{"id":13375,"date":"2026-08-26T10:02:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/?p=13375"},"modified":"2026-08-31T16:55:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T15:55:55","slug":"family-time-at-garonga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/2026\/08\/26\/family-time-at-garonga\/","title":{"rendered":"Family time at Garonga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A family holiday for me is all about creating shared memories \u2014 stories to recount around the dinner table for years to come. Our family has plenty of these already, but as the children got older, I realised we hadn’t made any recent safari memories, and certainly none from a private game reserve. At nearly 18 and 21, I knew they were old enough not just to appreciate what an incredible experience this would be, but to remember every detail of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the planning began \u2014 and the group grew. My brother and his children had never experienced the African continent, so we invited them along too. Daisy’s (our daughter’s) boyfriend joined as well. We were now a group of eight, and I was tour leader!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our destination was Garonga \u2014 and not just Garonga, but MCH Luxury Camp at Garonga. As a group of eight, we were able to enjoy it on an exclusive-use basis, and what a treat that was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arriving into Hoedspruit airport, I could feel the excitement building. Even the airport itself \u2014 safari vehicles lined up to collect their guests \u2014 reminds you just how special and unique this experience is. On the hour’s drive to Garonga we started spotting animals almost immediately, and the photo opportunities began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On arrival, I could already sense a quiet awe settling over my family. A warm welcome \u2014 cool towels and refreshing drinks \u2014 made us feel instantly at home, before we were taken straight to our tents for a group induction. The sheer size of them, coupled with the beautiful interiors, luxe feel and breathtaking views, stunned even the teens into silence! Then came a flurry of excitement as everyone discovered the outdoor shower, the roll-top bath, and the giant bed that \u2014 after an overnight flight \u2014 was the most welcome sight imaginable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sleep would have to wait, though: lunch was calling, followed by our first afternoon game drive. Fresh, colourful salads, soft warm homemade bread, chicken skewers and homemade lemonade were laid out for us \u2014 and every meal that followed turned out to be a feast we couldn’t wait to dive into. Sweet Caroline, our chef, spoiled us with endlessly delicious food, catering for one very fussy eater with real ease and discretion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, though, we were ready for our first game drive, and the excitement was building. We’d asked to all travel together on one vehicle \u2014 which would ordinarily seat only six \u2014 and it was arranged without a fuss. Watching my family experience, for some of them, their very first open-air game drive was one of the true highlights of the trip for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colin, our tracker, and Bongi, our guide, would spend the next four days with us making sure we came away with plenty of memories \u2014 and they did not disappoint. On that very first drive, just five minutes from camp, we came across a pride of lions with four one-month-old cubs. What a start! Over the following days we were treated to buffalo, elephant, both black and white rhino (one with a youngster in tow), lions and their cubs, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, and the elusive wild dog plus much much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One morning we walked down to the river to watch hippo \u2014 a real highlight \u2014 and stopped there for coffee. Only two minutes after we’d climbed back into the vehicle, three wild dogs came charging past. Pure exhilaration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MCH offers so much, and with four nights ahead of us, we knew we’d have time to try it all. We indulged in wonderful massages in the massage sala, made full use of the outdoor showers and baths, and Daisy and Ashley took things further still with a night at the sleep-out deck. We all joined them for sundowners before leaving them to their drinks, dinner, and a beautifully set-up evening. The wind howled through the night, but they stayed put \u2014 and came away with incredible memories, not least of a rhino wandering past at dusk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our final experience belonged to Ashley: a microlight flight. We all gathered on the airstrip to watch him take off for a 30-minute scenic flight over the reserve. Breathtaking and exhilarating, with the game looking entirely different from above \u2014 he was, in fact, the only one of us to spot crocodile, and only from the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As our time at Garonga drew to a close, our last game drive and last meal were made extra special: a surprise bush dinner at Bernie’s brand-new Bush Pub. We were one of the first groups ever to experience it, and our photo was taken to start the wall that will one day be covered in guests’ faces. The braai was loaded with steak, chicken, boerewors and more, the fire was roaring, and the drinks were flowing. It was a truly special night \u2014 capped off with an impromptu rendition of Sweet Caroline for our very own sweet Caroline, as we climbed back onto the vehicle, much to the staff’s amusement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we drove off, I knew our time at Garonga had come to an end. The next morning, after one final game drive and a hearty breakfast, we said our goodbyes to the wonderful MCH team who had looked after us so beautifully. I knew they were responsible for giving us memories that would last a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already, my family were telling me this was the best holiday ever \u2014 and we still had Johannesburg and Zanzibar ahead of us. The perfect bush-and-beach combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.garonga.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A family holiday for me is all about creating shared memories \u2014 stories to recount around the dinner table for years to come. Our family…<\/p>\n

Continue readingFamily time at Garonga<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":13376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,53,122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-garonga","category-safari","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13375"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13380,"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13375\/revisions\/13380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ethosmarketing.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}