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Hannah, our four year old, finds remarkable delight in running up to us, crying 'Mommy, Daddy, look what I found!”, a sun bright smile across her face. By now we’ve learnt to expect some form of crawling creature, her favourite being shongololos. Georgia, our two-year-old, would be toddling behind her chanting “lolo…lolo”. The pitiable animal would be diagnosed as “not feeling well” and would summarily be put to bed, where it would be nurtured to recovery…or inevitable demise. If you peek into their toy collection, you’ll find most of the same objects as in any young child’s gatherings - stuffed animals, toy farm animals and wildlife figurines. How many picture books are filled with animal stories? From The Wizard of Oz and The Jungle Book to The Chronicles of Narnia, kids love to read about wildlife, particularly those with imaginary powers of speech. The children’s’ viewing on television is filled with talking animals, dancing dinosaurs, singing cats and dogs. Even your DVD collection will probably include The Lion King, Ice Age or Shrek. The lion may be king of the jungle, but even the shongololo can reign in every kid's heart. It stands to reason then, that if you offer them an opportunity to get close to real animals, it will be one of the greatest pleasures you can afford them. Apart from being close to nature, our children need exercise, fresh air and the chance to see the world through a perspective other than their play station or doll collection. If you are living in Cape Town, or perhaps visiting our beautiful city, one of the most enjoyable day trips or weekend excursions for families is Aquila Private Game Reserve. So, on a gorgeous, somewhat breezy day in late August, we all hopped in the car with one suitcase to share between the four of us. The only extras were two balls and two teddy bears, two colouring books and crayons - and it only took us a meagre three hours to leave the house. The bewilderment over how it can possibly take so long when you deliberately packed so little, quickly forgotten as we pass the Kraaifontein turnoff, headed for Paarl. At less than two hours from Cape Town, Aquila is one of the closest big five reserves. The 130km drive will take you past Paarl, through the Huguenot tunnel, past Worcester, De Doorns and through the Hex River Valley. We decide to take the alternative route to the toll road and the tunnel, over Du Toitskloof Pass on the R101 between Paarl and Worcester. This road adds only 11 km to the route and is entirely worth it, as it provides beautiful views of Paarl from the one side, and Worcester and the Berg River Valley on the other. Approximately 30km after De Doorns and about 10km before Touws River, we take the R46 turnoff to Ceres. 3 km on we find Aquila’s welcoming gate on our left. We arrive just in time for lunch and we are all ravenous. The spacious, high ceilinged restaurant was built from natural materials found on the reserve. In keeping with the architecture on game reserves the building has and African character with large fireplaces and is the ideal setting for the excellent buffet meals they serve. These are prepared by an internationally acclaimed chef and traditional meals are offered as well as the standard fare. The girls were both delighted with their roasted chicken and salad (which of course included pasta, their favourite), while my husband Carl and I decided on a scrumptious beef stew, still sipping on the locally produced sparkling wine we received on arrival. After tasty cheese and crackers, we are escorted to our chalet. We are staying in one of Aquila’s five Premier luxury chalets. These are all privately situated and have great views across the reserve. We are told that the buffalo often graze in the reeds below our deck. These chalets have been built into the hillside with its natural rock featuring in the bathrooms and outdoor showers. They are constructed from wood, stone and thatch and all have fans, air conditioners and fireplaces. The en-suite bathrooms are all unique, with twin hand basins, a bath and toilet. Browns, beige and taupes are highlighted by fine percale white linen and decadent duvets, offering us the space we need to relax and unwind. | 
