If you think you gonna lose weight, forget it.
Food. Not only is food a necessity in our lives, it is also something that we seem to bemost worried about when we are to book a safari. Images of starvation and deathunfortunately still reflect the general state of Africa and this is most likelythe reason for tourists to ask what they will eat during their Africa trip.Rest assured, you will be surprised what you are about to encounter and I canguarantee you that you are going to consume more calories than staying at home.
Food variety
The fact that a big part of the African population has a rather monotonous diet, doesnot mean that the continent has nothing to offer. On the contrary: there aremany areas in Africa that are very fertile and that are very capable ofproducing not only good quantities but also very good qualities of a wide rangeof products.
The cooks that are employed on your camping trip or at the lodge where you aregoing to stay are in most cases well trained. Not only are these cooks welltrained, they also have access to most items which are unaffordable for the menin the street. Not so strange if you realize that the tourism industry is oneof the mayor income sources for African countries and that the demands fromtourists are high.
This can also create problems. Since the demands from tourists are high, it often meansthat the best fresh products are taken out of the supermarkets first (by thesupermarket staff) for tourists and that the dented, bruised and stainedproducts are left behind for the local supermarket visitors.
What you will eat on safari
Of course it depends on the kind of safari what the quantity and quality of your foodwill be. On an overland safari the food is normally not as decadent as in afive star lodge, although the quality in almost all cases is very good. To giveyou an idea about what to expect when you visit a star-rated lodge in Africa, Igive you an average food breakdown that you can expect during the day.
Breakfast ( 06.00h)
The eating machine inside yourself is fired up by presenting you eggs, serials,fruit-juices, sausages, bacon, coffee/tea, freshly baked bread, yoghurts.
Coffee break during your morning drive (09.00h)
To make sure that the flame keeps burning you can chose from coffee and tea and avariety of biscuits or freshly baked scones.
Lunch (12.00h)
It is nearing midday and since by now you are ‘almost starving’ you get served warmor cold dishes that are accompanied by salads, pastas and desserts like cake orcheese. Of course you can finish off with coffee, tea, juices or alcoholic drinks.Eat enough since you have to wait another 3,5 hours before you get somethingagain!
High-Noon-Tea (15.30h)
To make sure that you will not go out with an empty stomach (imagine that!), you haveto possibility to stuff yourself once more with fruits, cakes, pies, cheesesand again juices, coffee, tea or alcoholic drinks. (I know that piece of cakeis too big, but you are on a holiday so eat it. Can you feel it getting stuckin your esophagus? No wonder, your stomach is still full….)
Sundowner drinks (18.30h)
During the best part of the day, when the sun is setting, you are being served(alcoholic)drinks of your choice. And wait, what is that noise? A rumblingstomach?
Snacks will get unpacked and you can fill up the holes that start to appear inyour stomach.
Dinner (20.00h)
To make sure you get through the night, a sumptuous dinner is being served. Oftenstarters and desserts make your dinner a three-course one. Oops, and don’tforget to top of the day with a little night-cap.
Your problem on safari should not be what you are going to eat, but how much you aregoing to eat. The most heard complaint is therefore the enormous amounts offood and the impossibility to resist it. We are not even talking about the factthat during your safari you sit 90% of the day…….
My tip: resist the temptations of eating too much. A bloated feeling gives youbad eyesight and that is something you need on every safari!
See the blog for more tips and advices.
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