There’s something about a safari with children that quietly humbles you. And I’m not just talking about the feeling you get when you watch your children see wild dogs for the first time or the way your heart bursts when you hear your daughter whisper “I can hear Simba talking” when a lion cub starts calling to its mother. There are other moments that also work to bring you back to Earth, whether that’s negotiating snack treaties every 11 minutes, realising that your carefully packed safari wardrobe is now mostly being used as a napkin or blanket or realizing that thrilling sounds like a lion roaring or hyena whooping at night are actually quite scary for young ears and could end up in sleepless nights for the next 3 weeks.
But what turns safari travel with kids from something beautifully chaotic into something truly unforgettable often comes down to the lodge you choose. On a recent visit to Tau Game Lodge in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve we discovered a safari setup that works remarkably well for families. It delivered the thrill of an authentic safari experience while still making things feel easy, comfortable and genuinely welcoming for parents travelling with children.
Here are 10 reasons why we found Tau Game Lodge the perfect safari spot for travelling with young children:
1. It’s in a malaria-free reserve
One of the biggest reasons I choose Madikwe for my family is simple: it’s malaria-free. For parents travelling with younger children, as I was with my 5-year-old and 1-year-old, this removes a layer of stress. Instead of worrying about preventative medication or whether your kids are wearing white long-sleeve tops at night, you can focus on the fun parts of the trip such as afternoons spent swimming and mornings laughing at warthogs who really do run with their tails straight up in the air like tiny safari aerials trying to reconnect to WiFi.
2. The marsh is pure entertainment
Tau Game Lodge overlooks a busy marsh area, and honestly, this was one of its top features for our family. It meant that we could easily wildlife-watch without ever leaving the lodge, or even our room. Over meals, while the little one napped, or while sipping coffee in the early morning, we could watch an endless parade of wildlife. An elephant munched right outside our room, three members of the big five came down to join us for lunch, and zebra and waterbuck were always somewhere within the field of vision.
3. The game viewing is exceptional
Madikwe is known for excellent wildlife density, and with its own private concession area in the quiter northern reaches of the park, game drives from Tau also deliver something exciting. In our three-days here we enjoyed seeing wild dogs, cheetah, lions with cubs, and more rhino and elephant than we could possibly count. The area around Tau is also incredibly scenic with large open plains, rocky outcrops and riverine tracts that make it interesting to explore even between epic encounters.
4. The kids’ safari extras make children feel included
One of the nicest things about Tau is that children are made to feel extra special. On arrival each of our kids was gifted an activity pack that included a custom safari book with stickers, games, sighting lists and colouring-in pages, as well as a t-shirt and toy. It may seem small but its these kinds of details that instantly build excitement before the first game drive has even started and provide interactive touch points that can turn sometimes boring drives (for little ones at least) into an exciting adventure where every animal sighting (even the ones you have seen 100 times) become part of a game. In fact, the book still has pride of place in our home to this day and is something our children often open to replay the games, colour in a picture they didn’t quite get to on the trip or even just relive memories of their journey.
5. The jungle gym and kids club add extra fun
All children need time to simply play. Tau’s massive, colourful jungle gym provides the ideal place for children to climb, run around and burn off energy. It also sits next to a kids’ club which gives families a little bit of extra flexibility. It’s open daily from 10am to 3pm so during downtime between game drives your little ones can join the dedicated child minder to colour, make crafts or play in the sand.
6. The pools are a huge win between drives
There’s a very specific kind of happiness that comes from jumping into a swimming pool after a dusty game drive in the summer heat in South Africa, and Tau offers not one, but two options, for finding your happiness. There’s a deep pool located near the dining area and bar, surrounded by loungers, with a view of the marsh in front of camp. We loved this pool when the little ones were off at the kids’ club but then there’s also a second infinity-style pool tucked away at the edge of the lodge property. This was perfect for after-lunch swims with the kids as they could make as much noise as they wanted to without disturbing other guests.
7. It feels wild without feeling intimidating
Some safari lodges can feel very serious or ultra-exclusive in a way that makes families nervous about bringing children. Tau is luxurious without making you feel like you need to squirrel your children away from view. You still hear lions at night and see animals wandering nearby, but the lodge environment itself feels accessible and safe. With an electric fence surrounding the lodge you don’t need someone to escort you around the property, children are provided their own menu, and its encouraged to go straight from the game drive to the dining table without getting dressed up first. It’s the sort of place where children can excitedly recount every sighting at dinner without anyone side-eyeing them for using a bread roll as a pretend rhino.
8. It’s a great introduction to conservation
The lodge gives back to a local school in the community, fostering a love for conservation beyond their borders. Plus a safari holiday also provides a perfect opportunity for your own children to understand animals, rather than just reading about them in books. Madikwe itself has an interesting conservation history, having transformed from farmland into one of South Africa’s leading wildlife reserves through a massive restoration project which opens up the opportunity for meaningful conversations around nature and protecting wild spaces, all without feeling overly educational or forced. I am a firm believer that the only way we can hope for the next generation to care about conservation is to introduce them to the wild at a young age and allow them the freedom to discover it. My girls are obsessed with animals, with my older one having a particular love for wild dogs while two of my little one’s favourite words are “ellie” and “cheetah”. Without accessible experiences like this, they would never have found their love for the wild.
9. Game drives for kids
Game drives are what safaris are built around, but when you’re travelling with children, they also come with a few practical challenges such as shorter attention spans and the inability to simply ‘hold it’. At Tau Game Lodge, only children aged 6 and older are welcome on standard game drives, but for families with younger children the lodge also offers a payable private vehicle option. We opted for this so that we could see as much as possible but also so we could tailor the pace of the drive entirely around our family, stopping more often and heading back early when everyone had run out of steam and little tummies were starting to rumble. The lodge also offers a complimentary daily kids bumble which is a relaxed hour-long drive for children of any age and their families if you don’t want the added expense of a private vehicle.
10. Accommodation that works for everyone
Family travel is infinitely better when everyone can actually sleep properly. While we opted for a more-affordable Deluxe Chalet where the kids were accommodated on a pull-out sleeper couch, Tau offers two family-friendly accommodation options with spacious layouts that allow parents and children to stay comfortably together without feeling cramped. Both the family unit and newly built family suite has two ample en-suite bedroom areas with adjoining lounge areas so that you can still enjoy some downtime after the children have gone to bed for the night.
Tau Game Lodge works well for families because it understands that travelling with children doesn’t mean parents want a watered-down experience. You still get exceptional wildlife viewing, beautiful lodge surroundings and the thrill of being in the bush, just with an atmosphere that feels easier and more family friendly. This is the kind of trip your children will talk about for years afterwards. And so will you.