Culinary safari delights
Even eating is an experience on safari. You might find yourself dining beneath a blanket of a million stars, or overlooking a hippo-filled river, or listening to the waves lapping the beach with your toes in the sand. Wherever you are, you’ll rarely eat in the same spot twice and safari chefs endlessly amaze with delicious delights, even in the most exotic or remote of settings. You will be stunned by what can be produced from an ‘ammunition box’ oven. Here are just some of the culinary safari delights waiting for you:
With many camps unfenced, the wildlife is free to wander at will and it’s no surprise to enjoy your lunch with a procession of animals passing by.
Lunch with the elephants at Little Chem Chem, Tarangire, Tanzania
A bush dinner – as it sounds, with everything moved lock-stock-and-barrel into the wilderness – is a safari highlight and something all safari camps will try and include during your stay. Eating in the open, surrounded by the sounds and smells of the bush, is simply wonderful.
Bush dinner set up at Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp
Breakfast in the bush is another safari classic. Solio Lodge in Kenya has got this down to a fine art, with the back of the safari vehicles cleverly kitted out for cooking eggs and bacon on the go.
Breakfast on the go at Solio Lodge, Laikipia, Kenya
Uncharted Africa’s private mobile safaris criss-cross some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in Botswana. Being out in the open is very much the way of things and dining is no exception, with lunch in the shallows of an Okavango Delta channel one of the more unusual settings.
Picnic lunch in the Okavango Delta
If you feel like channelling your inner Lawrence of Arabia then the tea tent at Jack’s Camp should hit the spot. This magnificent Bedouin style tent, adorned with Persian carpets and cushions, is the purveyor of glorious tea time treats to set you up for an afternoon’s wildlife viewing.
The tea tent at Jack’s Camp, Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana
There’s something wonderfully tranquil about eating next to the ocean, and beach-front dining something you’ll find up and down the African coastline.
Supper on the beach at Mnemba Island, Zanzibar
If you are travelling with children then one of the wonderful private safari houses scattered through Southern and East Africa is a great option. Chefs will conjure up food specially for the kids and mealtimes can be taken to suit early bedtimes.
Lunch for the children at Mkombe’s House in the Serengeti, Tanzania
While dining in the bush is likely to be rustic in style, there are more sophisticated settings to be found too. The Cape region is home to an array of luxurious lodge and boutique hotels, with Cape Town itself awash with top class restaurants.
Babel restaurant at Babylonstoren, Cape Winelands, South Africa.
You are never far from food on safari and plenty of places serve up surprising treats in the bush. The mobile pizza van at Chitwa Chitwa is a delight to children and adults alike.
Pizza to go at Chitwa Chitwa, Sabi Sands, South Africa
Who wouldn’t be charmed by sharing breakfast with a Rothschild’s giraffe? Stay at Giraffe Manor, a real Nairobi gem and that’s exactly what you can do.
Breakfast guest at Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya
Lunch on the shallow, sandy ‘flats’ near Alphonse Island in the Seychelles takes the humble BBQ to a new level. An array of cooked meats and salads, plenty of wine and beer all in one of the world’s most pristine ocean environments. Splendid!
Flats lunch at Alphonse Island, Seychelles
Vintage wood panelling and elegant furniture evoke the atmosphere of a bygone era throughout the train carriages on Rovos Rail, nowhere more so than in the dining car where an enthusiastic team of chefs showcase their creative culinary talents.
Dining car Rovos Rail
Altogether different in terms of both luxury and perspective are the dining facilities on Mount Kilimanjaro. While you won’t be eating gourmet food, you will have nourishing, sit-down, hot meals to fuel you up the mountain.
Picnic lunch on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. Summits Africa
There are plenty of opportunities to dine on the water. Tongabezi, just upstream from the Victoria Falls, has several options from cruising on the Zambezi watching the wildlife as you enjoy a picnic lunch ……
Tongabezi boat lunch
…… to a romantic dinner for two on the floating pontoon below the lodge.
Dinner on the floating deck at Tongabezi
What next?
We would be delighted to help you plan a dream holiday including a some of these special culinary safari delights. Our team of experts has travelled widely throughout Africa and the Indian Ocean and can offer expert advice on every type of safari from family and beach holidays to riding and primate safaris. Do get in touch – chatting to people by phone or email is what we do best. We listen, we explain, we answer all sorts of questions even those you didn’t know to ask, and finally we make suggestions. If this is your first time to Africa or your twenty first, we have a team standing by to help make the planning easy and the journey the best ever. Please get in touch whatever stage you’re at.
Camel safari, Kenya, Laikipia, 
Luxury safari accommodation Waterberg, South Africa, 
Hippos on a walking safari, South Luangwa, Zambia,
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