Baby in Kruger: A Year in the Life
We have both stayed in bungalow accommodation and camped in the Kruger Park with a baby and here is what we have learned from the experience.
The first time we went to Kruger with our daughter Jo, she was 6 months old. We did a day trip from White River as it was peak summer and we were wary of staying the night in a malaria area with a baby. However we were excited for her to see the animals from the car but after entering Malelane gate we quickly realised, she was still far too young to care/appreciate/even realise there was an elephant in front of her eyes (first time parents am I right?). Although she still slept a lot at 6 months old, we also realised it was too long and too hot of a day and too much driving for her, even though we had regular stops.
A month later, when she was 7 months old, we wanted to go back to Kruger but it was still peak malaria season so we decided to do a day trip to Skukuza Golf Club (the wildest golf course in the world!). We left White River at 9am, she napped in the car, we played some golf while Jo’s granny took care of her at the restaurant, had some lunch afterwards and left when Jo’s second nap was due. It was a great day and a good way to experience the some of the park without any stress.
The next time we brought our daughter to Kruger she was 10 months old. We stayed at Talamati bush camp bungalows and Satara bungalows. She was definitely more appreciative of the animals and she loved seeing the monkeys and elephants. However, game drives during her nap time became an absolute must. Although she liked seeing the animals from the car, after about 15 minutes she was sick of it and was dying to just crawl around and cause mischief. So, we just waited until she needed to have her naps and popped her in the car seat and timed our game drives so that we were back in camp when she woke up. The bungalows in Talamati bush camp are more like small houses and compared to the bungalows in Satara, we felt that this made a difference. As the Talamati bungalows have indoor kitchens with a living room, the extra space was great when we had a baby that wanted to crawl everywhere and gave more of a relaxed family-friendly feel. So if you are booking accommodation especially if there are a few of you and have more than one child, try and choose guest houses or family cottages to feel more relaxed (see our pdf The First-Time Kruger Guide for a breakdown of the differences between bush camps and main camps).
The fourth time we brought our daughter to Kruger was for her 1st birthday and we camped in a 5-sleeper tent in Berg-en-dal. A much cheaper option for sure, approximately 500Rand per night for all of us not including conservation fees and it went smoothly. The ablutions were clean and the communal kitchens did the job.Our parents stayed in a bungalow and after seeing Berg-en-dal bungalows again, we realized Berg-en-dal is definitely one of the better family friendly camps. The bungalows are super spacious, not as big as Talamati bungalows but definitely spacious with a great veranda space for baby to crawl around.
Before a baby our schedule usually looked like this: Get up before the sun, out the gate as soon as it opened, or do a bush walk, back for midday heat to have a siesta and lunch, game drive again till gate closes and then a guided night drive. It was hectic, busy and exciting. Now our schedule is a lot slower, and we game drive a lot less than we used to do. Even though we’re on holiday, we are still on our baby’s schedule. We don't get to be the first ones out of the gate anymore but our experience is a lot calmer and we sure do appreciate amenities a lot more. Bringing a baby forces us to slow down the pace of the holiday and appreciate other things. A good view from our bungalow is one of them. Before, we did not mind too much where our accommodation was in relation to the perimeter of the fence as we did not spend much time around our accommodation except to braai and sleep. Now we spend so much time at our accommodation we love being right along the fence where we can see animals walking by.
We appreciate the camps themselves a lot more and we walk a lot more within the camp with our stroller/carrier. And just because we don’t get to do as much outside the camp as inside the camp anymore does not mean we miss out on a lot. One night in Talamati, instead of our usual night drive, we took some hot chocolate and went to the bird hide overlooking a waterhole and out of the shadows stepped a young male lion. Another night in Satara, we walked around camp with our flashlights and saw a Verreaux Eagle Owl. We saw a massive herd of elephants grazing peacefully while we were sitting comfortably on our veranda in our camping chairs looking out into the bush while our baby played and earlier that same evening a hyena strolled by.
You might be wondering about the risk of malaria in Kruger for your child. Keep in mind that contracting malaria in South Africa is uncommon however prevention is always key. Our child never has her skin exposed on early mornings, evenings or nights. Any parts of her body that are exposed we used strong mosquito repellent, but always consult your baby’s doctor before using strong mosquito repellent on your own baby. For the first year of her life we avoided Kruger in the peak summer time except for day trips and at night time we put a mosquito net over her cot.
Extra things we brought to Kruger for our baby:
Travel bath
Camping cot + mosquito net
Baby carrier
Medical bag + mosquito repellent
Pop-up play pen/plastic baby barriers
Play mat
Light, long, breathable sleeves and pantsthat are elasticated at the wrist and ankle (Cotton or linen if you travel during the summer)
Car sickness medication (for older children)