Children are usually unanimously wowed by their initial experience on safari. However once the initial amazement is replaced by the new norm of seeing elephants and lions in the wild, we have found that interest levels can start to wane. It is very difficult to predict, we have one daughter who simply can’t get enough game drives in her life, if she had her way she’d have a morning and afternoon game drive every day of her life, whilst her sister tends to lose interest after a couple of drives.

The below was written by Alex, aged 8, who definitely falls into the latter camp. In one particularly brutal research trip, we stayed at 6 different camps in the Mara in 6 days with game drives in each. The hot chocolate and cookies worked wonders getting her up out of bed for early morning game drives, but something else was needed to keep her interested during the drives. Here are Alex's tips on keeping things interesting. I've transcribed Alex's original article (see left), I’m sure she won’t mind that I corrected some spellings…

5 Tips on how to make safaris fun, by Alex (aged 8)

Sometimes safaris get a bit boring, so here are 5 tips on how to make them fun!

1. Tallying – make a tally of all the animals you see. For ages 6+

2. Sketching – draw a sketch of each animal you see. Ages 3+

3. Ask questions about each different animal that you see. Ages 3+

4. Photos – take photos of all the animals. Age 8+

5. Spot and identify – play a game where you get points for each animal that you spot and identify. You make up the rules as you go along.! Ages 4+

Alex taking a tally on safari in Mara North Conservancy

Alex's Tally and Bar Chart