We’re on safari … in the Netherlands | Netherlands holidays

It takes a moment for context to overtake common sense. The thunder we think we’re hearing is actually the roar from the pack of lions that live just behind our accommodation. We all fall silent, absorbing one of the primal sounds of nature.

It may seem like an unusual place for a safari – close to the modest city of Tilburg and 20 miles west of industrial Eindhoven – but this is a safari holiday Netherlands-style, where you don’t have to fly to Africa to get close to our planet’s most impressive mammals.

The 120-hectare resort is a group of interconnected sites, comprising a hotel, lodges, chalets and cottages overlooking several open plains full of wildlife; the safari park, which guests can explore on foot through a connecting gate from the resort; a lakeside resort with a beach, more lodges and a campsite for all budgets; and the Speelland theme park – with indoor and outdoor rides, slides and games.

The resort has strong conservation credentials, with many species that are designated “vulnerable” or “extinct in the wild” protected here as part of a Europe-wide network of more than 300 zoos, aquariums and parks, including Chester Zoo in the UK. The rangers tell us that all the animals living in Beekse Bergen were born here or moved to the park from another zoo; none were taken from the wild.

The Dutch have a particular, tailored approach to family holidays, designing thoughtfully for children but without compromising on aesthetic and luxurious touches for adults, and Beekse Bergen is no exception – it’s a hit with our seven-and 11-year-olds, and us parents, too. Custom-made bunk beds in one room, a picture window with views of the animals while soaking in the bath in another: attention to detail and lots to keep the kids entertained.

For anyone staying, there is free unlimited access to the enormous safari park by car, bus or – our favourite – walking trails. Unlike a single costly trip to a regular zoo, we can make repeat visits to enjoy as many of the 100-plus animal species as we can, and at our own pace.

Highlights include a magnificent Amur (Siberian) tiger, freestyling ring-tailed lemurs shrieking close above our heads, blustering rhinos locking horns over food, and the quiet grace of the African elephant families.

Small “ferry” boats with guided tours (in Dutch) take passengers from zone to zone, via lakes where we get a rare sighting of two iridescent kingfishers – a personal highlight among the more spectacular beasts. By the end of our stay, a battered map covered in ballpoint pen ticks is hard evidence of two children brimming with memories.

We love the birds of prey display, with vultures, eagles, owls and storks swooping low over our heads, catching food thrown for them in mid-air. There are scheduled lion-feeding sessions and we stumble across the seals’ mealtime, laughing as the three blubbery mammals wriggle comically out of the lake and on to the sand.

For an extra €17.50 (£15) per person, there is also the option of a 45-minute “game drive” with a guide – ours is the excellent Eva – to get up close and personal, away from the main car trails. We meet alpha male giraffe Jim and his harem, and as the herd licks the roof of our cruiser with their giant tongues, our amazed seven-year-old clicks her camera over and over again.

It’s easy to spend a week or more here, exploring every corner of the complex, ticking off animals in the safari park, swimming in the indoor pool and riding bikes (available to hire on site) to the playgrounds. Evenings are for indoor bowling, eating at one of multiple restaurants or relaxing back in the lodge.

We visit the Speelland theme park a couple of times – a brilliantly wholesome outdoor and indoor activity centre with fairground-style rides, pedalos in the lake, go-karts and bouncy castles.

We pop into nearby Tilburg (15 minutes by car; 25 minutes on a bike) for takeaway pizza, grocery shopping and a day perusing the shops and markets, visiting a traditional Dutch pancake house for lunch. There’s also time for a day trip to Amsterdam (less than 90 minutes by train from Tilburg), where we wander over the canal bridges, meander along beautiful streets with vintage antique stores and hop on and off the tram. Our youngest decides she wants to move to the pretty Dutch capital so she can ride her bike to work every day.

Back at the park, we split our stay between the hotel and the resort. Our first few days are in one of the hotel’s Savanne rooms, geared to guests who want to eat at the resort’s many à la carte, buffet or fine dining restaurants.

We then move to a Savanne lodge at the “top” of the safari resort, with a view of the bigger “Masai Mara plain”. The detached lodges are more spacious with full kitchens, ideal for self-catering families. Some even have saunas. While there is a small grocery shop on site, nearby Tilburg has plenty of supermarkets to stock up at.

Our tip would be to budget for the significant additional cost of breakfast, lunch and dinner if you stay at the hotel. While the veranda view of the plain from our first hotel room is spectacular, the additional cost of eating out makes the self-catering lodge much more affordable.

Is there a specific age where our fascination with animals dims, before being reignited as a parent? I would say for any child pre-secondary school – before the self-conscious cynicism and underwhelmed eye-rolls kick in – Beekse Bergen is a remarkable family holiday, especially for those interested in the natural world.

“A safari in the Netherlands?” your friends will ask, intrigued and maybe a little sceptical: “How does that work?” As ever, with Dutch family vacations, it just does.

The trip was provided by Little Clogs Holidays and Beekse Bergen safari resort. A seven-night lodge stay for two adults and two children starts at €1,731 (£1,500), including tourist taxes