|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear fellow traveling families,
Breathtaking South African safaris wowing Quivertree families worldwide!
 | | Up close and personal in South Africa |
Our South African safaris are something special. You get a real up-close and personal experience which does not end with the spectacular wildlife sightings. One of the most popular activities is the sleep-out, where you get to spend the night on a raised platform in the bush. After dinner, it's just you and nature before a ranger collects you in the early morning for a game drive (Two way radios are provided just in case you want to return to camp). With luxury tents overlooking a watering hole, an outdoors, almost in the wild bathtub, a spa and kids' safari activities, this is an experience everyone should get to savour at least once in a lifetime. Add the gourmet meals, intimate settings (only 16 people in the camp) and the incredible level of personal attention and you'll see why this is a fantastic place for families to go.
In this month's newsletter we have a trip report from an Australian group of three familes who have just recently returned from a trip to South Africa, as well as a piece on multi-generational family travel, one of the fastest growing areas of family travel. |
|
A Family Adventure in South Africa - trip report
A group of three Australian families - 6 adults and 6 kids - have just recently returned from a trip to South Africa. Here's a trip report by Neil, one of the 3 dads.
"I feel inspired to write and share the wonderful experience we had in South Africa in December /January 2011-12.
We were 3 families from Australia. This included 6 boys aged 9-13 which I thought would be a challenge. How wrong I was. What a wonderful country to visit and we all had a ball.
First there's the beauty of Cape Town (wow, that Table Mountain is spectacular as it sits right in the heart of the city). Our five days did not seem long enough. There is just so much to do - the mountains and beaches, the boat ride to historic Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent most of his time in prison. Not to mention the winelands of Stellenbosch and lunch in picturesque Franschhoek (culinary capital of South Africa-I am sure) where the French Huguenots first landed in a 1794.
 | | Six Aussie kids at the summit of Table Mountain |
From the beauty of Cape Town to the incredible experience of the private game parks. The boys all still talk about what we saw in the 3 nights we were there. How do you explain the thrill of seeing a pride of lions (and cubs) eating a wildebeest they just killed with blood still running down the sides of their mouths!! And then ..... the next day seeing a cheetah eating an impala he had just killed only meters from us - so surreal. Not to mention the elephants, giraffes and rhinos. Too much to talk about!! And to spend a night out on a raised platform overlooking a watering hole with the sounds of the animals all around us.
In between we spent time just outside the park where we did trout fishing and white water rafting and visited some of the battlefields of the Anglo Boer war (so the boys had their share of historic and cultural activities as well).
Twelve days later we left after having a trip we will never forget... Thanks to Quivertree for not only putting it all together, but for the invaluable advice Philip gave us.
We are already thinking of when next to visit again!"
 | | Early evening at our fantastic safari sleep out |
|
|
Multigenerational Family Travel - not just mom, dad and the kids!
 | | Grandfather Ivan with his grandson Benjy on their Quivertree trip at the Djemaa el Fna in Marrakech |
When people talk about family travel, the assumption is that dad, mom and the kids are the only ones traveling. But these days we are seeing far more grandparents traveling than ever before - either with the whole family, or just with the grandkids and leaving the parents at home.
The fact is people are staying fitter and healthier longer these days. Seventy is the new sixty, sixty is the new fifty, and this means that often people are becoming grandparents during their prime travel years. If there is one thing that grandparents want to do, it is to bond with their family, especially their grandkids, and at Quivertree we know that travel is the ultimate bonding experience.
We see more and more grandparents asking us to plan a trip for them and their families to places as exotic as India and Africa. We see more and more families traveling with their grandparents all over the world - and this is likely to grow exponentially. You don't need to rough it - in many destinations travel is with your own vehicle and driver, and even in the most remote destinations, such as Myanmar or in the Moroccan Sahara, we will always ensure that the accommodation is best in class.
This spring, we have multi-generational families traveling to Turkey, Spain, India and more. These are once in a lifetime, never to be forgotten experiences, and the shared memories will live on forever.
Contact us if you're interested in a multi-generational trip!
 | | Daniel and his grandma on their Quivertree trip to Israel |
|
Notes, tips and observations For all our literary fans, here is the list of Top 10 Travel Books for 2011, according to goodreads.com We still have space available for our exciting Turkey Family Culinary tour in the summer. You can find details on our website at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10552/TurkeyJuly2012-1.pdf
Many of our favorite Quivertree family destinations are featured in the New York Times' list of places to go in 2012.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/travel/45-places-to-go-in-2012.html?pagewanted=all
And here at Quivertree, we recently posted our favorite family travel tips. Here's the link
http://quivertreeworld.com/pdf/Quivertree-Top10-TravelTips.pdf
And finally a few photos that represent the surprises and joys of traveling. First, from South Africa, some signs to show you're really on safari! And then another classic Chinese bathroom sign...
 | | South African road sign |
What do they mean? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Feel free to contact us with any questions at (1800) 235-9941 or (778) 986-6727.
We're here to help you!
Sincerely,
Quivertree Family Expeditions,Inc.
http://quivertreeworld.com 6257 Dunbar St. Vancouver, BC V6N1X3 Canada |
|
|
