Family Adventure Awaits at Great Plains’ Young Explorers Program

Great Plains, a tourism conservation organization founded by National Geographic filmmakers and explorers-in-residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert, debuted its new family safari offerings. Family travelers will love the Young Explorers Program in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

“The Young Explorers Program at Great Plains is very dear to my heart,” said Dereck Joubert. “We can all remember the liberating freedom, as kids, when we could run about outside all day long, making stuff from sticks, catching tadpoles, and climbing trees. As children, we explore, we discover, we get lost in our adventures, but we always return wiser and more enlightened. Safaris with kids are much the same, and with our Young Explorer program, we hope to ignite what will become a lifelong passion for wildlife, conservation and – above all – adventure!”

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Available for kids 6 and up, the experience begins at check-in, with Young Explorers receiving a kit including an educational booklet, a floppy hat/cap, buff, stickers, quizzes, certificate and a journal in which to capture memories of a lifetime. The activity book is full of games; diary entries; exciting information; animal tracks; a safari journal; and facts on flora, fauna and the night sky constellations. Young guests pair with a trained guide to host, teach and care for them with their families throughout their stay.

Great Plains offers seven Botswanan camps, including water-based camps at Duba Explorers Camp, Duba Plains Camp and Sitatunga Private Island. There’s also Okavango Explorers Camp, Selinda Camp, Selinda Explorers Camp and Zarafa Camp. Five camps in Kenya include Mara Expedition Camp, Mara Nyika Camp, Mara Plains Camp, Mara Toto Tree Camp and ol Donyo Lodge. Check out Mpala Jena Camp and Tembo Plains Camp in Zimbabwe.

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“We aim to develop new naturalists, to encourage those that have already started on this journey and to provide a safe place for that outdoor experience that is unavailable to so many today. At the same time, for every family we host, we set aside some money to host local children in our Conservation Camps, so this naturalist journey is shared locally. The bonds that are re-established on safari, in nature, go far beyond those we have at home. These regenerative moments make a lifetime of new family memories together, and Great Plains would like to facilitate these memories for you,” continued Joubert.