“How could you possibly take a child to Africa?” The long flights don’t exactly make it an appealing idea. But if you can get past the flight, the experience is quite literally life changing. And don’t worry, we have plenty of tips to make your international flight smooth sailing with little people. As a person who was fortunate to travel to Africa as a child, I can offer first-hand experience.
Hi, my name is Alex Tett. I am David Tett’s daughter and I have been travelling to Africa since I was six years old. I can’t exactly speak for my parents’ experience on the plane going to Africa, but I do vividly remember sleeping for 17 hours straight on the way home. The experience is such an invigorating one, hence my epically long slumber on the plane ride home, and gave me a sense of worldliness that is irreplaceable.
Worldliness, to me as a child, was the understanding that people can live in many environments and the resulting variety of culture, all extraordinarily different from my own, is beautiful. Not only did I gain appreciation for the people, but the ecosystem around me was fascinating and all-consuming. It furthered my gratitude and awe for the natural world. In turn, I understood the beauty of life on a new level and felt quite small. Understanding how small you really are in this great big world is incredibly humbling. But how did this make me a better person?
When I returned to life as usual in California, USA, nothing felt the same. I was riddled with curiosities of why we drive on the right side of the road, why our food was different, how people spoke different languages, and how did our music get to sounding like it does? In short, I had big questions. Questions I never would have asked had I not seen Africa. I became aware of the environment around me.
So, I invite you to give your child, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and young people, in your life, the opportunity to ask big questions. I invite you to gift them the feeling of environmental awareness.
Follow along for our tips, tricks, and travel hacks for taking kids on safari. We have solutions from breaking up the travel on the way there with a stop in Europe, to entertainment ideas on the flight, to the best camps for kids where they soak up the magic of Africa.