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Singita: Child-friendly Lodges perfect for family travel

You love travelling and discovering new destinations? Are you curious about exploration and love nature and the wilderness? Welcome to Southern Africa. The only glitch to your travel plans is that you have children and many  top range accommodations do not accept them.  No need to worry, the combination of a wonderful trip with your entire family is now possible. We decided to select the Singita group, which is represented everywhere in South Africa, in Zimbabwe and in Tanzania.and warmly welcomes families with a wealth of original activities.

For parents travelling with their children, Singita Boulders and Ebony Lodges (South Africa) along with Singita Pamushana Lodge (Zimbabwe) is ideal. Activities at the lodges are specifically tailored to the interests of each family. Here you can find some of the most interesting ideas in the world, which are based on their originality, their educative and informative goal.

Baking with the lodge chefs

What do you think about cooking with a chef? This activity, called The Cookie-cutter Program, is proposed in Ebony Lodges and Sweni Lodges. Children make their own cookie with the help of one of the lodge chefs. It is a way to learn a new skill that will earn them bragging rights with their friends!

Mini Rangers’ Course

This activity is a real chance for kids to discover the huge and complicated nature they are taking part of. Accompanied with a guide, these races cover tracking animals; frogging; butterfly capture and release; astronomy; bush survival techniques; flower-pressing; game-spotting competitions; nature quizzes and a guide’s test.

Community Projects: Early Childhood Development

Finally, we want to present you an initiative that is really important to Singita. The group is involved in the community development of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve.  They created a partnership with the READ Educational Trust, a long-standing, non-profit organisation that recognised child development leader, to enhance the quality of early childhood education offered by the preschools. For instance, they organised formal training courses for teachers. For example, through the Growing to Read” program, Singita has chosen to focus on the literacy of children.

You can meet the children in these schools and learn more about this program and its benefits. Through this initiative, it is also a way to support children’s future, and one more time, the family concept in general.

By Elise Langlois

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Stephanie’s Insider Guide to Cape Town

Meet our insider from Cape Town, Stephanie Marthinus-Hans, who is a local South African travel and lifestyle blogger from Cape Town passionate about showcasing small towns, accommodations, local eateries and wineries in the Western Cape and surrounding Provinces. Her blog, Stephanie Marthinus Blog, showcases small towns, accommodations, local activities and travel tips.

5 things I love most about Cape Town

  1. The four seasons in one weather
  2. How passionate people are on the daily
  3. Our unique local products
  4. The many scenic road trip routes
  5. Our world class wineries

A few quirky/cool/fun things only locals know about Cape Town

Cool runnings; the tobogganing track in Bellville is such a cool activity for both the family and couples to enjoy. It’s different, fun and definitely an adrenaline rush.

Best place here to enjoy the…

The water – Kleinmond Beach or Struisbaai

The mountains/countryside – Stanford

The outdoors – Chapmans Peak Drive or a trip along Route 62

The food – There is so many to choose from but the Lourensford market in Paarl has such a wide variety on cuisines, you can’t go wrong.

The general vibe or nightlife – The vibe is surely in Bird and Victoria Streets in Stellenbosch.

Good coffee/tea/wine – Knead bakery and Truth knows how to make a great cup of coffee. When it comes to wines, there’s an array to pick from. I recommend Simonsig in Stellenbosch for their Kaapse Vonkel Rosé as well as Val du Charron in Wellington.

Meet locals – Festivals, food markets and park runs.

What makes a city/town special for you?

The willingness to also support one another’s causes or projects and our constant love to share knowledge and information without a fuss.

What is your favorite small town in South Africa and why?

Seeing that small towns is what I live for, I have many on my list. One in particular is Porterville. It’s relatively unknown and many people I spoke with had no idea where it was or even know what to do there. It’s such an underrated town with plenty of family and couple activities like the Porterville Farm Market, visiting the Mosaic House and taking an interest in the many creative artists that reside there.

If you could do a 10 day road trip through south africa, which stops would you make?

That’s a tricky question because there’s many trips on my list. I’d start off in the Great Karoo of Graaff-Reinet and Nieu-Bethesda, drive through Queenstown and into East London to make a trip in Coffee Bay. I would love to explore Morgans Bay and Port Alfred because the Sunshine coast is just impeccable.

What is the ultimate bush experience anyone can have in SA?

South Africa is blessed with many exquisite game farms but start off with checking out South African National Parks for various accommodation options. I highly recommend exploring Addo Elephant National Park in the Eastern Cape. There’s an unlimited amount of activities such as a self-drive, game drives, horse riding, hiking trails and even picnic sites for the whole family to enjoy.

Your best beach/island experience in Southern Africa

I would love to visit Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. It’s honestly blessed with picturesque beaches and anyone who is a beach lover will enjoy the beach experience.

The most magical place in South Africa and why

Prince Albert takes my breath away every time I visit the small, arid town. It’s in the middle of dry barrens yet runs like a big city with vineyards, olive farms and mountain views for days.

The best places to visit in South Africa for…

  1. Solo travellers: Definitely the CBD where there’s tons of fun-filled activities to do and cool places to visit.
  2. Couples: Depending what type of couple you are, stay at Ke Nako Lodges in Wilderness; tacked away on the mountain slopes or De Wilge in Nuy Valley.
  3. Families: Mossel Bay as many activities to keep the family entertained with charming beaches, quirky restaurants and putt-putt. Montagu is also another place to visit with Saturday markets, bike trails and river cruises.
  4. Luxury travellers: Stellenbosch and Paarl come to mind with luxurious accommodations nestled among the vineyards.
  5. Those seeking off-the-grid spots: Die Hel in the Swartberg Nature Reserve and Pampoenfein Farm in Cederberg is spots to truly be off-the-grid

You can find more of Stephanie’s musings about small towns at Stephanie Marthinus Blog. You will always find her with a strong cup of coffee in hand whilst she tackles her full-time job in the Marketing and Communications industry along with her part-time employment at a bespoke textile store. Aside from her blog get more insider tips on small towns in the Western Cape and beyond on Facebook.

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