were the babies, especially the baby elephants, and all of the animal farts – those made a lasting impression!
From there we flew to Cape Town where, together with his cousins, they went ziplining in the Constantia Hills, hiked Table Mountain, saw the penguins on Boulders Beach and the clashing of the two oceans at Cape Point. He told us that we went to the “very end of the continent, as close as possible to Antarctica!”. He took a boat ride through the harbor, played the xylophone at the V&A Waterfront, and climbed the rocks in Sea Point. Cape Town (even in winter) is a hub of activity, and he was more than ready to take it all on.
Our grandson is not the most adventurous eater, to say the least. Everywhere we went the staff were more than happy to accommodate his needs. One day we found him in the kitchen at Serondella making his own pizza with the chef while regaling him with all of his stories. He also celebrated his birthday in South Africa and had no less than five different celebrations in multiple languages, both in Johannesburg and at Serondella.
When our time came to board the plane home our grandson’s comment was “can we come back next year, but this time for three months?”. It was the most special family vacation we have had, by far. To witness all these experiences through the eyes of a child brought a completely new dimension to our travels.
So to all of you contemplating a return visit to Africa with your families, we recommend starting the planning process as soon as the youngest reaches age six. The older your children are the more complicated it becomes to find travel dates that everyone can agree on. But one thing we know for sure – Africa with kids is an absolute must. We are already planning our return visit.
DID YOU KNOW?
Some large mammals, such as the elephant, hippopotamus and rhinoceros, are called ‘pachyderms’, a word which means ‘thick skin’.
The rhinoceros has the thickest skin of any land mammal, and the thickest skin in relation to its size. The skin on its back and sides can average 1 inch.
The elephant’s skin is also very thickHow many teeth does an elephant have? We usually see only the two large ivory tusks, which have been known to reach a record length of 12.5 ft, but the elephant is the proud owner of 24 other teeth, of which only four will be in its mouth at a time.
The four teeth inside an elephant’s mouth are enormous – 12 inches long and 4 inches wide – and each weighs about 9 lbs.
As soon as one set of four teeth has been worn away, these teeth fall out, and are replaced by the next set of four.
The last set to appear will be the largest teeth, which can be as long as 16 inches and weigh 11 lbs
