The knowledge: Three generations on safari in Africa
Every week a reader gets a chance to put a travel question to the Been there community. How does this work?
This week's expert is Gordon Rattray, the author of Access Africa: Safaris for people with limited mobility
The dilemma this week:
My 70+-year-old grandmother wants to see Africa again and go on safari, soak up some culture and African sun while she’s still mobile enough to enjoy it. We’re planning a family holiday including a nine-month-old great-grandson and a daughter with back problems.
Can anyone suggest a travel company flexible enough to deal with our requirements (proper beds, not too much bumping around on unsealed roads, will let us bring a baby), but who will still give us a taste of the Africa my grandmother remembers from her youth.
Should we head for Kruger, South Africa, and better roads, or shoud we consider safari options in Kenya/Tanzania and the Masai Mara and Serengeti?
Katie
Our expert says:
Good to hear your plans to revisit Africa! Your timing is perfect; there are now reliable operators that specialise in disability covering all the main national parks. I’m aware that many mainstream companies can cater very well to your needs, but specialised operators have better knowledge of accessible accommodation, adapted vehicles and staff experienced in working with mobility-impaired clients. What this means is that the choice really boils down to what you want to see and do and I’m sure your grandmother has her favourite places!
In more detail, you’re correct - roads and general infrastructure are better in South Africa and Namibia. But if you choose your itinerary carefully then Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya and even Zambia can also host a comfortable trip. So what’s to recommend, and where? Well, running roughly from north to south…
Kenya: The self-proclaimed ‘home of safaris’, this country still lives up to its promise. Some areas might be difficult to reach in complete comfort, but the Tsavo parks, Amboseli and Nakuru are perfectly suitable with good roads and adapted lodges. Roads into the Maasai Mara are improving but are not yet completely tar-sealed. The coast around Mombasa offers a beach paradise with a rich Swahili history.
Tanzania: The Serengeti and Ngorongoro need no introduction, but road quality might be the big issue here. Fly-in safaris are a good option for those that need comfort. Like Kenya’s Mombasa, Zanzibar provides a sultry tropical haven for post-safari relaxation, but again flying is the least tricky method of approach.
Zambia: The best-known highlight is the Victoria Falls, which, although there are steps, can be viewed by people of most abilities. Several nearby hotels have good access and one local operator (Hemingways) has accessible vehicles.
Botswana: Chobe National Park and the Okavango Delta are the famous attractions. The former is easily explored on good tracks from Kasane, while most tourists fly into the latter. Endeavour safaris (see below) do excellent mobile camping safaris for disabled people throughout the country.
Namibia: This country is famous for its stark desert beauty. That does mean long drives, but the road network is excellent and the scenery is tremendous. Etosha has accessible accommodation in two of its three internal rest camps.
South Africa: Kruger NP is the flagship, with very good amenities and facilities for everyone. It also has wonderful game viewing. Other superb parks include Hluhluwe/Umfulozi and Addo, while the Zulu battlefields, Garden Route and Cape Town offer very different – yet still stunning – views of the country.
As far as your specific needs are concerned, I’m sure all the operators listed below will provide exciting, yet responsible options. They have all invested time and money in disability know-how and will tell you if travelling with children is a problem (occasionally, lodges take exception here). However, it is essential you speak to your local travel clinic about health considerations.
Most experts will advise against taking someone as young as nine months to potentially malarious areas. You could plan Kruger during the UK summer, when the risk is less, or consider Addo, which is malaria-free. An excellent starting resource is the book ‘Your Child Abroad: A Travel Health Guide’ by Jane Wilson-Howarth.
Finally, what I say to everybody, but especially to anyone for whom mobility is an issue, is ventilate your itinerary - take it slow and really appreciate the places you are visiting!
Reliable specialised African operators:
Go Africa Safaris & Travel (Kenya & Tanzania)
Hemingways (Zambia)
Endeavour Safaris (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana & Mozambique)
Access 2 Africa Safaris (South Africa)
Epic Enabled (South Africa)
Flamingo Tours (South Africa)
Specialised UK travel agents:
2by2 Holidays
Accessible Travel
Our readers say:
Well, my Africa experience is a bit dated, but I think still valid. My last trip was a walking safari along the Zambezi in 2003. Prior to that, I have worked for a Safari outfit in Kenya and Tanzania, been an assistant manager of a South African hotel, worked at a Kenyan ranch (no plush showers, water from a well, cooking on a wood burning stove... living conditions were very basic. No luxuries). I delivered camels to the British army on exercise in Northern Kenya and hitch-hiked from Tanzania to Cape Town 1991, travelled overland across Kenya and Uganda to the Zaire in Mutatus and buses before walking into the mountains in Zaire (eight countries in total).
