This is part of a series in which I’ll describe our time on tour with Intrepid. For 22 days, we joined the “Cape Town to Vic Falls: Basix” tour, along with three crew members and nine trip mates.
One of the most frequent questions that we were asked about our trip with Intrepid was about the food – what did we eat? I can easily say that we ate better than we had anticipated, especially considering the remoteness of some of our camps! We had a dedicated cook with us for the duration of our trip, although we switched about 3/4 of the way through, who fed us hot and delicious meals every day. The variety of dishes and innovativeness of our cooks was impressive and had us leaving our tour a few pounds heavier than we had started.
One of the more random places we stopped to eat was in the parking lot of the immigration office on the border of Namibia and Botswana!
This was a rare instance where we had a picnic table at which to eat!
Breakfast
Every morning after waking up and packing up our tent, we were treated to a hot breakfast at camp. Kettles on the fire gave us hot water for coffee or tea and the usual fare of bread, granola, jam, peanut butter, and fruit were out and waiting for us. As we sipped our morning beverage, Peter or Mike would be cooking over a two-burner camp stove to provide us with something hot. Each morning was a different combination, but we had a fairly normal rotation of eggs (either scrambled or fried), bacon, baked beans, crepes, French toast and/or regular toast. The hot meal got us moving in the morning and provided us with a bit of energy to start the day.
Homemade crepes for breakfast were a treat, especially at bush camp!
This breakfast was fried eggs, bacon, and baked beans on toast… and of course the necessary cup of coffee!
Lunch
Our schedule and location for lunches varied depending on the activity that we had planned for the day. Sometimes, lunch would be on the side of the road wherever our truck stopped during the drive. Other times, we would eat at camp and one time, even set up in the parking lot of immigration on the Namibia/Botswana borders. Lunch was the most basic and quick of the meals that we ate, typically consisting of cold sandwiches, veggie salads, fruit, juice, and perhaps some leftovers from dinner the previous evening. These meals were quick and easy, allowing us to eat and then move on to whatever needed to be done next. On occasion, we would have a hot lunch if we had been at camp for a while, but most of our midday meals were eaten quickly before progressing on.
Lunches were cold cuts, vegetables, cheese, fruit, and other quick and easy items.
On driving days, we would simply pull over on the side of a road wherever we found a tree to provide shade.
Snacks
Although three meals per day were provided by Intrepid, snacks were on our own. On the days that we had long drives, we would often stop at a gas station, grocery store, or city for a short break to refuel and restock our truck. This gave us the opportunity to purchase snacks at various places throughout southern Africa. Many times, we would buy a bag of something and share with our group, giving everyone the opportunity to try something different. A few of the more popular snacks among our group were biltong (similar to jerky but better, coming in a variety of wild game), flavored popcorn and chips, and ice cream treats. Driving through the desert would get hot, so we relished the stops where we could buy ice cream sandwiches, drumsticks, and hand-dipped cones along the way.
We frequently passed around bags of chips and popcorn for everyone to share on the truck.
This was a larger-than-normal haul of snacks at a pit stop, but we knew that we would be sharing and that they would last us for a few days!
Dinner
Dinner was my favorite meal provided by Intrepid, as the variety of dishes and experience of Peter and Mike gave us a feast each evening. Every night was a delicious surprise, ranging from pastas to steaks to local fare. There were always a handful of dishes so everyone could pick and choose what they wanted to eat, but every meal contained a meat, starch, vegetable, and vegetarian dish. Although I wish I could list them all here, I know that would bore most of you so I’ll just list a few of our favorites. Chicken and vegetable curry with rice (far and away our favorite, so much that our group requested it from Peter again on his last night with us); lambchops with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables; homemade pumpkin soup; spaghetti with a thick meat and vegetable sauce; beef stew with fried potatoes and salad; and breaded fish with rice and vegetables.
Jon’s favorite dinner on our trip was lamb chops cooked over the fire and accompanied by potatoes and vegetables.
Breaded fish was on the menu for dinner at Etosha National Park in Namibia.
As you can surely tell, we ate some wonderful meals in some incredible settings while on our Intrepid trip. We looked forward to each breakfast, lunch, and dinner from Peter and Mike and left our trip full and satisfied with what we had eaten. I only wish that I had gotten a few recipes for our favorites so we could try to recreate them at home!
This was a typical scene at dinnertime: balancing a plate of food on our knees with a headlamp around our neck in preparation for dark.
To learn more about our time on tour with Intrepid, read the other posts in this series:
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Your comments brought back memories. We travelled Intrepid Botswana – Vic Falls – Joburg last year and have just booked Intrepid Cape Town – Namibia – Vic Falls for the coming summer. Cannot wait. Camping is the way to go. Thank you for an insight into what we can expect.
The tour was easily one of the best things we did during our almost-year-long trip!! I fell in love with Africa and the Intrepid trip had a lot to do with that. The Cape Town-Namibia-Vic Falls route was amazing – a little bit of everything from wildlife, remote scenery, and local people. I would do it again in a heartbeat! Enjoy your trip!