Hi, my name is Lisa Reed. I am one of a handful of female professional guides based in the village of Maun in Botswana. I work with Kwando Safaris - one of the few Safari companies in Botswana who accept and welcome families into their camps.

Why a family safari ?

Kwando Safaris believes in dealing with families in a positive way rather than adopting the more conventional approach which is to tolerate the children at a discount and try keep them out the way.

Our positive approach means that we allocate the family a specialist guide trained and keen to deal with families. This means that families have their own private vehicle with their own guide and tracker who will look after them both on game drive and in camp. We also assign staff to handle the children while in camp to allow the parents to get a break as well.

The programs are different for each family based on the ages, sexes and interests of the children. They are not only amused but learn a great deal under Lisa’s expert guidance. We find that the children have an amazing time and get far more out of the safari than any adult can get without detracting from other guests experience.

Lisa will do a junior rangers course with teenagers. This is a scaled down version of the real guides training courses we offer our staff and guests. For the younger children activities like spoor castings, using spotlights, fishing, animal and bush identification, greeting card making out of natural materials etc.. The staff also do things like plat the hair of the girls in the traditional way. In essence the kids are either busy or asleep. (Insert sleeping pic here)

Obviously there are some conditions and restrictions that apply:

• Children between 6 - 12 years old are welcomed at full rate, all year round but must take a private vehicle or use the family safaris guides.
• Younger children are accepted with exclusive camp bookings or at certain times of the green season (again a private vehicle is required) (our high season is 1 July to 31 October).
• This service is subject to availability.
• Children are more work and often break things in camp and require extra staff to keep them amused and therefore are charged full rate – even if sharing a tent with parents, as we have a finite bed capacity for each camp which we do not exceed.
• We can make up to triples in our tents.
• Parents often split up with children ie. father plus child and mother plus child.

First ever malaria tablet designed just for kids.
Safer, more effective malaria protection for families travelling to Africa

Malarone has now been launched in the UK in a children's formulation and is the first ever malaria tablet designed just for kids. It is also licenced in the USA, Denmark and also has become increasingly available in Europe.

Children's formulation of Malarone - key benefits include:

o Small, easy to swallow tablets that are film coated and therefore don't taste bitter
o Tablets can be crushed for small children
o Simple, once daily doasage starting just the day before travel
o Tablets can be discontinued just 7 days after leaving
o 98% efficacy against Plasmodium falciparum, the most serious form of malaria
o Extremely low risk of side effects Despite the growth of travel to Africa generally, many families have held back from going there on account of fear of malaria or reluctance to expose their children to possible side-effects of medication. The launch of a children`s formulation of Malarone will open up new opportunities for families wishing to travel to Africa, enabling them to do so with much greater safety and peace of mind.

So this is not only great news for families but also for Kwando Safaris who operates special family safaris. Young visitors to Kwando Safaris' Botswana properties have been pleasantly surprised by this safari programme put in place last year to ensure they get the most out of their wilderness experience. Lisa Reed, Kwando's specialist children's guide designs programmes tailored to the ages and interests of younger guests. Initial contact with the children begins six weeks prior to travel when they receive a parcel from Kwando Safaris in Botswana containing informative material and information about their safari holiday activity programme. Once in camp, Lisa organises all their daily activities. Apart from Lisa Reed, this special family safari package also includes the use of a private safari vehicle with tracker for the family. Botswana offers parents the opportunity to introduce their children to a safari in a safe yet truly wild African destination.

For more info please go to www.fleetstreetclinic.com or telephone us on +44 20 7353 5678 for an appointment (London based)