The search for a travel company that will allow a nine month baby to tag along is a tough one. South Africa is a better bet in terms of medical aid, food hygiene, roads and basic infrastructure, as you seem to have already deduced. Also if you find a tour operator in South Africa it may help, wealthy South Africans take their children on trips to these places.
I also have a seven month daughter so my knowledge on this stage in life is growing too. My parents never took me to Africa before I was ten - before then they felt it was too unwise, but I have friends who have grown up there, and they went on Safari from an early age. So it's possible, if unwise for the moderately experienced. I'd leave the baby behind, he/she won't remember it and will be a constant stress on the holiday. I don't think I would want to give a nine-month-old child malaria prophylaxis. I would never take them to a high malaria area, or somewhere where there is poor food hygiene. If the child is crawling, you can guarantee it will pick up the scorpion before you have seen it, or the bat poo, or the millipede, or the snake... you are going to have to be very very vigilant. The chances are small; the consequences... unthinkable. It is also very very hot, and somebody will have to stay with the child while the rest are out and about. The settlers that grew up in Africa had African maids to watch their child's every move, Africans grow up in tight communities that are aware of the dangers and an older child or an adult will guard an infant continuously.
But it is up to you! So try one of the private game reserves in South Africa: Londolozi, Sabi Sands etc, or stay at a hotel like Rissington Inn, which is a 35-minute drive to the Kruger. The number of private and small reserves in South Africa offers the best option in my view. Also if the budget is not a consideration, and you take light aircrafts everywhere and stay on private game farms in Kenya or Tanzania you could also limit the hazards for the child and someone elderly. Approaching a privately owned game farm, and booking it all yourself through the internet is probably the best option if you are adamant about taking the infant to Africa.
I would take my child to somewhere like Rissington and take day trips in to the Kruger. If you want comfy beds, plush showers etc you only have one real option: a private game farm/reserve.
Andrew
Try Namibia: quality roads, good accommodation, affordable rates (even though the Rand is strengthening), game viewing that is comparable and many say better than South Africa and Kenya; plus low hassle-factor, little crime, high quality medical facilities if needed. And it's not just game viewing, there's Sossusvlei, the Skeleton Coast, and Fish River Canyon as well. Try expertafrica.com
Graham
I went in July this year to Etosha National Park in Namibia. We stayed in the government run rest camp, Okaukuejo, and it was the most wonderful experience. There was a floodlit waterhole at the camp with animals and birds – and we also took daily drives outside the camp, where we saw elephant giraffe, lions oryx, zebra, springbok etc. Truthfully, I wasn't really expecting to see much and was overwhelmed by the experience.
There are other camps and private lodges. Okaukuejo was suitable for all ages.
Lynn
Five years ago my wife and I and our daughter flew to Cape Town and stayed for three days in the "Pink Palace" (Mount Nelson Hotel) which ranks with any five-star hotel, anywhere in the world. We then travelled on a day trip to the Southern most point of the Cape, and returned on the other side to see the Seal island - the Simonstown Naval base - had a seafood delicious lunch there and back to the hotel for dinner.
Next day was spent on Table Mountain, where the Gondola rotates 360 degrees and gives a great view of Robbens Island in the Bay, which hold the prison where Mandela spent a great deal of time. The last day was spent investigating the downtown shops and life.
The Mount Nelson is a tremendous luxury hotel with charges less than half the prices in London.
We then flew for an hour to the town of George, where we picked up a car to drive along the Garden Route of great beauty with Baboons lining the route - and sometimes in the centre of the highway... We arrived at Plettenburg Resort, which again is an associate of the Chewton Glen Hotel in New Milton-Hampshire and is equally luxurious. From there we were able to tour the district and see many wonderful sights.
