Embarking on a family safari is exciting and exhilarating and watching your children’s first encounter with wildlife is a wonderful experience. There are many layers to a safari beyond pure wildlife viewing with opportunities to delve deeper and learn about local communities, culture, and conservation.  A conservation-focused holiday in Africa enables you get to know the work of rangers, scientists, and conservationists and is a hugely rewarding.

Africa has faced the challenge of poaching for decades, leaving some species on the brink of extinction, with rhino being one of the worst affected.  In this blog, we focus on two conservancies in Kenya’s Laikipia region and Kwandwe Private Reserve in South Africa, all of which are pioneers in conservation. Both South Africa and Kenya are favourites among families.

Laikipia Region – Kenya

Kenya’s famous Masai Mara is a paradise for wildlife enthusiasts and a staple in many family itineraries. Combing this with a stay in Laikipia makes for an exciting and contrasting family holiday. Laikipia is one of Kenya’s most vital wildlife landscapes and is home to 43% of Kenya’s critically endangered eastern black rhino population and 80% of its southern white rhinos.  Several conservancies in this region have helped increase the rhino population and protect them from poaching such as Lewa Wildlife conservancy and Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

A stay at Lewa House or Sirikoi Lodge offers the opportunity to expand your knowledge about the rhino conservation efforts in this area which has UNESCO World Heritage status, partly thanks to antipoaching efforts. Visit the headquarters to learn about the cutting-edge monitoring technology and how they engage the surrounding community to help secure the future of a thriving wildlife habitat.

Feeding rhino at Lewa House

Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Home to the very last northern white rhino in the world, Ol Pejeta has dedicated 24-hour security, a 7000 acre enclosure, and a nutritious diet. With so few northern white rhinos remaining the decision was made to introduce a southern white male rhino in the hope of producing offspring. It is also home to Kenya’s largest population of black rhino.

Kicheche Laikipia is a superb camp on Ol Pejeta – guests can visit the endangered species sanctuary and the anti-poaching dog team and have the chance to evade their highly skilled sniffer dogs on a unique game of hide and seek. This is a great way to get the whole family to learn and is so much fun. 25% of the revenue from Kicheche Laikipia gets channelled straight back into conservation and community initiatives.

Playing hide and seek with the anti poaching tracker dogs at Ol Pejeta

Kwandwe Private Game Reserve – South Africa

Venturing to South Africa, the focus turns to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, an exceptional option for a family safari and a paragon for community development and conservation.

Kwandwe goes beyond traditional conservation, actively restoring and rewilding land damaged by intense farmland practices and contributing to habitat expansion. This reserve epitomises the multifaceted approach needed to sustain our planet’s unique biodiversity.

Planting spekboom at Kwandwe Private Game Reserve

Kwandwe Ecca Lodge on the Kwandwe Private Game Reserve is one of our favourite family lodges. It offers a diverse range of initiatives; get your hands dirty planting Spekboom to offset your carbon footprint or join a three night, four day Rhino Conservation Safari where you assist the experts with installing AI-enabled smart collars, planting microchips in the horns and notching the ears for future identification. Beyond this families can witness anti-poaching efforts in action and become part of the incredible story of reintroducing over 7000 wild animals.

Robyn with a black rhino calf at Kwandwe Private Game Reserve

A family conservation safari in Africa is not just an adventure; it’s an opportunity to become part of a narrative that extends far beyond the savannah. This rich experience will leave you and your family with a profound understanding of the delicate dance between wildlife and protecting the land and the people whose home it is.

View our sample family itinerary to South Africa here. It includes time in Cape Town, The Winelands and Kwandwe Private Game Reserve. Ask our experts about incorporating conservation experiences in your safari itinerary.

What next?

We would be delighted to help you plan a holiday encompassing any of the stays and trips mentioned here. Our team of experts has travelled widely throughout Africa and can offer expert advice  from family and beach holidays to city escapes and riding and primate safaris. Do get in touch – chatting to people by phone or email is what we do best. We listen, we explain, we answer all sorts of questions even those you didn’t know to ask, and finally, we make suggestions. If this is your first time in Africa or your twenty first, we have a team standing by to help make the planning easy and the journey the best ever. Please get in touch whatever stage you’re at.

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