Mother daughter safari in Tanzania

When my daughter, Maggie, was about four, I made her a promise: that when she turned 10, we’d go on a holiday, just the two of us, to anywhere in the world – her choice. As she got older she started talking about Paris, but I didn’t think she would have enjoyed it at her age, so I started to slowly nudge her towards somewhere I knew she’d love: Africa!

I’ve travelled a lot, and had been to South Africa and Zimbabwe before, but the thought of going to Tanzania with just my child was slightly daunting. My husband, Adam, wasn’t travelling with us, so I wouldn’t have another adult to bounce things off if anything went wrong. I wanted to feel safe and for everything to be organised for us. I just needed it to be easy. So that was the brief: easy… and lots of animals!

And that was exactly what we got, thanks to Encompass Africa. I found out about them by simply Googling “Family African Safari”. I’d looked at some other companies, but they all said children needed to be over 12, or even over 16, to go on safari. But then I spoke with Danica at Encompass, who said there was no issue about Maggie being 10. And then she organised everything. Encompass Africa really made this trip. They went above and beyond expectations in every way, and were very generous and kind as well. There were no issues whatsoever and we felt completely safe and looked after the whole time.

I think a big part of everything going so well was because we had an amazing guide, Oltesh, who was absolutely brilliant. It was a really good match by Encompass Africa, because Oltesh also has kids, and one of them was Maggie’s age, and another was the same age as my son, Percy, who’s two. So Oltesh totally understood what it’s like traveling with little people. Everyone – staff in all the camps, other guides – spoke so highly of him throughout our trip. He was like a super-guide; a local legend. He made everything so comfortable and easy.

We flew from Australia straight to Arusha, and he met us at the airport and then stayed with us for the full 10 days we were in Tanzania. We spent our first few nights in Arusha, so we could relax and recover from the flight. Oltesh also took us to the nearby Arusha National Park, to give us a little taster of what was to come.

From Arusha we went to visit a local tribe, the Toba people, before checking in to Ziwani Lodge, which overlooks Lake Eyasi in Northern Tanzania. We were only there for one night, but you can see how people could stay there for a week – it was very glamorous! Having a gin and tonic while watching the sun set over the lake and huge plain was amazing. Maggie’s a very picky eater and in a constant state of panic about menus, but she really enjoyed the food at Ziwani.

The next morning we visited another tribe: the Hadzabe people. Danica had suggested visiting the Toba and Hadzabe tribes, but I wasn’t sure as these sorts of activities have always felt awkward to me. But it wasn’t weird at all; it was authentic and amazing. In fact, apart from seeing all the animals, visiting the tribes was the highlight of our entire trip. The Hadzabe people are hunter-gatherers, and that day they found a beehive in the middle of some really dense bush. For about 40 minutes they hacked and then smoked out the bees, and then together we ate fresh honey, straight from the hive. They were so generous, and the whole experience was incredible.

We then made our way to the Serengeti, where we stayed for three nights at Noana Moru Camp. That’s when we saw our first lions. Within five minutes of entering the Serengeti, we saw five of them, asleep on a massive rock, like Simba on Pride Rock in The Lion King. Later, we also saw a cheetah, and then a leopard in a tree, all in the one day. It was phenomenal; a Big Cat bonanza.

Next up was the Ngorongoro Crater, where we spent a night at Lions Paw Camp, right on the rim of the Crater. Oltesh was constantly spotting animals from miles away – we even got to see a black rhino, thanks to his eagle eyes. One day he said: ‘There’s something in that tree over there.’ We couldn’t see anything, but when we got there, we found six sleeping lions!

Our final stop was Tarangire Ndovu Tented Lodge in northern Tanzania, where we stayed for two nights before heading back to Arusha to fly home. We saw ostriches, as well as more lions and another leopard. The terrain was very different here: really green and lush.

Actually, thanks to the time we travelled [May 2024], everywhere was quite green. Because it was the shoulder season, Danica had warned us that it might rain a bit, but we only had one day of rain the entire time. And, on the plus side, there were hardly any people – at one place we were literally the only people staying for the night. So we loved travelling during the shoulder season. Everyone says there are heaps more animals in the high season, but we saw so many, including the Big Five, it was overwhelming.

I just loved our holiday, and so did Maggie. She’s quite a high-energy kid, but something happened on that trip. Her teacher said she came back to school so relaxed and calm. There was no part of her that was concerned about the unknown during our African adventure; she just fully embraced it.

My husband, Adam, was never that interested in a safari. But after this trip he had massive FOMO, so I think it’ll be back on his list of things to do. And now my son, Percy, is almost three, so I have to start saving up for his special trip when he turns 10!