Single Parent Holidays

Photo: Pandiyan on Flickr

I never thought I’d lose a kid to a crocodile. We were gliding through the smooth, vast expanse of the Okavango Delta, stretching out in our little mokoro in the warm lull of the afternoon sun. When quick as a flash a crocodile shot out of the water. Snap! Its huge jaws wide open and in a single scaly second they clamped shut.

‘Cool!’ shouted Harry, poking his head out over the side of the boat. Open mouthed in horror, I grabbed him in a vice like grip and pulled him away from the side.

‘A fish’ called out our guide with all the nonchalance of someone who was used to punting through crocodile infested waters. ‘She caught a fish.’ ‘Don’t worry. It’s the hippos we should be afraid of.’

I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be reassuring. But Harry was certainly impressed. And, as far as our first venture into family adventure holidays was concerned, so far it was all very exciting.

Botswana has always called out to me. There’s a quietness in its game reserves, far away from the touristy trampling grounds of Tanzania and Kenya. The vast expanse of bush and endless horizons are shot through with exotic birdlife amidst the papyrus in the floodplains. Most importantly, as any mum takes care to know, the country feels safe. Botswana is the home of Alexander McCall’s big hearted tales of single, inquisitive women in the No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and reputedly the safest country in Africa. Give or take the odd crocodile, of course.

So when I split from my husband just over a year ago, the first thing I decided to do was book a trip to Botswana for me and my son Harry. The words ‘Single parent holidays‘ are enough to strike fear in the heart of any newly single mum. They sound slightly desperate and bedraggled. Like a bad hangover from those 18-30 holidays no one over the age of 20 would ever dream of going on.

But I sucked up my pride and signed on the dotted line. Thirteen months later, we were out deep in the African bush, alone with our guide, our comfy camp and the sounds of wilderness, miles away from anywhere, utterly alone.

Maybe single parent holidays aren’t too bad after all.

This article was written by Thom Sanders on Behalf of The Adventure Company who offer Single Parent Holidays and a wide selection of family adventure holidays.

This Post By Daniel Ruyter

Daniel Ruyter has written 347 posts in this blog.

Single dad, founder & editor of four sites and newly-published author of dating rules book, Memoirs of a Dating Dad. Daniel lives in Florida with his two sons and Fiancee, JenB.