I consulted with our ranger team at Wild Coast Lodge to see if an exception might be possible.
Their concerns with children under 3 years old is primarily safety and comfort. For example the park can get quite dusty, and the roads tend be bumpy in many places. Although seats in the safari jeep have seat-belts, a child of 2.5 years old would probably sit on a parents lap for much of a 3 hour game drive. In addition, they are concerned about a child's experience in the event of an elephant charging the vehicle.
We do have animals in and around the lodge, including monkeys, wild boar, birdlife and smaller critters and our rangers would be happy to spend time showing and teaching children about them. Many families who have visited us with small children have taken turns in doing game drives.
However, I understand your enthusiasm, so if you're still keen to take the toddler on a game drive, I can arrange an exclusive vehicle for your group for the game drives (I have described the dynamics of the private game drives below) and would be grateful if you sign an indemnity form at the lodge.
Personally, I would suggest you do the first game drive without the youngest child, and see if you're comfortable with the game drive dynamics.
However please note that children 1 year and below will not be allowed on the game drive for safety concerns and this is a strict policy that we maintain.