After three days we went to Port Elizabeth airport where we were picked up and driven to Shamwari: a game reserve where for three days we observed lions, elephants, giraffes, rhinocerous, kudu, springboks, cheetahs, impalas, ostrich's and many other species without a hint of danger. We then flew back to London from Jo'Burg.
A wonderful holiday. These venues can be "googled".
I was 80 during that trip - not a bit of stress.
Tom Canning
Agassiz B.C. Canada
I went to Africa twice with my teenage daughter. We agree: South Africa and Botswana are the best. Both times, we used CC Africa, which is now renamed "and Beyond". Their safari lodges are wonderfully comfortable and the food is terrific, but best of all: the safari guides are unmatched in their knowledge and skills in finding animals in the bush. There were never more than six of us in a Land Rover, and often it was just the two of us with our guide.
We built our own trip based on the lodges that we wanted to visit; CC Africa handled the logistics of getting us from place to place. It was expensive, but even so, a great value in terms of our experience. It is not a trip to cut costs on, because it will cheapen the quality of what you do and what you see.
Glen
We have been fortunate to visit Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa and I would suggest South Africa and the Kruger as the best solution. The road to the Serengeti is very bumpy indeed after the rim of the Ngorongoro crater which is several hours from the lodges of the Serengeti. It is not advised for anyone with a bad back as the roads in the park are tracks and bumpy in parts. It would not be easy with a baby either! Kenyan roads are in parts better, but in parts worse!
The Kruger has tarmac roads as the main routes and gravel ones as well, so one can get away from the crowds. I am not sure of travel company policy regarding infants, but in the Kruger one can self-drive from the local airport and stay at the rest camps, where daily game drives take place as well as other guided activities. This would mean you could book into a rest camp having driven yourself and then tailor your safari to meet needs, i.e. not all of you need go on a game drive, which are two-three hours at dawn-6am or late afternoon.
I would suggest a flight from UK to Hoedspruit (Kruger) via Johannesburg and this would mean minimal driving to get from the airport to the park. Check out South African airways for flights though Virgin and BA fly to J`burg direct as well. Check the Kruger National Park website for details of rest camps and accommodation plus game drives, restaurant facilities etc.
The camps have various types of accommodation, but there are a lot of rondavels for two-four people with "proper" beds etc and en-suite facilities at a reasonable price. The website lets you check out available accommodation as the camps get busy at SA holiday times so you would need to consider that. Whatever you choose have a great time.
Steve
We recently returned from the most fantastic trip to Namibia which included five days independent Safari at Etosha. The whole trip was arranged through Rainbow Tours and I cannot recommend enough their professionalism, expertise and advice. Nothing was too much trouble and even last minute changes and alterations did not phase them.They are a very good place to start researching your family's ideal holiday destination and can cater any trip to meet all your different requirements. I can highly recommend their services.
Sabina
Your grandmother has a wonderful sense of adventure! My partner and I took a safari in the Kruger Park a few years ago. We didn't use a travel company as my partner's dad lived out there and arranged it all independently.
The Kruger Park was absolutely stunning. We saw four of the 'big five'; the leopard, unfortunately, remained elusive, but we were not disappointed. We stayed in one of a number of 'lodges' which are dotted about the Kruger Park and we undertook a two-day self-drive safari staying in a lodge. My partner has been on safari many times, but I was a bit wary about what to expect in terms of the accommodation. The hut we stayed in had proper brick/cement walls with a thatched roof. It was very basic with twin beds and a bathroom with shower and toilet, but it was comfortable, although there was no air conditioning. We had one small lizard in our room, but I didn't see any cockroaches or large spiders. I did however get bitten to shreds, even with insect repellent, so make sure you go for the strongest you can find!
The lodge had a very friendly, but low key, atmosphere which didn't feel as though it was impinging on the natural environment. There was a good mix of ages and there was a buffet style restaurant with good food.
The lodge offered accompanied excursions with a guide/ranger into the plains in both day- and night-time safaris. We did a night safari in an open top truck with a ranger which was just amazing. The highlight for us on the night safari was seeing a white rhino with her calf - what a beautiful sight!
The self-drive safari had its good points in that the car was air conditioned, we could stop as many times as we liked and pull into the different lodges en-route for toilet and food stops and we had the freedom to go and do as we pleased. That said, next time I'd like to do a different type of safari, one that is organised with someone else doing the driving.
