For the past years and decades, tourism has been believed to be for the old people who would leave the kids at home. However today’s tourism contrasts with the past, the youngsters have turned to be the most participants in tourism, so ambitious to seeing wildlife, encountering them in the real wild and learning more about them. It is a more wonderful time for a child when he/she spends time with the wild animals having fun with them and more learning about their behaviors and characters. A family travelling to Africa will have a thrilling close-up encounter that will help them go home with a renewed understanding of nature and the importance of conservation.
This has helped to promote tourism since people, are believed to conserve what they love, love what they understand and at the end of it all understand what they are taught, all people in the family, young and old should participate in tourism for better understanding, greater and memorable experience.
The big five
These were named because they were notoriously the hardest animals in Africa to hunt, these five had fewer natural predators, they were hard to track and they could also be very dangerous if ever wounded or cornered. The big five include the elephants, buffaloes, rhinos, lions and leopard found in most African national parks such as Serengeti national park in Tanzania and Kruger national park in South Africa.
Here the family encounters these animals and learns about their behaviors, feeding habits and how they demonstrate their roles. The big five are mostly seen in the open savannah grass lands during game drives, all family members of all ages enjoy these games since there is no age limits.
The big cats
The big cat family includes the lions, tiger, leopard, cheetah, and the jaguar can easily be seen in Namibia in the Etosha national park which is known for classic game viewing and great predators. The area also has a great environment for kids because it is totally malaria-free as well as being almost endlessly sunny a visit to Afri -Cat also part of the trip and adds to the final satisfaction. These animals are known to be tough but they have been habituated in that they are sociable with people which are so interesting to the kids as they play with the cubs.
Chimpanzees and monkeys
The chimpanzees are the close relatives to human beings sharing 99% of human genes. Chimpanzees can be found in the tropical rain forests of East Africa such as kibale forest national park in Uganda and nyungwe forest national park in Rwanda. Also, the habituated chimpanzees are in the sweet waters Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kenya and the Ngamba islands in Uganda for orphaned chimpanzees which are habituated there. Concerning monkeys, they are close to humans especially when they are still young. Monkeys are so friendly to people especially the young ones allowing people to carry them and take photographs, they can be found in the tropical rain forests of Africa.
Tall giraffes
This is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant because of the tallest nick and legs. Kids are generally fascinated by giraffes because of how tall they are, how long their necks are, how awkwardly they manoeuvre themselves to drink and how they only have seven vertebrae just like humans.
Giraffes are found in the terrestrial parks of Africa which include giraffe manor in Kenya, Etosha national park in Namibia, selous game reserve in Tanzania and Private Kruger reserve in South Africa. Giraffes are herbivorous animals feeding on acacia trees which the browse with their tall necks, they are stubborn in that they can stretch the neck and reach where people are picking some staffs on the tables and anything near.
The Wildebeest Migration
This takes place in East Africa as hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras follow their natural instincts and journey across the vast plains of East Africa. This happens in the two of Africa’s epic wildlife areas of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park before entering Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. It is a natural cycle movement which happens all year round with many different and exciting stages in it, these animals travel for around 1800 miles and people are always interested in seeing this happen with the hungry prides of lion following closely in their tracks in the hope of catching a weak stray. The thrilling predator versus prey interaction makes for incredible safari watching enjoyed by all family members of all ages.
Gorilla Safaris
For families with teenagers of 15 years and above, taking a gorilla safari in Uganda or Rwanda is the best adventure to take in Africa. This adventure involves hikes into the misty forests of either Bwindi or Virunga to search for the mountain gorillas, the world’s largest great apes.
In conclusion, there are many wildlife encounters in the wild which provide memorable experiences especially for the children; travelers should not miss out the ones listed above and more others for the great and memorable experiences.
