Ten more amazing things your family can enjoy in South Africa

Robben Island, five miles off the coast of Cape Town was a prison island from the late seventeenth century until 1996. A guided tour, especially given by a former prisoner, is a fascinating and emotional experience. The infamous island once had a whaling station and was also a fort and leper colony. Your tour will culminate in a visit to the cell of its most famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela who spent 18 years there during the apartheid era.

The Baber family have lived in the remote mountainous Waterberg since 1865. Ant and Tessa Baber, of the current generation, have set up two superb family orientated safari lodges on their large private reserve. Their chief delight is to take their guests on horseback safaris in search of leopard, rhino, eland and buffalo. Horses are selected to suit your physique and ability. There is nothing that quite matches the thrill of cantering alongside zebra or giraffe!

From June to November southern right and humpback whales migrate from Antarctica to the waters off the southern tip of Africa. Peak calving season is in July and August. Your children will delight in seeing them from clifftop vantage points around Cape Town, the Peninsula and Hermanus. Sometimes they come almost to the shore. For the best views of all, though, we can arrange a boat trip to take you up close to their breeching acrobatics.

South Africans love their golf. The weather, undulating scenery and a long sporting tradition combine to produce stunning golf courses in some truly spectacular locations. Some country house hotels like Fancourt on the Garden Route and Erinvale in the winelands have their own superb courses. Fancourt, set between the Outeniqua Mountains and the Indian Ocean has three courses on its estate, all of which rank among the top 20 in the country.

Heading inland from Fancourt, you pass through the Outeniquas into the drier country of the Klein Karoo. We can arrange for your family to stay near Oudtshoorn at the delightful Rosenhof Country House. Next morning, make an early start into the bush to see meerkats as they emerge from their burrows. Watch them stand, warming their bellies under the sun — occasionally wobbling over as they drift back to sleep! Then it is time to work up your appetite for breakfast. Follow them through the bush, as they forage for food while others stand sentry watching for eagles.

Phinda Private Reserve near the coast in KwaZulu Natal, is an incredible place for a family safari. There are seven distinct ecosystems so you can encounter a huge variety of animals, including all the Big Five. You can also spot some of the 400 species of birds. Your family can go on tracking walks, open-vehicle drives, scuba diving excursions, canoeing trips and make a visit to the nearby Zulu tribal community. Phinda has five luxury lodges across the reserve and fabulous private family villas called The Homestead.

It only takes a couple of hours to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town. But it’s more fun to turn the journey into a railway adventure, and there are some rather special trains operating the line! For a 24-hour traverse of the Great Karoo, the Blue Train is luxurious and stylish. If you can spare a little longer, the Rovos Rail train takes two days with excursion stops. A ride on Rovos is like stepping back in time and for part of the way, it’s steam hauled.

Your family’s visit to Soweto will be a revelation and a vantage point to the recent history of South Africa. Originally set up in the 1930s as a township during apartheid, Soweto is now a lively city of two-million people, with shopping malls, museums and cultural centres. Your guide will take you to see Nelson Mandela’s home, the famous “matchbox houses” and celebrated buildings like the Regina Mundi Church, each of which is the centre of its own piece of history and modern culture.

One of the world’s top surfing spots is right in the heart of the Garden Route by the sleepy little town of Jeffreys Bay. From May to September the surfing is glorious! Each beach has its amazing spots with names like Supertubes, Kitchen Windows and Boneyard, which has a near perfect break. If you’re daunted by the more challenging spots, you can try Point where the waves are a bit smaller and offer a smooth ride.

In the 1980s, conservationists Dale Parker and Clive Walker gradually bought up 18 ranches around the Palala River in beautiful Limpopo Province. They restored the land and carefully reintroduced animals, including rare black rhinoceros. Now, thirty years later they have created a private reserve teeming with wildlife. For them, conservation is a way of life and a vital part of the safari experience. We can arrange your family to stay in their remote, luxurious lodge and experience conservation in action while enjoying an amazing safari.