Tourism that Cares - Blog #family

Featured Property: Ulusaba Private Game Reserve

Thu, 06 Apr 2023 08:22:08 +0200

Kids stay for FREE* at Ulusaba Private Game Reserve. This family-friendly game reserve is owned by Sir Richard Branson. The name Ulusaba means ‘place of little fear’, so named because the hill on which Rock Lodge sits, provided the ancient Shangaan tribal warriors with the perfect lookout point.

Ulusaba has a number of rooms and suites spread over two lodges: Rock Lodge, including the beautiful Cliff Lodge, and Safari Lodge. Each suite is furnished with indoor and outdoor showers, a private verandah ideal for romantic candlelit dinners, a minibar, and a bath (to name a few). The reserve sits entirely within the Sabi Sand Reserve near Kruger National Park. The breathtaking hills of Ulusaba offer you a view of the surroundings that are unparalleled. People visit the area for the abundant game and the variety of sightings possible.

Facilities at the Ulusaba Lodges:

All drinks including a top-quality wine list, fine champagne and premium branded spirits
Twice daily game drives and a daily walking safari (the walking safari is subject to favourable weather conditions, no person under 16)
A fully equipped gymnasium situated at Rock Lodge and Safari Lodge (There is also a small gym at Cliff Lodge.)
Tennis courts with viewing pavilion – racquets and balls supplied
An observatory, perfect for stargazing
Laundry Service (no dry cleaning available)
Complimentary WiFi at each of the lodges and in your room
Information talks on flora, fauna and conservation that can be organised on request for both adults and children
Lounges at each lodge equipped with DVD’s, CD’s and a small library
A Wine Lounge at Rock Lodge and Wine Cellar at Safari Lodge with an adjacent outdoor dining area
Really nice staff

With a 23 year history of focusing on great travel experiences within this region of Africa, Tourism That Cares is an expert Luxury Travel Agency that specialises in luxury African safari’s, luxury Kosher safari’s as well as incentive groups, multi-national conferences, and product launch events. Get in touch with one of our experienced luxury travel agents today to make your dream holiday or event a reality!

Get in touch and start planning your trip

Where to go in Africa in December?

Tue, 04 Aug 2015 22:46:48 +0200

Where to go in Africa in December?

This is the time of the year to visit the southern coastal regions with its warm, dry climate.

December is the beginning of the southern summer. This is the time of the year to visit the southern coastal regions with its warm, dry climate. The beaches with their white sand dunes are particularly attractive with the waters of the South Atlantic generally colder than those of the Indian Ocean further north along the coasts of the Eastern Cape and KZN.

Robben Island – Mandela

Cape Town is the popular destination of many tourists and its imposing Table Mountain is always a challenge for those that are fit to climb. I enjoy the more leisurely scenic 5 minute cable car trip up the mountain. At R215 per person it can be expensive for families but none the less it’s a worthwhile experience. Robben Island, the place where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for over 20 years, is worth a visit because of its cultural/historic value. A visitor remarked: “It was a great privilege to listen to the interesting stories of an erstwhile prisoners who acted as our guide”.

The city of Cape Town is surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges and here the well known wine farms of the Cape offer some of the best red and white wines in the world. My personal favourite of the cultural/historic Vergelegen wine farm near the town of Somerset West. Its tranquil setting invites for shady strolls below some very old Camphor and Oak trees. The oldest of these wine farms are on the slopes of Table Mountain in the Constantia Region.There are over 400 well known high class wine farms amongst the soaring mountains surrounding Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek. For the tourists there are many top class 4 and 5 star lodges, hotels and B&Bs worth a stay over.

Top Class 4 and 5 star lodges, hotels and B&Bs worth a stay over.

Many of the fishing type villages along the West Coast of the Western Cape offer excellent accommodation. Booking needs to be made early in the year as December is the main holiday season. Fishing is popular with many holiday makers and the coastal restaurants offer some great seafood value for money. My favourite is the West Coast Crayfish.

Travelling eastward from Cape Town I find the route through the rural agricultural Cape Agulhas region to the Garden Route particularly attractive. On the way the town of Hermanus beckons for a few days of stay over. It’s a mere two hour drive from Cape Town and a major look-out point for the migrating southern whales. My favourite villages and towns of the Garden Route include Wilderness, Sedgefield, George, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay. Here the attractive forests invite for short and longer walks with the Otter Trail my all time favourite, sadly though the age limit of 60 years prevents me to meander along its four day backpacking route between Stormsriver mouth and Nature Valley near Plettenberg Bay. A convenient airport at George at the start of the Garden route cuts the 6 hour road trip from Cape Town to the Garden Route down to an hour flight.

Addo Elephant Park with its wonderful close-up encounters with elephants

Port Elizabeth is the business hub of the Eastern Cape and has its airport linked to all major centers of South Africa. Two hours inland by car and I am at the main gate of the Addo Elephant Park with its wonderful close-up encounters with elephants and a number of the Big five. Accommodation for all National Parks is booked via SAN Parks. There are a number of high class private concessions such as the Amakhala and Riverbend lodges. The rural setting of the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape has many attractive destinations for those seeking time out away from busy centers the serene coastal setting of Coffee Bay, Hole-in-the-Wall and Port St Johns are ideal.

Durban forms the KZN tourist hub.

For a number of years I regularly visited the KZN coast with its golden sand beaches offering wonderful surfing in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean with temperatures in the low to middle 20°C. Durban forms the KZN tourist hub. It has its own international airport and many 4 and 5 star hotels and lodges to choose from. Here the tropical climate with daily temperatures soaring to the mid 30º C, invite visitors to spend their days on the beach along the coast. From Durban the road northward takes one within three hours to reach the HluHluwe Game Park and another hour further to the World Heritage St Lucia wetlands close to the Mozambique southern border known for its wonderful diversity of wild and birdlife.

