All package prices are per person and include flights from London and
transfers. For regional and Irish options, contact the operator. Unless
stated, child prices are for under12s.
Bears in... CANADA
It’s one of the all-time-great wildlife spectacles: a 300kg grizzly bear
fishing for his supper in the Glendale River as thousands of salmon surge
upstream to spawn. For children, the setting alone is unforgettable: a
log-built lodge adrift in the Canadian wilderness at Knight Inlet,
accessible only by float plane from Vancouver.
As well as bear-viewing from the hides, there is guided tracking,
sea-kayaking, fishing and maybe dolphin-watching, too. It’s for over8s, but
if your children are younger (or a stay at Knight Inlet is too pricey), they
will enjoy Tofino, on Vancouver Island, just as much: a five-mile Pacific
beach replete with watersports, hot springs, whales, sea lions and Zodiac
trips that whisk you within 100ft of black bears and their cubs as they
graze on sedge grass and rock-pool for crabs along the shore. Take in both
spots, add a day or two in the city, and you’ve a world-beating family bear
expedition.
What the kids say: “I never thought we’d get so close. One
big grizzly was fishing in the shallows, and it felt like I could reach out
of the boat and touch her. But losing an arm would not have been a good way
to come back from Canada!” — Leo Edwards, 11, from Richmond, Surrey.
Sample package: Frontier Canada (020 8776 8709,
www.frontier-travel.co.uk) has a two-week trip to Vancouver, with time in
Whistler and Tofino, and two nights at Knight Inlet, from £2,557(under12s
£1,370, under16s £1,595). Or try Medway (01622 608265,
www.medwaytravel.co.uk).
Tigers in... INDIA
Question: What could be more thrilling than seeing a rare Bengal tiger in the
wild? Answer: Seeing a rare Bengal tiger in the wild in Kipling country —
from the back of an elephant.
For this, you need to dodge the touristy tiger-spotting circuit in Ranthambore
and aim for remote central India, where the Kanha reserve, inspiration for
The Jungle Book, offers a better than even chance of tracking down Shere
Khan. It’s an intrepid trip, best suited to youngsters aged 10 and up:
elephant scouts head out at dawn and, when there’s a tiger sighting, you
climb aboard and trumpet through the forest for a look. Hold on tight to
jumbo, or you could be lunch.
To make this the ultimate Indian adventure, bookend your time at the game
reserves with a tour of Bollywood and a visit to the Taj Mahal.
What the kids say: “It was nothing like a safari park: you
really feel you’re penetrating the tiger’s domain. We saw ours from a
distance, prowling along a crag, silhouetted by the sunset. It was a total
Pride Rock moment — magnificent.” — Emma Wood, 16, from Winchester.
Sample package: with Colours of India (020 8343 3446,
www.partnershiptravel.co.uk), a tailor-made two-week family trip, including
five nights, full-board, at tented camps in the Kanha and Bandhavgarh
reserves, and time in Mumbai and Agra, mostly B&B, starts at £2,688
(£2,556 per child). Or try Wildlife Worldwide (0845 130 6982,
www.wildlifeworldwide.com).()
Lemurs in... MADAGASCAR
Jungle wildlife doesn’t come much more playful than the lemur. Doe-eyed and
daffy-tailed, they’re not just arboreal acrobats, they dance and groom and
sunbathe in the trees.
On a family adventure in Madagascar, you’ll get almost close enough to cuddle
them: the loudmouth indri lemur, with its blasting call; the naughty
ringtail, keen to check you out and pinch a banana; the sifaka, which
boogies along on its hind legs; and, on torchlit night walks, the tiny mouse
lemur, cutest of them all.
You’ll also see swivel-eyed chameleons and preternaturally strange insects,
such as the giraffe-necked weevil and the comet moth, before repairing for a
few nights’ splashing and snorkelling on a tropical beach at Nosy Be.
What the kids say:“There were lemurs everywhere, jumping
among the trees — at one lodge, there was even a tree outside our room where
they liked to come and play. I liked the mouse lemur best, it was very fast
and very cute.” — Carrie Gallagher, 10, from Berkshire.
How to do it: Reef & Rainforest Tours (01803 866965,
www.familytours.co.uk) has a dedicated two-week family trip, with six
nights, full-board, in jungle lodges and five nights, B&B, on Nosy Be
island, from £2,387 (£1,496 per child). Or try Aardvark (01980 849160,
www.aardvarksafaris.com).
