Africa’s Ultimate Safari Dining Destinations in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe

As Africa’s eco-tourism organisation, we are delighted to offer our suggestions for Africa’s Ultimate Safari Dining Destinations. This new bucket list of in-the-bush destination dining experiences is available at Great Plains Conservation’s most iconic luxury safari camps in Botswana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

Ranging from a horseback breakfast in the bush to gourmet food and wine by the watering hole, there’s a choice to suit all tastes. Guests of Great Plains can anticipate exquisite culinary experiences throughout their safari at the Réserve-Collection safari camps, which have also been awarded accreditation by Relais & Châteaux.

With all Great Plains chefs trained in high-end vegan cuisine at the direction of Great Plains’ co-founders Dereck and Beverly Joubert, who follow a plant-based diet themselves, vegans will be exceptionally well catered for, too. The sensational dining experiences include:

The newest property in the Great Plains portfolio, Okavango Explorers Camp, is a six-tent camp located in Botswana’s 160,000-hectare private Selinda Reserve. The abundant water makes the Okavango Delta safari scene genuinely unique, with the extraordinary annual flood through the waterways and channels bringing a cinematic feel to the area. It’s in this water that guests can choose to enjoy an unparalleled sundowner moment – sipping their favourite beverage as the sun sets and listening to the sounds of the African bush, or choose to dine under the stars, alongside the Selinda spillway after a day spent leopard and lion-spotting. Here, diners will watch the colours of the sunset change and reflect on the water around the table moment by moment, accompanied by the sounds of birds flying home to their nests overhead.

At Duba Plains Camp, located on Botswana’s 33,000-acre Duba Plains reserve, one of the most often-asked questions post suppertime is ‘how do we make this at home?’. Thanks to the new ‘Interactive Kitchen’ experience, guests need wonder no more! This makes Duba Plains one of Africa’s Ultimate Safari Dining Destinations!

From the specially built interactive kitchen at the heart of the camp, guests can sit back, watch and learn as world-renowned chefs whip up a gourmet tasting menu with expert wine pairings. Combining international dishes with local touches, the team will talk through the process of creating each delicious dish, tailoring recipes to the individual’s liking.

Deep in the heart of the 13,300-acre Olare Motorogi Conservancy, Mara Plains Camp provides one-of-a-kind luxury and wildlife spotting on the Maasai Mara National Reserve’s northern boundary. Offering total flexibility to guests, the camp’s incredible host team can create bespoke dining experiences based on what they fancy that night using ingredients from the on-site vegetable garden.

Mara Plains Camp is an ideal choice for those looking to celebrate a special occasion, be it group dining, a private dinner at camp or a romantic in-suite meal. The in-suite fine dining set-up allows guests to dine beneath the Kenyan sky and feel a million miles from anywhere and anyone.

Serenely located in the Chyulu Hills, in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, privacy is guaranteed at ol Donyo Lodge in Kenya. The most exhilarating way to start one’s day at ol Donyo Lodge is with a breakfast in the bush on horseback! ol Donyo Lodge is home to an impressive stable of 20 horses, and guests have the unique opportunity to swap the rumble of the engine for the sound of hooves on the grassy plains.

Here, guests will ride through the bush – spotting giraffes and cheetah as they go – before arriving at a delicious breakfast set up, accompanied by birdsong, under the shade of an acacia tree. This breakfast may be far from camp, but the team doesn’t leave anything behind, with freshly baked goods, a hot breakfast and fresh fruit a plenty making for a morning to remember!

At ol Donyo Lodge, adventure-seekers have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eat lunch alongside an elephant herd of big tuskers. Guests will take their seats in the hide where the table is laid out with healthy, locally sourced lunch options. Here, they will watch over the watering hole, genuinely immersed in the wild, where the options of sightings are endless. Diners might be accompanied by giraffes bending awkwardly for their midday drink, resident elephant herds, wildebeest and more. Recent guests even had the honour of seeing cheetahs with cubs as they tucked into their cheese board!

Rounding out our list of Africa’s Ultimate Safari Dining Destinations, no safari should end without enjoying a majestic setting on the banks of Zimbabwe’s Zambezi river. Tembo Plains Camp provides the ultimate wilderness and safari dining experience in Zimbabwe.

Guests of Zimbabwe’s newest camp can now extend their bush adventure with a waterside dinner overlooking the Zambezi, whose power is culturally embedded in the country’s history. As guests are mesmerised by the peacefully flowing water before them, an expert team of chefs will create a mouth-watering array of dishes for them to enjoy by candlelight while reliving the adventures of the preceding day.

For more information, visit our Great Plains Camps and Safari Experiences