Wildlife and adventure family safari

I absolutely love Africa. My mum’s from South Africa, so I’ve been visiting since I was 18 months old – it’s in my blood. My husband Luke and I have been married for 15 years, and together we’ve explored Kenya, Botswana, a bit of Zimbabwe, and lots of South Africa.

On our first trip we just used a normal travel agent, which was okay, but then we came across Encompass Africa at a travel expo and decided it made a lot more sense to use a company that actually specialises in Africa – Africa is literally all they do. It helps that Jonathon and Danica are lovely people as well, and really great to deal with. Luke and I travel quite a bit, and we have another travel agent that we use for everywhere else in the world – but for anything Africa, we go straight to Danica and Jono.

We have been waiting and waiting to take our son, Eli, on safari. He’s a real outdoor kid, and loves wildlife and the bush, but we needed to make sure he was old enough to be able to handle everything, like staying in a game drive vehicle for hours on end. We finally took him in September/October 2024, when he was eight, and spent just over two weeks in South Africa. It was brilliant. He definitely got the Africa bug and cried when we left – he didn’t want to come home.

Eli got to see the Big Five, and was especially thrilled to see a leopard, which was number one on his wildlife viewing wish-list. And he just couldn’t get over the night sky. We don’t have too much light pollution where we’re from, in the Swan Valley in Western Australia, but he was just gobsmacked by the amount of stars and seeing the Milky Way so clearly.

The first place we stayed was Ant’s Hill, a luxury safari lodge in the northeastern part of South Africa. We spent four nights there, on a horse riding safari. Because Luke and I have done a few safaris before, Danica suggested we start our holiday with something different – and this was definitely a first for us. It’s not something we would have ever even thought about if Danica hadn’t mentioned it. But we’re really glad we did it.

They hadn’t had any rain for ages so it was incredibly dry and the wildlife viewing wasn’t the best I’ve ever experienced, but it gives you such a different and interesting viewpoint. It’s great to get up close to game wildlife, like zebras and impala, and it was a thrill seeing buffalo and rhino – they might be herbivores, but they’re still dangerous! Obviously, horse riding’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but we really enjoyed it, and because it was so physical it was also a good outlet for Eli’s energy, as he wasn’t just sitting in a vehicle all the time.

The staff and other guests at Ants were just lovely. We noticed that, apart from one other couple, everyone else was a returning visitor, which I think is a testament to what they offer and their service. We ended up making friends with a lovely family from Cape Town. They had a nine-year-old son, and he and Eli had an absolute blast together.

Our next stop was &Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal, where we spent six wonderful nights. I can’t recommend this place highly enough. If we ever win the lottery, we’ll definitely be going back! It’s the third &Beyond property we’ve stayed at, and they’ve never put a foot wrong. They really know how to look after people.

They were utterly amazing with Eli. Thanks to them, he wants to become a ranger. Phinda is where we saw the Big Five, which was awesome. The guides and trackers really put in an effort to find a leopard for Eli, and we ended up finding one after tracking it for a couple of days. He was beyond excited.

After so many trips to Africa, Luke’s highlight was finally seeing a black rhino. That’s the beauty of Africa and its wildlife. If it was too predictable or like a zoo, it wouldn’t give you the same rush. The fact that it’s elusive is what makes it special. I’m still on a hunt for a bloody pangolin! We also got to see two bull elephants fighting to the point that one of them actually had blood all over his tusks. And for me, there’s nothing like falling asleep listening to hyenas. I could listen to that sound all night. People just think they cackle like in The Lion King, and when I try to mimic their “whoop” sound, they look at me like I’m a crazy person! You’ve got to experience it yourself to understand how magical that sound is.

We had an absolute blast at &Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge. They really lived up to their name, and went above and beyond in every way. But as well as the wonderful wildlife, rooms, food and service, it was all the little extra things they did that made it so special. Things like making the most of the hours between game drives and taking us fishing at a waterhole, or letting Eli bake cookies with all the staff in the kitchen while Luke and I were on a bush walk. Another time, we made plaster of Paris casts of the most beautiful leopard and lioness paw prints that we found in some soft sand. The casts have pride of place in our home now – you can’t buy stuff like that from a shop, they’re such a special memento.

Safaris can be quite intense, so we thought we’d end our holiday with a nice relaxing beach break. We were initially thinking Zanzibar, but that involved another flight and more time, and Eli was already missing some school. We found another place in Mozambique that looked absolutely amazing, but it was booked out. So we ended up booking three nights at a place on the KwaZulu-Natal coast ourselves. It was okay, but we  unfortunately didn’t have great weather, and there was a lot of plastic washed up on the shores that had to be cleaned up every day. The moral of the story is: don’t book places yourself – always go with an Encompass Africa recommendation!

For anyone else thinking about a safari holiday in Africa, our advice – other than always using Encompass Africa! – is to choose just one or two really good places and stay at each one for at least four nights, rather than hopping from camp to camp. You don’t get as much of a feel for a place or its people if you’re only there for one or two nights. We’d also recommend paying extra for a private vehicle. It just meant we never had to stress about Eli being too loud or bothering other guests. Plus, we got to do exactly what we wanted, go where we wanted and stay longer if we wanted. It was so worth it and I think we’ll continuing doing it on future trips, even when Eli’s older.

We’ve travelled a fair bit, and Africa is my absolute favourite place. I’m constantly surprised at how many people say they dream of visiting, but never go. I think there are two major reasons: because Africa is so different and they don’t know where to start with organising things, and because they feel it’s unsafe and they’re scared. Which is why I always recommend Encompass Africa. They know the continent inside and out, and work with you to build something that suits your budget, your timeframes, and whatever you’re looking to do. And they arrange things so that you have someone looking after you every step of the way, from literally the moment you arrive at the airport. It just takes any worries away.

After such an amazing holiday, we’re already planning our next one. We’re hoping to take Eli to Botswana next year. We originally thought we’d finish with another beach break, but after this trip we’ve decided to skip the beach, and take the opportunity to make the most of seeing Africa’s incredible wildlife.