Orang-utans in... BORNEO
The planet is full of apes, but you need to choose smartly to match your
destination with your child’s preferred primate: Tanzania is best for
chimps; Rwanda for gorillas; while Sabah, in Malaysian Borneo, is home to
the world’s best orang-utan reserves.
Here, at the terrific Sepilok rehabilitation centre, you’ll walk out along
raised platforms as the kings of the swingers fling themselves towards you
through the ropeways of the jungle canopy. Your children may also get to
meet them again next morning, over breakfast on the resort’s veranda. It’s
soon clear that as far as the orangs are concerned, they’re the observers
and you are the entertainment.
You could team some time at Sepilok with a family beach stay at Rasa Ria
(which has its own orang-utan sanctuary), a dip in the hot springs at
Kinabalu and an overnight stay on Turtle Island, where green turtles waddle
ashore to lay their eggs.
What the kids say: “I lost count of how many orangs there
were, and some had babies dangling off them, too.
They are extremely playful — they tease each other with bananas, then dash
into the branches to eat. It was an unforgettable part of our trip.” —
Valérie Maselis, 14, from Bruges, Belgium.
How to do it: with Steppes Travel (01285 651010,
www.steppestravel.co.uk), 10 days in Sabah start at £1,695pp for a family of
four, including two nights at Sepilok and most meals. Or try Explore Family
Adventures (0870 333 4001, www.explore.co.uk).
Giraffes in... KENYA
Gentle giants they may be, but few wild animals are so aah-inducing,
especially for little children, as the giraffe. The Kigio Wildlife
Conservancy is a treat of a place to see them: its 14 endangered Rothschild
giraffes, relocated there four years ago, have already become 19, and
younger guests are encouraged to get neck and neck with them. The high spot
of the day is when youngsters climb atop the 4WD and feed the friendliest
specimen, six-year-old Maule, by hand.
Kigio is malaria-free, offers mountain-biking and kayaking as well as game
drives, and fun treehouse-style cottages. If you have the time, move on to
the Lewa Downs Conservancy: famous for elephants, it also has the world’s
highest concentration of black and white rhinos. Your kids may have seen Ben
Fogle running away from a Lewa rhino in a recent episode of the BBC’s Animal
Park.
What the kids say: “Maule is really, really tall, and he had
a long black tongue that snaked out and licked the food right from my
fingers. At Lewa, we got to feed a baby rhino with a bottle, and we saw a
cheetah and lions. But the giraffes are best.” — Hope Mayhew, 9, from
Salisbury.
How to do it: The Ultimate Travel Company (020 7386 4646,
www.theultimatetravelcompany.co.uk) has six nights, full-board, at Kigio and
Lewa from £1,749 (£1,630 for children); or take a similar tour, accompanied
by a Longleat keeper, from £1,995/£1,880, including a £250 donation to the
Tusk Trust. Alternatively, try Cedarberg (020 8755 7917,
www.cedarberg-travel.com).
Lions in... KENYA
The Masai Mara is the greatest animal show on earth: 1,800 square kilometres
thick with wildebeest, gazelle and impala, every one of them a lion-sized
lunch. But what makes Little Governors’ Camp extra-special for youngsters is
that they’re likely to meet celebrities. It is famous for hosting the BBC’s
Big Cat Diary, a feline soap opera packed with violence, adultery and
infanticide.
At least five lion prides (and 35 cubs, at the last count) are within viewing
distance of camp, including the telegenic Marsh Pride, so your children may
well be treated to a close-quarters update on the antics of Notch, his harem
of four females and their eight young charges.
There is a proper sense of adventure at Little Governors’: right outside its
tent flaps lies a busy watering hole, and elephants, buffalo and baboons
often join the guests for a cooling drink after lunch. If your children
crave even more excitement, you can visit a Masai village or take off on a
balloon safari across the plain.
What the kids say: “We saw eight lion cubs playing with their
mother and scoffing a buffalo — very cute. The next day, we got within five
metres of a battle, when the young males from one pride attacked the
lionesses from another. Gory and amazing.” — James Edwards, 13, from
Oxfordshire.
How to do it: with Audley Travel (01869 276250,
www.audleytravel.com), a 13-day safari-plus-seaside package, including four
nights, full-board, at Little Governors’ Camp and six nights, half-board, on
Funzi Island, starts at £2,700 (£2,500 for children). Or try Abercrombie &
Kent (0845 070 0611, www.abercrombiekent.co.uk).
