Ready To Taste A Safari “Sundowner” Treat?
This is a delicious safari staple, which I will explain in a moment – because one thing I’ve been asked a lot is “what do you eat on a safari?”
Here’s the answer, but first let’s see what the “locals” eat:
As this Giraffe proved, we weren’t the only ones eating well in Africa: we watched Elephants, Hippos, Rhinos and more grazing, foraging for food, and in one case, fighting over it – watch this wild video of two alpha male Lions having a “food fight” right in front of us!
That was literally twenty feet from our Jeep! Luckily, we didn’t have to fight over our food as we settled into the incredible Duma Tau Lodge on the Linyanti River Delta of Botswana:
Here is the view from the Duma Tau resort, with the Linyanti river delta in front of you…while you eat on the deck, you can watch Elephants and Hippos cross the river – this elephant shows you just how deep the water is!
A few Hippos watched us closely, and at the end of the clip you will see one rise up out of the water as if showing off:
OK, enough of the wild life, this is a food blog so you want to know: what do you eat on a safari?
Let’s begin with breakfast at Duma Tau:
How about eggs over easy, some English bacon, a grilled tomato, sausage and a potato gratin?
As you can see, they prepare very traditional meals: like this grilled chicken with beef skewers and a vegetable slaw:
It’s important to remember that we were in northern Botswana – there are no grocery stores nearby – supplies are either flown in by planes that have weight restrictions, or driven across roads that aren’t always paved…but it was all delicious!
This salad includes shaved carrots, avocado, grains and grilled chicken: very flavorful, and the kind of food that sits well, since right after lunch you head back out for another 3+ hour safari! As you meet up in the morning there are yogurts and granola, and int he afternoon you can grab a terrific snack like this mini-cured salmon slider:
After tracking animals and seeing so much wildlife on the afternoon safari, we’d have our daily “sundowner”, where the expert Guides park in a safe area and put out a spread of drinks and this deliciously unique snack to enjoy!
Time For Some “Biltong!”
The best part of every safari day was when our Guides found a place to pull over and serve up this delicious treat – “Biltong!”
The front of the Jeep would hold lots of food and drink, like “biltong”, which unlike American beef jerky is cut into thicker strips, cured with vinegar, air-dried raw without cooking, and has a much more savory, tender texture. Chewy and delicious!
Stunning Safari Sunsets!
We’d enjoy our snacks and drinks – everything from beer to wine and mixed drinks – while the gorgeous sun set around us…
Back at the lodge, we’d gather around a fire pit where snacks were served:
On our last night in Botswana, we started our meal with a delicious squash soup with cool yogurt swirls:
The Chef came out throughout dinner – at Duma Tau, she was a local Chef who oversaw all of the food in camp from morning to night – the menu had multiple items to choose from, and were always delicious and filling, like this Venison preparation…
Local wine was always served – “Pinotage” a local grape – just a wonderful way to end an exciting day of animal watching! As we ate, the firepit provided a wonderful ambiance – and helped light the surrounding area because there were, after all, wild animals all around us!
I shared a “safari slider” that I had in the Okavango Delta of Botswana – check out the recipe here:
And we launched our 19-day safari adventure at Singita Boulders in South Africa – and our first night started this way:
This is called a “Boma” – grilled meat and vegetables at a massive outdoor grill…and after we ate we were entertained with a traditional dance performance:
We loved the performances that celebrated the local history and culture…see our entire meal at Singita Boulders in South Africa by clicking on my story here:
And I you want more Hippos, here is a story I shared on my main blog about our “hike ‘n’ seek” encounter with more!
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Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Burgers, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Fine Dining, Food, Food Travel, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food, Wine, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
What a trip! Yummy food. 😊
You enjoyed some great traditional Afrikaans foods during your safari.
Robbie, it was something I tried to learn more about and plan to dig into South African cuisine soon to expand my culinary palate!
👍🏻
You made me miss Botswana! Safari food is pretty fantastic. And I love sundowners!!!
Yes, so many unique flavors and those sundowners were so much fun – thanks for the comment and for reading!
Tourists bring in money and more tourists next year if they have enjoyed their trip 🙂 ! Food forms a large part of that enjoyment . . . methinks there is a lot of logistics going on behind the scenes . . .
You had some great food during your trip, no doubt about that! I remember some of the unusual foods we tried in Kenya, including ‘Smoked Impala’, and an ‘Ostrich egg omelette’.
Shared on Twitter. Best wishes, Pete.
Pete, I would have tried both of those! Thanks for the note and the share!