Our Director of Tours and Marketing Alison Nolting in Botswana – November 2012
Alison Nolting in Botswana.
Visiting with Wilderness Safaris representative Yvonne, at Kings Pool in Linyanti.
Our very own Alison has just returned from a wonderful trip where she not only saw Pula and her week old leopard cub at Mombo, but also she had the pleasure of sampling many tasty food delights. The culinary delights featured from Jao, Vumbura and Mombo that can be sampled when traveling on our 11 Day Premier Wing Safari to Botswana – for more information, visit our website: http://www.africa-adventure.com/safari/11_day_signature_wing_safari_to_botswana_premier_camps
The team at Jao will go out of the way to giving you an incredible dining and hospitality experience. Getting your feet wet for a surprise champagne breakfast in the wilderness is certainly something to write home about after a morning activity!
There’s nothing like a good breakfast in the bush to start off the day and the setting a t Jao is perfect for Cindy Swart, the high -energy, bubbly executive chef. A sampling of menus included the 4:00pm High Tea of spring rolls, melt – in- your mouth quiches, tartlets, and divine fudge (yum!) right before setting off on a boating excursion through the waterways.
Brunch at Vumbura is always a treat, with a buffet of fresh and healthy options coming out of the splendid kitchen. Vumbura Plains Camp comprises two separate seven -roomed North and South camps, each with its own raised dining, loun ge and bar area tucked beneath a canopy of cool, shady, indigenous trees. The sister camp is the delightful Little Vumbura – an oasis island retreat!
The dining deck at Mombo overlooks the floodplains. The view is nothing short of spectacular! Kenny the chef cooked up some dream menu items. High tea included ostrich meatballs on sticks and mini chicken pot pies. Had surprise sundowners with fried bream. A dinner menu consisted of a choice of starter of cream corn soup or a salmon gravlax; followed by a combo platter of Chicken Wellington and Kudu with a peppercorn sauce. One of my favorite desserts was a Banana Sorbet. Breakfast included a basket of still warm freshly baked passion fruit muffins, each in their own paper parcel.
One of the dining experiences at Mombo (be there on a Monday night!) is dinner in the Boma – an unforgettable experience for guests with entertainment put on by the whole camp staff with singing and dancing and storytelling – a highlight for me is watching the characters
transform from daytime jobs to night-time performers! A huge appetite is needed for the spread that is on display. The staple menu item, served in a three -legged-iron pot, is Seswaa, a savory Botswana beef stew which tasted delicious with added spices of curry powder, ginger, and chutney. Other dishes on a Boma night may include a kudu casserole, couscous, pumpkin, cream spinach crepes, local ground maize meal with tomatoes and onion. Enjoy the delicious Cape Brandy Tart for dessert.
Pula found a perfect den- a hollowed out tree trunk to hid her new born cub Alison does leave this thought- what does Pula have on her dinner plans today to ensure that her young cub is going to survive?
