Imagine a safari as a typical dinner. The landscape is the appetizer; the animals are the main meal; the lodging is the desert. It’s a lovely meal and very satisfying in every way. But what makes an African safari a true gourmet experience are the accompanying sauces. The unique and subtle flavors added to enhance the whole meal. Yvette, our senior consultant at African Portfolio shares her favorite safari sauces as it were. Those little moments that make an African safari a gourmet meal to remember.
Yvette’s Safari Sauces ….

• Riding in an open vehicle, or in the back of a pickup truck. I’ve just never outgrown the thrill of going fast enough to make my hair blow in the wind. It reminds me of my youth, when we’d ride on the dirt roads on the family farm in South Africa. I do recommend wearing sun glasses to avoid catching insects with your eyeballs.
• Sitting around open fires. It’s the perfect way to end a perfect day on safari. There’s nothing like the fragrant smoke of a real wood fire, no charcoal fuel smells to be discerned! Keeping it going by poking around the embers and adding wood is just great fun.
• Sleeping out under the stars. There’s nothing like the African sky at night. My favorite way to spend the night in the bush is with just a mosquito net in between me and the stars. Sleeping in the open in Africa has some drawbacks if you ignore all the rules and don’t sleep with a mosquito net. I once got a spider bite that left me with a full body rash and fever for 2 days after falling asleep out on the deck of my tent. But that hasn’t put me off, plus it makes for a great story!
• Skinny-dipping in a private plunge pool at night. Swimming under moonlight in your birthday suit is one of the great advantages of luxury accommodation, but not always highlighted in the brochure! Usually only an option at the most expensive lodges, but so worth it. A close second would be the outdoor bathtubs and showers, they are more common and slightly more affordable.
• Swimming in a natural river. Of course you need to watch out for the possibility of meeting a croc or hippo, but swimming in a cool, clear river is just a wonderful feeling.
• Shopping outside. Whether it’s for souvenirs or toothpaste, I think it’s so much more fun shopping in a place where everyone sells their goods outside in a market, rather than inside a shop.

Also See: Yvette’s Favorite safari Lodges l Contact Us