The south of Kruger National Park is more child-friendly than the north in that the distances are not so great between get-out points, the landscape is varied and the game is more plentiful.
Because of the hazard of malaria it is advisable to take only children above the age of five into the park and to get medical advice before visiting Kruger. If travelling with children, it’s best to choose Rest Camps which are less than an hour’s drive into the park.
Crocodile Bridge Gate is probably the best gate to enter through if you have young children. This is because of the likelihood of seeing large numbers of game fairly soon after entering the Park and the fact that it is only about an hour’s drive to Lower Sabie which like most Rest Camps, is a child-friendly safari environment.
Best Rest Camps for Children
Crocodile Bridge offers a fast food service to appease hungry young tummies. Berg-en-dal is child-friendly in that it has large rolling lawns, a swimming pool and an educational trail in the Rest Camp – the Rhino Trail.
The relative coolness of Pretoriuskop and the fact that one can do short game drives from the Rest Camp also makes it conducive to taking small children. It also has a large swimming pool set among the granite boulders, and an educational walk – the Sable Trail.
For entertainment value, the most child-friendly activities are offered at Skukuza where there are film shows and special educational activities geared for children. Skukuza also has a large swimming pool and is geared up to serving food fast for hungry little mouths. Toys and childrens activities are available at the Skukuza shop.
In the north the most child-friendly safari Rest Camps are Satara and Letaba because of their size and the fact that they are in good game viewing areas which will alleviate the boredom children often experience during game drives. Satara and Orpen offer specialized drives for children.
