Multigenerational Family Journeys · 10 nights
The Malaria-Free Family Circuit
The wild dogs trot past the vehicle and one of the young ones stops to look at you.
At a glance
- Nights
- 10
- Party
- 4–6 guests
- Countries
- South Africa
- From
- Price on application
- Best season
- Year-round (malaria-free throughout)
Parents of small children ask us one question more than any other: can we see the Big Five with no malaria tablets for anyone? Yes, and this is the route. Every night is in a malaria-free area, and the wildlife holds up. Madikwe has the Big Five and a resident wild dog pack. Tswalu has the Kalahari's meerkats and black-maned lion.
Madikwe sits in North West Province on the Botswana border, on old farmland that was restocked with over 8,000 animals in the 1990s. Your family has the Elela Villa at Madikwe Safari Lodge, three suites for up to six guests and let to one party only, with its own guide and chef. One aircraft carries you from Cape Town to Madikwe, on to Tswalu and back to Johannesburg.
Highlights
- No malaria tablets for anyone, at any age
- The Elela Villa at Madikwe to yourselves, with a private guide and chef
- The resident Madikwe wild dog pack, followed by radio collar
- Meerkats at dawn and stargazing on the Malori deck at Tswalu
- Helicopter over the Cape Peninsula and the Two Oceans Aquarium
- One aircraft for every flight
The places
Where this journey takes you
South Africa
Cape Town
Table Mountain over the city, the Atlantic on one side and Cape Point at the tip of the peninsula.
Cape Town · Madikwe · Tswalu · Johannesburg
The route
- Day 1–2
Cape Town, Belmond Mount Nelson
Garden suites with level access (or the Twelve Apostles Hotel if the family prefers the beach side). Day one: Two Oceans Aquarium, then fish and chips at the V&A harbour. Day two: private helicopter over the Peninsula, flown low and slow for the grandparents.
- Day 3
Cape Town to Madikwe
One King Air 350 or Pilatus PC-12 from Cape Town International to Madikwe. Your guide meets the aircraft and drives you to the Elela Villa.
- Day 4–6
Madikwe, Elela Villa
Drives in mopane and acacia country with long sightlines. One dawn is given to the wild dogs, followed by radio collar. A baking class with the chef for the children while anyone 16 or over walks with the guide. An afternoon at the waterhole hide. A second vehicle on request.
- Day 7
Madikwe to the Kalahari
A short flight west to Tswalu. A family legae at The Motse: two bedrooms and a shared sitting room. Families of five or six add a second legae alongside. Tswalu asks for at least two nights, three in peak season, so you have three.
- Day 8–9
Tswalu Kalahari
Day eight: the meerkats at dawn and the lion pride on the afternoon drive. Day nine: horses for the adults and teenagers, a slow drive for the grandparents, and the stars from the Malori deck after dinner.
- Day 10
Tswalu to Johannesburg, The Saxon
The aircraft flies you to Johannesburg. A last family night at The Saxon.
- Day 11
Departure
Transfer to OR Tambo for your international flight.
Flown by turboprop and helicopter. How we choose the aircraft
How each generation spends the days
Grandparents
Open, flat country with clear sightlines from the vehicle, the villa pool, treatments in the suite, the waterhole hide with no climbing in or out of a vehicle.
Parents
The wild dogs at first light, a bush walk at Madikwe (walks are for 16 and over), the horses at Tswalu.
Children
Fish and chips at the V&A, a baking class with the Madikwe chef, meerkats at Tswalu, counting game from the hide.
The radio call comes at quarter past six: the pack is moving north. Your guide parks across their line and switches off. For a long time there is only yellow grass. Then the dogs come out of it at a trot, the dominant pair in front and the young ones behind, and pass close to the vehicle without slowing. One youngster stops and stares at you with its big round ears. A six-year-old in the front seat whispers that it looks like a spotted wolf. His grandfather says yes, it does.
Where you stay
The lodges
Included
- All private flights in one aircraft: Cape Town to Madikwe, Madikwe to Tswalu, Tswalu to Johannesburg
- 2 nights Belmond Mount Nelson, garden suites
- 4 nights Elela Villa, Madikwe Safari Lodge, for your family alone, with private guide and chef
- 3 nights Tswalu, a family legae at The Motse (two legaes for five or six)
- 1 night The Saxon, Johannesburg
- All meals on safari, adapted for every age and diet
- All activities: game drives, wild dog tracking, walks, meerkats, horseback, stargazing; a second vehicle on request
- Peninsula helicopter flight and Two Oceans Aquarium
- All ground transfers by private vehicle
- Pre-departure delivery package and post-journey coffee table book
Price on application. Every family is different, so we price each journey on the number of guests and the ages of the children. Excludes international flights.
Treat this journey as a starting point. Your Journey Architect will change the pace, swap a lodge, add a round or take one out.
Download this itinerary (PDF)Day by day, the lodges, the courses and the aircraft, to share or forward.
Begin your journey
Your aircraft
is waiting.
In confidencePrivate line +27 83 647 7997