Namibia and Botswana with its high summer temperatures from December to March tend to be more popular in the southern winter and spring months of July to October with its milder temperatures but are always a favourite with many tourists. The Etosha Pan area in northern Nambia and the great Fish River Canyon and huge dunes of Sossusvlei in the south are great photographic destinations with many safari lodges offering top class accommodation.

The Etosha Pan area in northern Nambia and the great Fish River Canyon and huge dunes of Sossusvlei in the south are great photographic destinations with many safari lodges offering top class accommodation.

Top South African, Family Friendly Safari Lodges.

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 17:20:54 +0200

Singita – Sabi Sands on the western border of the Kruger National Park.

Almost immediately from our arrival we hardly saw our teenage kids for days who later on told us they participated in a mini-ranger course, attended baking and cooking classes, did a spell of mountain biking and learned how to do archery. We went on a walking safari and visited a local community centre supported by Singita. I rate Singita as one of the best for families.

Ant Hill and Ants Nest Lodges – Malaria free in the Waterberg district of the Limpopo province.

On arrival we soon found our accommodation was built on a cliff with a great view. The reasonable rates and being close – less than 3 hours drive – to the main centre of Johannesburg, also appealed to us as we had booked for a long week-end and did not want to travel for many hours by car. We saw a great number of animals on the three guided 4×4 outings we had as a family. We also had a great three hour outing on horseback.

Jock Safari Lodge – Southern part of the Kruger National Park.

Arriving with my wife and two children below teenage years, I soon realized this is an ideal place for all of us as it caters well for all our needs. The kids (7 and 10 years old) had not an idle moment as there was a large variety of activities and outings to choose from. We took one of the historic/cultural outings where we were told the story of Jock of the Bushveld around a camping fire with the distance roaring of a lion that made us shiver.

Ulusaba – Sabi Sands area on the western border of the Kruger National Park.

I found the setting of Ulusaba on a rocky hill in particular interesting and attractive. It caters very well for the entire family and has a number of special child oriented programs. Our teenage children loved the tree-house accommodation. Ulusaba’s connection to the Branson brand ensures exclusivity is high on the list although this comes at a cost. The Big 5 are virtually on the door step and well trained guides ensure our outings were unique and safe experiences.

Jembisa and Palala River Lodges – Malaria free area in the Limpopo Province.

Travelling into the Waterberg district of the Limpopo province brought back pleasant memories of this beautiful area of South Africa with its thickly bushed kloofs and canyons. It is close enough to the main centers allows international tourists to fly in and be transported in less than 4 hours to the lodges. I rate it highly on child-friendly activities and good value for money.

SeasonsinAfrika Tuningi – Malaria free area in the North-West Province.

Tuningi and Little Tuningi are lodges in the greater Madikwe Game Park and therefore share in its variety of wild life. It’s offering of family packages rates very high and it is close to the main centers to allow for less than 4 hour travel time by car. Our younger children were delighted to join others on an hour “bumble” to a waterhole and then helped the chef prepare a meal. I found it is a lodge that offers great value at a reasonable cost for families.

Riverbend – Malaria free area the Addo Elephant Park of the Eastern Province.

Similar to Amakhala Lodge the Riverbend lodge is in the Addo Elephant Game Park. The children enjoyed the mini ranger program they attended. We were pleased after flying in from Cape Town to travel only two hours by car to reach the Addo Gate. The cost vs value factor is also high and we were enthralled with a number of close elephant encounters during our three day stay.

Amakhala – Malaria free area in the Addo Elephant Park of the Eastern Province.

The major attraction of Amakhala is in being in the greater Addo Elephant Park Game reserve. It has a great advantage to be only two hours by car from Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape with its airport connecting it to all major centers. I rate it high on family activities and entertainment for children.

Morukuru Farm, Owner and River Lodge – Malaria free area in the Madikwe Reserve.

It took us just over four hours by car from Johannesburg to get to this lodge consisting three different lodges inside the greater Madikwe Reserve on the border of Botswana. Its variety in accommodation was such that we accepted the offer to stay two days in the River Lodge and another two days in the Farm Lodge. This particularly appealed to our younger children who each received a special Morukuru Kidz backpack loaded with all sorts of goodies.

Karongwe – Malaria free area in the Limpopo Province.

Of the four lodges available we had booked our family of four into the Kuname lodge on the banks of the Kuvjename river. Our 6 and 7 year old children participated in a special “Little Paws” program learning to identify spoors whilst we had a two hour 4×4 game drive along the river where we saw a large variety of wild life including a leopard. We flew from Johannesburg to Nelspruit where we were fetched by shuttle service that took us three hours northward on good tarmac.

Tswalu NM

Soon after our arrival it became clear this is probably one of the most exclusive lodges. Relaxing on the veranda with its serene expanse of the rolling grasslands in front of me, I realized the 6 hour journey by car was worth it. We took this option instead of flying in with its private air service. The 100 000 hectares and a maximum of 30 visitors at a time makes this an ideal place for a break away from the crowds. Privacy and exclusivity is rated tops at this lodge.

Grootbos NM

For me the appeal of being close to Cape Town – a 2 hour drive – and the diversity scenery – mountains, ocean and fynbos – made up for not having a large variety of wild life. It is one of the most beautiful settings and ideal for a short break away holiday. It can easily be combined with a visit to Hermanus to do some whale watching and to play golf at the Arabella Estate.