Guest bloggers Ivar, Joan and Lise (3 jr) have an amazing holiday in South Africa.
Our next stop is Storms River, a small town totally dedicated to tourists visiting Tsitsikamma National Park. The drive from Knysna to Storms River is stunning! The landsape changes continuesly… and the weather as well, it starts raining. Lise is very quite and sleeps most of the time, that might have been a sign. When we arrive at our accommodation for the night, she has a fever. Luckily we have children paracetamol with us. We put Lise to bed early. Nevertheless we have a rough night. Lise is restless and vomits as well. We are very happy to see, she feels better the next morning and even wants to have breakfast. This hotel seems less child friendly, as they make clear they don’t appreciate Lise her dirty bed linen.
Tsitsikamma National Park is beautiful! There a lots of hiking trails which we would love to explore. As Lise isn’t her usual self yet, we decide not to walk, but to book guided tour. Due to the end of the season the village is very quiet. When we find a tour operator, they tell us booking a guided tour for 3 persons isnt possible this time of year. Apparently they don’t want to earn any money this time of the season ;). We decide to head to the park and explore the suspension bridge trail. The trail leads to a bridge hanging between 2 cliffs. We take Lise up to the cliff and enjoy the view, we even see dolphins! As its rainy and we want to give Lise a break, we decide to go back to our hotel and have a quiet afternoon
We continue our amazing holiday in South Africa by visiting the highlight of our trip: Addo Park. Originally Addo is an Elephant park, but nowadays there live lions, buffalo, rhinos and springbok as well. Before we enter the park, we meet a German family. They are travelling with young kids as well. The kids play and we share experiences. They tell us you can’t book a jeep tour in the park with kids under 6 years of age. Luckily there is an option to book a private guide, who drives our car around the park. We make a booking for a private guide immediately for the next day and decide to relax around the lodge this afternoon. Our cottage has an amazing view. There is even a pool at the lodge, which Lise enjoys for several hours.
In the morning we decide to explore the park by ourselves. We see a huge buffalo straight away!! When we approach a water hole we see lots of elephants and springbok. Lise is amazed by all the wild animals. After lunch we have our scheduled jeep tour. While Lise has seen enough animals and enjoys her ipad, we listen to the guide who tells us amazing stories about the park and its inhabitants.We see more elephants (even babies) and lions. Its amazing to see these wild animals up close and personal in the wild. When the tour comes to an end, the guide asks us to drop him off at his house. He lives close to the park in a township. Its bizarre to see this wonderful country consist of two separate worlds.. the “rich” and the “poor”. These kind of experiences make our holiday in South Africa even more special.
Tips & Tricks holiday in South Africa with kids
The garden route from Knysna to Tsitsikamma National Park is stunning!
Make sure you always have childrens paracetamol, ORS and thermometer with you, when travelling abroad.
When visiting Addo with kids under 6 years of age, book a private guide.
The cottages in Addo Park have a wonderful view and the lodge has a pool.
Storms River
Watch out! Addo
Our cottage in Addo
Elephant family Addo
Drinking or showering?
