If you have tweens and teens and are planning a family holiday at Zebula Accommodation, we want to assure you that the idea of taking kids on safari is not counterintuitive. We get that their expectations of a bush break may not be the same as yours. After the early morning game drive, (which the teens may choose to miss, but you were up anyway, thanks to the delightful dawn chorus), there are a lot of hours left in the day. With our family-friendly to-do list, we are hoping that iPhones and earphones will be stowed away, (except of course for family selfies).
Young kids adore the bush – their curiosity and excitement simply cannot be contained – for the first 5 minutes. Teenagers, however, are a completely different animal. After 5 minutes they are wondering what there is to do in the middle of nowhere. These peculiar mammals will scout out where they can get the best network coverage. (After all, Instagram fans cannot be kept waiting). Technically, your Zebula accommodation is not in the middle of nowhere – it is at the foot of the stunning Waterberg Mountain range in Limpopo.
But let's get real. We are not that naïve. We do realise we are probably being totally unreasonable to expect your tweens and teens to part with their smartphones. So surprise them by quoting, ‘Did you know, there’s an app for that?’ Meet your kids halfway and encourage them to download the following apps which will make exploring the bush all the more exciting and educational.
Staying on track
One of the best ways to explore the bush while at Zebula accommodation is on foot – preferably with a human guide to complement the one on a handheld device. It is common knowledge that animal tracks and spoor give insight into a hidden world of animals. Understanding these markings is a wonderful tool for learning about this secret life of the wild around you. It is unlikely that you are a trained tracker, but with itrack Southern Africa, available on the app store, you can aspire to be one. For both Android and iOS, the itrack wildlife app will make identifying animal footprints easy – turning your kids into amateur trackers overnight. And if by chance you happen to get stranded after dark in the bush, and Bear Grylls is nowhere to be found, never fear! The free digital field compass app your teen downloaded, and the ingenious built-in torch on their phone will guide you all safely back to your Zebula accommodation. As a wonderful distraction on your moonlight walk back, use the Star Walk app, also available on Android and iOS. Simply point your phone up at the sky and the app will map out the constellations and point out the stars, planets and satellites. You may find yourself unwittingly harbouring young astrologers in the making.Twitching and tweeting
The one skill we know teenagers have mastered is their ability to sit quietly for hours on end staring at their phone and not say a word. So get your kids itching to go twitching - (you might need to explain to them what twitching is) –by downloading the Sasol eBirds of Southern Africa app. With images as well as recorded bird calls to identify those natural tweets around you, there is no doubt your tweens and teens will embrace the hobby of birdwatching. As they learn and have fun at the same time – you are killing 2 birds with one stone. And don’t be surprised if a pair of binoculars shows up on your teen’s Christmas wish list.Sharing is caring
When it comes to Instagram, many teens are obsessed with uploading and sharing insta-content. So encourage them in a more constructive way with the Africa:Live app, winner of the ‘Best Travel App in Africa’ competition. This interactive allows them to share real-time wildlife sightings while also discovering wildlife sightings that have been spotted by nearby safari goers and guides. Conservation, thanks to time spent at Zebula accommodation, is now at their fingertips, encouraging a younger generation to become activists for change in protecting the future of our wildlife. As you pack your bags in eager anticipation of a family holiday at Zebula accommodation, we guarantee that the entire family will be on board. How can they not be when technology and the bush now coincide in perfect harmony?The post Zebula Accommodation- Tweens and Teens on Safari appeared first on RnR.
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