SANParks.org Forums

Sam, Feb is high time for mosquitoes in the abovementioned camps. You will have to take great care in keeping them off your little boy.

It was exactly one of these two camps where we've picked up our malaria case in 2003.

Bush braai minimum age I think is 12.

Hi sammylou

I suggest you speak to a doctor/pharmacist about the safety of malaria prophylaxes for children under 5. I may be wrong but I think it is not recommended. In that case your only option is, as wildtuinman says, to prevent your child from being bitten.

As a rule, most medication can be given to children older than 2 years. Just remember no prophylaxis is 100% effective, so keep a eye out for flu symptoms after you leave. Also malaria treatment is much easier for 2 year old's and above.

I would not give young children any medicines without a long consult with one or more doctors... Just try to prevent any bites, and if coming home and the child is feverish go to the hospital and see what they do...

Hi All

Looking for some advice from people who have gone to the kruger with their babies?

I have a 6 month old and we are going to kruger in 2 weeks time, staying in Marloth though.

Hi dotdan and welcome,
I think the biggest by far concern is the Malaria risk.
You will find lots of info and advicehere

Hi there dotdan, just make sure you don't drive too far in a day -- babies often snooze in the car and then are raring to go when you are dead tired from being in the car all day !
Lots of fluids for the heat, (means extra nappies !) hat for when you get out at picnic spots, remember the sand can be hot too, so choose where you put them down to crawl - a picnic blanket / tarp comes in handy.
It also helps if you have an area in the car where they can safely crawl around and play too. Enjoy.
Little ones are often fascinated by the birds and animals and are no trouble to travel with.

Hi Karin

Your itinerary sounds perfect.
Just a few bits of advice, make sure you have enough nappies/formula etc. which you will need for the whole trip as you may not find what you need at the shops, or else they are the wrong size :-)

For the mozzies, take a mozzie net that fits over the crib for sleeping.
Also you get electronic mozzie machines that plug into the electricity, we always use them, very effective. Put it on a while before bed time and switch off in the morning.
You can buy these at any supermarket in SA - around R40.00. Just make sure you have 2 refills for the unit. Washing with citronella soap also helps.

I also agree with plan to schedule your drives around daytime sleeps and stop at the picnic sites etc to break the trip.

Hi siriol, and welcome to the forums.

your kids will love knp, and there are things like sunset drives that they can experience. However no kids under 12 are allowed on the walking trails. I have been visiting for years, and am taking my child on a 3 night trail next year. Your oldest can do a morning trail.

Enjoy.

Hi All,

Just want to know, If we can take Infants to Kruger Park ??

Hi,my son was 6 weeks old on his first trip, now at 4mounths old and we are going again!!!!

thanks for the reply

Thats great. I guess when we are with Infants we should drive less and stay in few camps without moving around too much.

Suggest you go now as this is the time that you are least likely to get malaria and also its not too hot for travelling

That stat alone is why we didn't take our kids until they were 30months or older.
Our smallest is 13 weeks now - and unfortunately that means the only way we'll get to KNP in the next 2 years is if we leave him with grandma for a weekend.

To me its just not worth the risk to expose an infant to even the remote possibility of being infected.
When they're a bit older they can communicate with you and tell you when they feel bad and their immune systems are stronger.

But thats just my personal opinion and its everyone's own choice - don't let other people make the choice for you.

Hey to all the parents out there!

My wife and I are expecting and we still want to be able to go the park right. The little one is due late Feb and we are going back to SA over Christmas. My folks stay in Nellies (Nelspruit) so its a hop skip and jump to the Park.

There are two factors that worry me. One is the incredible heat over that period and of course the malaria that is a common threat during the summer months. Has any one brought a ten month old to the park over summer and, honestly has it been cruizie or a constant mission? I am lucky enough to (if need be) be able to leave bub with gran in Nellies as we will only be there for about 4 nights so that is a definate option.

So, to the nice folks who have been down this road, What should I do?

Also note the following:
When we go to the park we only drive max 4 to 5 hours in a day (when hot), not including night and early morning drives. This is because we like to explore look outs, have braai's at picnic spots and explore the camps.
Thanks mom's and dad's, grannies and grandpa's