School holidays come and go four times a year and whenever you want to treat your kids and treat them to something really special every once in a while. Well, today I bring you the best school holiday gift for the whole family! Usually, family trips focus on a destination that is kid-friendly but can be a bit overwhelming for parents. East Africa is NOT such a destination - it offers a lot for everyone, from your elementary school boy to his grandmother.
East Africa offers a variety of activities for all ages. Many people think of a typical hunting trip, watching the animals from a hunting vehicle. When parents plan a vacation for their little one, spending the day in the car doesn't seem appealing. But there is so much more! At Lake Naivasha, you can cycle through Hells Gate National Park. In Maasai Mara and Serengeti, you can take a hot air balloon ride. Many motels have swimming pools to break up a busy day of games. You can head to the stunning
views to watch the sunset from almost any spot you can find in the area. Hiking is available in central Kenya, Lake Naivasha, and Lake Eyasi in Tanzania. Or maybe a boat trip on Lake Baringo, Lake Victoria, Lake Kivu (in Rwanda), or on the Nile in Uganda. At the headwaters of the Nile in Jinja, Uganda, teenagers can go whitewater rafting while the elderly relax with lunch. What if they are bored? What if they need a toilet? Oh, it could just be a disaster. Fake! There are ways to make driving games fun and entertaining with scavenger hunts or games or have them fill out a field guide if they're a bit older. This will keep them engaged and interested in finding the next animal. You can have a prize for the most puzzling discovery of the day. And anyway, the animals you see are lions, elephants, and giraffes! One family took their two children, aged 3 and 5, on a safari, and they had instructions prepared that they might have to cut things short if the kids get messy. But that never happened. The kids were delighted to see the animals and lasted all day!
Meeting the locals and learning how they live is a great experience for all generations. But in East Africa, there are a lot of problems and life is really different from what we are used to in the West. We have seen a profound impact on teenagers, especially when they interact with kids of the same age who live in the slums or in a Maasai village. Visiting community organizations and seeing their projects can inspire young people to start thinking about how they can make a difference in this world.