The roads in the Kruger are good to drive on and are sensibly laid down so that you don't feel too far away from all the wildlife, yet you don't encroach onto them. A good map and guidebook will help you get the best out of your trip if you do decide to do a self-drive safari.
Some of my most treasured memories are from driving through the Kruger seeing the beautiful and graceful buck, to the menacing crocodiles waiting patiently in the water as the buck drew near for a drink, the bull elephant lumbering towards our vehicle to the tiny (in comparison) elephant calves. The rivers are gorgeous, the sunsets are amazing and the stars are positively mind blowing. Binoculars and a zoom lens camera are a must!
I must say I'm envious of your trip, wherever you decide to go.
Best wishes
Delyth Davies
Cardiff
I have just returned from a wonderful ten day Safari organized by Explore Worldwide. There were six in our party; one had just had a triple by-pass and another had recently had a double hip replacement, but we were royally looked after in a succession of ever grander and better lodges and all our requirements (including one vegan) were dealt with. We went around Tanzania staying at Arusha, Lake Manyar, Serengeti , Lobo, Crater and Tarangire - all in all a Safari that will live long in the memory. The cost was about £2,400 each including flights, accommodation, transfers, food and a really rather excellent tour leader and driver.
Russell
Having lived in Kenya for half my life, it's definitely a better place for Safaris than South Africa. The roads are better than what they were before and if you want to fly to the Masai Mara or other national parks you can do so.
Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu are great places to see the beach and get some sun. The South coast of Mombasa is particularly nice and is known for its cleaner beaches and waters and generally is quieter than the North Coast.
Equatoria Travel in Queensbury, Middlesex, are good at getting competitive rates to Kenya and have the right connections to book safaris.
Alternatively I have heard that Somak Travel are relatively good too.
Virgin, Kenya Airways and British Airways all fly to Nairobi, so accessibility is good.
Yours sincerely,
Ravi Shah
It's absolutely doable and done right will give you all life enhancing memories.
There are no short, simple answers. The family needs an experienced safari consultant willing to take the time to understand their individual preferences, priorities and interests. For example, what were the Grandmother's earlier safaris like, where did she go? This knowledge is vital to enhance, not diminish, her wonderful memories, while at the same time providing experiences that meet and exceed the expectations of the rest of the family.
This year we had a family group of 16 (ages 0 to five) safari in Kenya and Tanzania. It was an unqualified success, due largely to very detailed and specific planning involving an enormous amount of communication between us and the various suppliers in Africa.
Beware the 'easy answers' - e.g. head for Kruger because the roads are better - that are the mark of the inexperienced, or lazy consultant.
Best regards,
Bill
I would suggest that you go to a place like Kenya’s Masai Mara or Uganda’s QE National Park. Flights are direct from the UK to Nairobi or Entebbe and are not quite as long as going to Namibia or South Africa.
A place like Mara Serena Lodge would be perfect as it has flush toilets and real bedrooms without loosing any of the bush charm of lodges of years gone by. Serena use very comfortable 4x4s so trips into the Mara do not come with the usual back breaking African massage!
While in Nairobi children from 7 to 70 will enjoy the Kenya Ranger’s Animal Rescue Centre which is next to the Nairobi National Park. A chance to see the Big Five and some of their smaller cousins right up close! If price is not a problem, you could then stay a night or two at Giraffe Manor in Karen on the outskirts of Nairobi. An old manor house which forms part of a captive breeding program for giraffes. Giraffe roam the grounds and children can feed them from their hands.
In Uganda you would find Africa’s most welcoming people. Uganda is famous for its mountain gorillas, but there is so much more to see. Uganda’s national parks are home to elephant, lion, leopard, zebra and almost every other animal you would expect to find on safari.
Perhaps the highlight of a trip to East Africa, no matter what your age, would be a trip to Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Orphanage. An island 40 mins by boat from Entebbe which is home to 40 orphaned chimps. The chimps are cared for in a semi-wild environment and the island accepts visitors for the day or overnight.
Lastly, if you are traveling with a family, safety must be a priority. While Nairobi and Jo’burg are among the most dangerous cities in Africa, Uganda's capital is no more dangerous than London.
Ronan