The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
‘I watched Antonia grow in boldness’
daughter, could have fought off a leopard – not a lion – had the eland spotted it earlier. But now the baby, no more than three weeks old, was gone. And the leopard was full.
Antonia and I went to Kenya in search of adventure, lured by a two-site eight-night safari with Abercrombie and Kent. While this safari stalwart recommends JuneAugust as the best time for family trips, to coincide with the great migration in the Masai Mara and the summer holidays from school, we went in February half-term: costs and crowds are more modest, and it’s a time of year when some sun is quite welcome to residents of this fair isle.
Most people – friends, family members, strangers – told me not to go. What a waste to take a five-year-old on such a challenging trip. She won’t even remember it, they said.
The only argument against taking young children abroad that I’ve ever found 100 per cent convincing is cost. If the only way around a lack of funds is debt, then that is a pretty miserable life lesson for all involved. But this obsession with memory, and the tut-tutting that parents who bring young children abroad are doing it only for themselves, misses an important aspect of development. Your child may remember tracking a warthog in Kenya, aged five. And they may not. But there are far more important reasons than the excruciating “creating memories to last a lifetime” to take your child outside of the predictability of their home environment.
“Travel is a great foundation for learning life skills that you can’t get at home,” says Erica Reischer, a clinical psychologist based in Oakland, California, and author of the rather intimidatingly titled What Great Parents Do: 75 Simple Strategies for Raising Fantastic Kids.
“For example: how to manoeuvre in an unfamiliar environment; how to ask for help (politely); how to be strategic in getting what you need; how to navigate a new place; how to be comfortable in an unfamiliar environment; how to collaborate with people unfamiliar to you.”
Frankly, a refresher course in these life skills wouldn’t be a bad idea for most adults I know.
And over the course of just a week in Kenya, I watched Antonia grow in boldness. By the sixth day, she had developed a deep appreciation for the bright beads of the Masai. One evening after dinner, as our guide lit the way back to our tent with his torch, he playfully mentioned to her that he had a seven-year-old son. “It is traditional,” he said, with great gravitas, but merriment in his eyes, “for Masai parents to pre-arrange marriages for children your age. I’m sure that my son would like you – and if you say yes, I’ll give you my best bracelet.”
An impromptu marriage proposal is a tricky serve to return – particularly in the week that you’ve noticed your first wobbly tooth. I winced. But I had underestimated Antonia. “Thank you,” she replied immediately, and with a twinkle in her eye, “but that’s just not my thing. It’s a nice bracelet, though!” and she skipped off into the tent.
All of A&K’s family safaris are bespoke, but the route we chose is a popular one, and took us from Nairobi to Lewa, at the foot of Mount Kenya in Laikipia province, and then to the Masai Mara, in the south, all via thrillingly tiny nine-to-20seater planes that fly low enough for you to identify the animals below.
A fifth-generation family home, Lewa Wilderness Camp has nine large mud, wood and thatch cottages decorated with charmingly weathered antiques and giant skulls. This aesthetic, combined with the warmth of the long-serving staff, lends the impression that you’re visiting good friends – and, indeed, on our visit nearly everyone else was a returning guest. Sundowners and dinner are served communally, in what amounts to a fantastic dinner party during which you trade tales of safari, but also of life in the real world.
Lewa Conservancy is great for safari because of its hilly terrain: you come upon animals hiding in the bush rather than spotting them across the savannah as you do in the Mara. And with its two-truck-max rule, there’s an intimacy to observing the beasts.
But however spectacular the wildlife, the success of a family safari hinges almost entirely on the ability of your guide to speak the language of children. Lewa sensibly allocates one guide per family, so you can set your own pace. One boy we met told us proudly that on his first visit to Lewa, aged seven, he’d kept a detailed log of the number of times he spotted each type of