Accommodation for Children | Kids welcome at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Unlike many other luxury African game reserves, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a place where children are gladly welcomed. With a range of fun activities and accommodation especially suited to kids, this is a place where your children will feel stimulated, happy and above all, at home.

A visit to Twalu is one that is highly educational, but without the boredom of sitting in a stuffy classroom. While on game drives and bush walks, children will be able to learn fascinating lessons about wildlife, birdlife and vegetation from our knowledgeable rangers. However, we know that mom and dad are bound to need some solitude during long and languid Tswalu afternoons, so to keep the tiny tots occupied, children will have access to a wealth of colouring-in books and crayons.

Because Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is in a malaria-free area, there is no need to worry about preventative malaria medication for yourself or your little ones.

Children are welcome at both the Motse and Tarkuni. In addition babysitting facilities are available for adults seeking peace and solitude.

Tswalu Kalahari Reserve offers special discounted rates for families travelling with children. In addition, children aged 12 and under sharing with adults stay free of charge. Children aged 12 and over sharing with adults will be accommodated at 50% of the rack rate.

Our visit to Tswalu
written by Nicola (5 years old)

We went to the airleport, we flied in the aeroplane. It was fun. It landed at the holiday. Me, daddy and Andrew was around the swimming pool. We swimmed  we lied around the pool. It was big and beautiful and nice. Every morning and every night , we went for a game drive. We see animals, we saw giraffe, cheetah – it was far and close, lion (that was the goodest!), baboon, impala, springbuck, waterbuck (it has a circle on its bum), lots of kudu. We had a sundowner , we watched the sun go down, we were eating. We eated biltong and muffins.

The lodge was very very very nice because there was nice things. To eat and there was a shop there. There was a kicklies room with painting, an exercise machine and a TV. We watched movies and KTV.

The room was lovely with the fairy beds because of the mozzie nets and we saw insects and animals by our room. I saw a grasshopper and a stick insect.

The people were very nice to us because they talked very nicely and they helped us.

My favourite thing at Tswalu was the kiddies room and the swimming pool was the best, and go on a game drive. I would love to go back.

The Tswalu Wonderland of Games - November 2004

"Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is without doubt one of the most child-friendly game reserves in southern Africa," stated Lyrene Zimmermen confidently. Lyrene, who heads up the marketing for Tswalu, is frequently badgered by her own children to take them on return trips. "There are two separate camps for visitors," she explained. "One, called Motse, can accommodate about 20 people and the other, Tarkuni, is destined for exclusive use of groups from 8-14 people. Both are sublime for children."

Sometimes travelling or vacationing with children can be very stressful for parents. Children do not have a long attention span, they get tired and bored very quickly - and all parents know what a nightmare a cranky child can be! Tswalu staff have discovered a myriad ways of keeping children occupied, fascinated by what they are doing and seeing, hugely excited with all the different activities and so ecstatic that a return trip to Tswalu becomes a hugely anticipated event.

The Tswalu wonderland of games Anneline Esterhuysen finds enormous fulfillment in playing with the children."We get the children together and organise a vast variety of games - and I think we have every possible game under the sun here with all the relevant equipment, mini-golf, archery, horse riding, bouncing balls, chess, battleships, countless board games, the list is endless! But some of the favourites are playing on the dunes, or finger painting, or barbecuing breadsticks and marshmallows." And of course there is all the space in the world to allow them to run wild and scream, shout and laugh as much and as loudly as they want without disturbing anyone!!!

"Last Easter we painted eggs and hid them in mock weavers` nests which we hung on the shrubs for the children to find," Anneline recalled. "It was hilarious! The excitement was palpable and the kids couldn't stop laughing and shouting they were so thrilled. And then of course we forgot where we had hung them and had trouble distinguishing the real thing from our own nests!"

Finger painting is another highly popular activity. "Oh we use everything!" exclaimed Anneline, of course, much to the kids' delight. "For instance sometimes we trace a child's body profile on paper and then stick 'clothes' on - paper, leaves, flowers, paint or crayon - we give children total creative freedom - and then of course they can take their painting home with them!

Mobiles are made too - with all the traditional bits and pieces of Kalahari life and environment, even thorns and horns!

Not only do children experience an unparalleled freedom and voyage of continuing discovery, but their imagination and creativity are significantly stimulated. Released from the cooped up confines of urban environments, many of them for the first time discover the delight of open spaces, thrilling to a slide down the dunes, coming into contact with wild animals on the game drives. And while the children enjoy themselves with these wonderful new experiences, parents are free to relax, knowing their children are in perfect safety, cared for and entertained - while they, for once, can enjoy a truly carefree vacation, participating in leisure activities so often hampered or even made impossible by the need to look after children. ": Truly, Tswalu is a children's paradise," said Lyrene, "but even more so, it is a haven of peace and pleasure for their parents!"