Has anyone done South Africa with a wee bairn?

[DillyDally]

DD is 20mths now
I still have 6 weeks holiday to take this year
She loves animals a lot and whilst i thought a safari was out of the question, I wondered if staying in a good place in south africa I might see an elephant a roaming?
Good idea / Bad idea?
We have done long haul before so thats not a problem but I might be on my own (single mum and all that)
Any tips muchly appreciated

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Oooo
Whereabouts? any good places / hotels?
Is there a good time of year - i had mentally ruled it out until she was older, but now i have reconsidered

Great fab fantastic place to go, especially as a single mum as the childcare is wonderful - you could even have a break in daylight hours . A lot of the lodges in game parks operate a system of all eating together in the evening, hosted by your guide, so you wouldn't stand out IYKWIM. There are a few parks that are malaria-free if that's a consideration.

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Me too

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You've got me very excited now
Shall go research!

Dillydally, if I can help further with more specific suggestions, just shout

I was thinking of going for 2 - 3 weeks and doing
Cape Town
Stellenbosch
Eastern cape game reserve for a few nights as the price of these looks a bit scary

Does that seem like too much travel?
Would I need to hire a car and is it safe to drive on my own?

Did SA 3 times so far with ds, 1st time 9mths. It is FAB, everyone out there loves children, we were always made to feel really welcome and safe. In fact, when I did SA before I had ds it was lovely but much better with him, especially the safari when he was 21mths. He didnt see much of the 5am game drives tbh but even now he knows he did see the animals "in the jungle in africa"
I would totally recommend it.

Do you have any good game reserve recommendations?

Does malaria bother you?

Sorry, I'll rephrase that - would you mind your dd taking malaria tablets?

I would prefer non malaria because she is so young and it would be easier

Luxury or rough it?

I am more of a luxury girl by instinct
I was hoping to save money by doing basic but nice in cape Town and then a really nice game reserve - does this sounds reasonable?

Thanks for your help..

We went when dd was 15 months old. It was the best holiday I've ever had. We're saving up our airmiles again, and are hoping to go again in 2007. Our budget wasn't that high, but we stayed in some great places which were family friendly. CAT me if you want any accomodation recommendations in Cape Town / Winelands / Garden route and inland (Outsdhorn, Montague). Ooutdshorn was the cheapest, and the kiddiest friendly place we stayed. We stayed in a parsonage and the teenage daugther babysat for us! I've still got all teh accomodation email addresses where we stayed.

PS Addo elephant reserve near Port Elizabeth is supposed to be fab and malaria free. We ran out of time and didn't make it there. Next time...

OK, dejags would be your best bet for Cape Town as that's where she lives.

We've been many times to Madikwe which is north of Jo'burg and non-malarial. It's got the big five but you can't drive yourself round. We've stayed at the Madikwe River Lodge, Jaci's Safari Camp and Tau, all of which would bill themselves as luxury destinations. Don't know when you're thinking of going, but you can pick up some great deals in July and August because it's their winter (no good if you're going for the hot weather, obviously ). 2-3 nights would be perfect. You wouldn't be able to take dd on the game drives though, although Jaci's certainly does kid's drives if you want in the morning after breakfast.

Have also been to Pilanesberg where you can drive yourself round or go on organised safaris(think they also have the big five). Accommodation ranges from luxury through to basic. Or you can stay at Sun City which is right next door and very good for kids (again, if you go in the winter you can get a great deal to stay at the Palace which is jaw-droppingly vulgar but great fun and has a heated swimming pool ). You might want to check out a local travel agent for deals - SureTravel is a good chain.

HTH

Have also heard good things about Addo's

Lolasmum, would you mind posting the names of the accommodation you stayed at?

We stayed in the family room at Hout Bay Beachhouse (near Cape Town). Their email address is [email protected] and the website is www.wk.co.za/beachhouse. It is run by a lovely woman (Petra) who entertained dd while we had our huge, huge breakfasts.

In Franshoek we stayed at the Hugenot which had big huge rooms. The email addrss is [email protected], and the website is www.thehuguenot.com. We were told that Franshoek had better restaurants than Stellenbosch that's why we stayed there. We had fab meals out in the evening (and spotted Bono pushing a buggy) and explored Stellenbosch, surrounding area by day.

Don't stay in the Kinga Lodge in Montague - very snotty and un child friendly. We were supposed to stay there but ended up going to the Mimosa Lodge which was the most expensive place we stayed, but definitely worth it. They do fantastic evening meals and it was dh's birhtday. dont' have their contact details.

In Outdshoorn we stayed at the Old Parsonage (Also know as 141 Guest House). The owner is the Parson at the huge church accross the road. He was so friendly and so helpful. And, his daughter Louise was lovely and had got all her old toys down from the loft in anticipation of DDs arrival. The Dad booked a table for us at a fantastic local restaurant (Jeminas - maybe the best meal we had) while Louise babysat. Their email address is: [email protected].

The other places we stayed were OK, but I'm sure you could find better.

Ooh, I wish we could afford to go back NOW!

Thank you ever so much
I really appreciate all the tips i have been given

I only looked into this thread as it had 'bairn' in the title!!! DillyDally, I dont believe i've met you before - are you scottish?

Not scottish but catholic so have family everywhere including west lothian