Why South Africa still delivers the most unforgettable safari holidays for families

Reliving memories from her childhood on a safari holiday in South Africa, Tessa Buhrmann discovers the same sense of wonder, but this time with a lot more comfort in the mix.

Every kid’s dream safari holiday in South Africa

Despite it being mid-winter on our family safari holiday in South Africa, the temperature nears 30ºC, and the surrounding landscape is dry and dusty. At a waterhole, elephants gather, drinking deeply and spraying their dry wrinkled bodies to cool down. A young elephant huddles close to its mother, and we watch in silence as two white rhino join the pachyderm party.

Sunset game drive, Mosetlha, South Africa

A safari holiday in South Africa brings memories flooding back

As a little girl I used to listen in awe as family friends, the Rogers, shared tales of the elephants, rhino, lions and even leopards they encountered on their family safari adventures, exploring the wilds of Southern Africa’s great national parks in their trusty Land Rover. These stories sparked a desire in me to travel – a seed that was planted early on. As a teenager, that seed was nurtured and grew during camping trips in Zululand with my best friend and her family. We roasted marshmallows over the campfire, listened to hippos munching around our tent in the dead of night, and trembled at the distant roar of a lion.

Fast forward several decades, and it’s just after midnight, a rhino grazes alongside my raised wooden cabin and black backed jackals call nearby. Suddenly, I’m not on a safari holiday in South Africa as a grown-up, but back in that flimsy tent in Zululand. Thankfully, my accommodation at Mosetlha Bush Camp & Eco Lodge in Madikwe game reserve is somewhat more secure and I snuggle under the duvet, rather than trembling with fear.

Pool with a view, Madikwe, safari holiday in South Africa

Malaria-free reserves make a safari holiday in South Africa perfect for families

Madikwe, established in 1991, is one of South Africa’s largest game reserves covering 750 km². This malaria-free reserve is ideal for a first family safari and offers an excellent chance to see Africa’s Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo, so named because they are considered to be the most difficult and dangerous to hunt on foot. The abundance of game is thanks to Operation Phoenix, one of Madikwe’s largest animal relocation projects, which has reintroduced over 8,000 animals of 27 species, to what was once farmland.

Even the bush loos and bucket showers have kid-appeal

Mosetlha, a small, rustic and unfenced bush camp, lies in the heart of Madikwe. It’s a genuine eco-lodge and operates fully off-grid. Lanterns line the pathways at night, solar lights illuminate the rooms and meals are cooked over the open fire. Mod-cons include private bathrooms, albeit with bucket showers where the water is heated through an old-fashioned wood-fired, “donkey boiler.” A fellow guest tells me how her young teenage boys loved this experience on their last family safari holiday in South Africa: it had never been easier to get the boys to take a shower! I imagine they enjoyed learning the science behind the vented ‘bush loo’ too: not as rustic as it sounds.

Mosetlha offers kids, age six and above, a true bush adventure, as well as up-close encounters with Africa’s wildlife. The camp even has two family suites with adjacent rooms that provide privacy yet keep the family close. And for younger kids, pull-out beds allow them to sleep in the same room as parents.

Zebra, Madikwe family safari holiday in South Africa

The wildlife always wows on a safari holiday in South Africa

On an early morning game drive, we huddle beneath blankets as our guide, Jonny, spots a lioness with three cubs. She’s in hunting mode and alert to every sound, while her cubs play unaware. An impala’s alarm snort halts the hunt, and they retreat into the bush. Nearby, a giraffe browses, as zebra and wildebeest graze, while a warthog roots through elephant dung, amusing us as it finds tasty, undigested seeds. Unbeknown to us, Jonny has a plan. As we round a corner there, beneath a large marula tree, is the Jamala lion pride. A few swishing tails and inquiring glances is all the response we get, but still we’re thrilled to have this moment all to ourselves.

Tracking with expert guides feels like a privilege

Our afternoon drive is spent tracking a leopard, but with no luck. From an elevated position, we watch family after family of elephants as they come to the dam to drink, wallow, and dust bathe – protecting their skin from the sun, and repelling bugs.

After a spectacular sunset and a sundowner, we head back. Jonny switches on the spotlight hoping to find feline eyes. The vehicle slows as he points to an impala kill tangled in a fence. “Leopard,” he says. “It must still be nearby.” His bush knowledge soon reveals a young male leopard hiding beneath a bush. The thick foliage limits our view, we wait, hoping he’ll retrieve his meal, but he seems content to sit us out. Perhaps we’ll see him in the morning.

It’s our final drive with Jonny, we’re eager to find the leopard again. He’s moved the kill, but where? Jonny’s instinct guides us a bit further, and there, in a leadwood tree, is our leopard with his kill. He’s young and skittish, quickly bolting down the tree into the surrounding bush.

Family Suite, Lelapa Lodge, Madikwe

Madikwe perfects a family safari holiday in South Africa

After a hearty breakfast we transfer to Madikwe Safari Lodge where we’re welcomed with lemon-grass scented cloths, chilled drinks, and warm smiles. We stay at Kopano, a boutique-style lodge with just four luxurious suites, perfect for a first family safari but equally seductive for romantic getaways. Lelapa Lodge, with its kid-friendly amenities, is ideal for children of all ages. Four of its 12 suites cater for families with young children, offering bunk beds, toys, and even cute little kiddie robes.

Lelapa Eco House, safari holiday in South Africa

I pop into the Eco House, a child-focused activity hub offering child-minding and educational fun, allowing parents time to themselves, whether to relax and read in their suite or luxuriate in the spa. A dad drags his son away from the fun activities, but the promise of a milkshake and pool time has him happily following. For a mum and daughter treat, the spa offers tailor-made treatments especially for children. Other activities include the one-hour kids’ safari, rock-painting, cupcake decorating and fun dress-ups, as well as pizza making and movie nights under the stars.

A front-row seat for wildlife complete with cocktails

The main pool at Lelapa is a green oasis, perfect for sunbathing with a cocktail, while being enthralled by the elephants that come to drink and wallow in the waterhole it overlooks. A small, horizontal, electric fence between us and them, just a few metres away, provides a front-row seat to this unforgettable first family safari experience.

Sunset game drive, Madikwe

Elephants by moonlight are even more magical

Game drives are always memorable on a safari holiday in South Africa, but with our guide Ryan they’re both fun and informative too, and we quickly spot more elephants, zebras, giraffe and even two male lions lazing under a tree. We watch in wonder as a cheetah mum calls for her five cubs, who come running to her, crossing the road right in front of us. “She has been out hunting and is now calling them to join her,” Ryan explains. “They’re most vulnerable when she’s away.” She gathers them and leads them to the safety of the dense bush.

I love the coffee and sundowner stops, where we stretch our legs and spot animal tracks, from huge elephant prints to the tiny steenbok spoor. One evening, a brown hyena wandered past as we were sipping our G&Ts. But it’s at night, when the spotlight comes on, that the magic really happens. Ryan spots a herd of elephants; they amble past, first one then another and another, their grey bodies glinting in the soft moonlight. Big ones and little ones; some a bit curious, but most just lumbering along. I realise that I’ve been holding my breath – the perfect end to our Madikwe safari.

Photography: Tessa Buhrmann; Madikwe Safari Lodge