Going wild with the children in South Africa
Emma Crosby’s intrepid band – aged 18 months to 77 years – go in search of South Africa’s Big Five
Changing our daughter’s nappy is never a very glamorous affair. But as far as locations go, this one will be hard to beat. We’re in the middle of the African bush at sunset, with baby wipes in one hand, a G&T in the other, and the Land Rover’s tailgate doubling as an impromptu table. There’s even mood music, supplied by a pride of lions roaring in the distance.
My husband Jeremy and I have come on safari with our 18-monthold toddler Mary. Read ‘brave’ or ‘foolhardy’ depending on your point of view. But we’re here with extended family to celebrate Aunty Liz’s big 5-0 – and hope to spot the Big Five. And with a multi-generational group, including teenagers, 77-year-old Gramps and pregnant me, we’re a demanding bunch.
Which is why we’ve come to Madikwe Game Reserve on South Africa’s northern border with Botswana. Its 185,000 acres are malaria-free, so perfect for Mary and me. What’s also pretty darn perfect is our safari lodge – Morukuru Farm House.
It’s fully staffed and hired on an exclusive basis. It caters for big groups, in particular families. That means children of all ages are welcome. Finding a safari company that accommodates very small children is rare; many don’t want to take on the extra safety issues and disruption that little ones bring. But here, Mary can safely charge around the beautiful fenced gardens and splash and squeal in the pool to her heart’s content – with no sniffy glances from other guests.
Morukuru’s charming owners, Ed and Anka Zeeman, say they’re in the business of making memories that last a lifetime. And on our trip, we made plenty.
From the moment Ed’s Cessna Caravan plane started circling above Madikwe’s airstrip, the
excitement began as we craned our necks to catch our first glimpse of the animals below. ‘There’s an elephant,’ shouted 16-year-old Charlie, followed by his sister Poppy, ten, squealing in delight as a giraffe galloped along the runway. Both of them were safari first-timers and had eyes as big as saucers and smiles to match.
Over the course of our four-night
stay we saw lions, elephants, water buffalo, rhinos, giraffes and zebra galore – as well as becoming wannabe experts on spotting the reserve’s many different antelope. ‘There’s kudu!’ ‘No, that’s a waterbuck!’ And ‘Look, a rare black impala… wow!’ Off went the iPhones and out came the binoculars.
One of the nicest parts of the trip was watching the youngsters diligently ticking off animals from their wildlife books. Another was seeing three generations sitting together in the game vehicle, bumping along the dusty red tracks and loving the shared experience – surely a rarity these days.
And what about those special moments? For Charlie it was watching wild dogs reunite with their larger pack with affectionate nuzzles after a morning hunt; for his 13-year-old sister Alice, a twilight glimpse of a rare black rhino snorting his way back into thick bush.
And for the adults? Ice-cold sundowners, massages from the inhouse therapist and sleeping out in a hide in the middle of the reserve with wild animals for company.
Even the 5am alarm calls for the morning game drives had a silver lining. ‘At least getting up for school won’t seem so early,’ chimed Poppy.
The Morukuru family pride themselves on making anything possible. They even fitted a car seat in the game vehicle so Mary could join us for an evening game drive.
Despite some odd looks from other guests visiting the reserve, our toddler took it all in her stride, giggling at her first sight of lion cubs and giving her best elephant impression when passing a herd. She even gave a puff adder a friendly wave before clambering on to the lap of our ranger Stefan for the drive home.
Very cute, yes, but practical? No. So for our remaining trips out we left our noisy mascot back at the lodge in the capable hands of Farm House’s incredible team. No need to book babysitters here. In fact Mary’s favourite place to hang out was in the kitchen, picking up a few groovy African dance moves of her own.
And the food at Morukuru? Chef Hope and her team made restaurantquality meals we could eat at a time of our choosing. Every day, tables were set in different corners of the garden, and – at great effort – we had a wonderful bush dinner out in the reserve, under a canopy of twinkling stars.
Within minutes of touching down back in the hubbub of Johannesburg, we could almost be forgiven for thinking the world we’d just seen was make-believe. That’s until I see Mary toddling ahead of us, with the soles of her shoes covered in Madikwe’s rusty red earth. I hope a little bit of the wild has come back with her.