Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa What to eat while in SA?

Lt. Dan,
I have had tick fever a half dozen times but its easily cured..I have been devoured by the Tetsi fly on hundreds of ocassions, but so far no malaria, just a couple of infected bites that I cured. Most of the camp staff and PHs in Tanzania have Malaria...

I would think with your experience that you would know that Africa is the mother of most deseases..

I have spent about 45 days a year in Africa for the last 40 years, sometimes 60 and as much as 120 days on ocassion..I know McDonalds is an American business, thats not the point, who cares its still a bad place to eat in the 3rd world..I have seen a lot of E-Coli in Africa, mostly in Tanzania therefore I am carfull as to what I eat, and recommend to my clients..

Please keep in mind that a case of food poisoning can ruin and expensive safari and I try to prevent that by suggesting caution. Again you may eat whatever and wherever you wish, I prefer to have my clients use caution, have a good safari and come home with good news.

Tick bite fever is simply gonna happen to some percentage of people. Africa residents don't get it a second time because it's allowed to run it's course and after that you will not get it again. The main trouble for non-residents is that they take doxy when they get home and that kills the fever instead of your own immune system. Then next time you go you can get it again. Once it's allowed to run it's course through your own system your done with it. Just like chicken pox, mumps, measles etc. One time done.

You can prevent that first bite with some precautions but still there will be some percentage of folks that return home and get this. The good news is that it's about a 10 day incubation so you usually won't have it disrupt you're trip. You get it when you get home. No all good news, but it goes away like a cold and then your safe forever more! I was also told by my South African family doctor that frequent exposure each year continues to build the immunity much like a booster shot. It is possible that you could let it run it's course and not be exposed for 10 years then get bit again and be sick from it again. The immunity from many of the insect bites seems to require a few bites now and then to keep that immunity level at proper strength to fight it off. I have picked off hundreds of ticks in my life and only had the fever a single time. Much like anyone else living here in the bush.

On a long 14-21 day trip..... well then you have the chance to be sick while hunting. If it's any help there have been about 1 in 30 people that I know have had Bush tick fever when they got home. You will know to expect the fever when you see about a 3/8" circular mostly painless sore that really looks like a cigarette burn, your fever is coming. Thinking back to my first and only sickness with bush tick fever I was about 6-7 days of feeling crappy and having night sweats and headaches. But that was a cheap price to pay for immunity for life now.

A couple Amoxicillin or Doxicycline will kill Tick fever over night. Most folks don't even know they have it! they think they have the flu. I believe I may be immune to tick fever as I have not had it in many years..Its certainly not a concern to me. Malaria is always a concern, but RSA is not much of a Malaria risk, at least in the Southern part of the country and actually I am told that they have very few cases in the North these days?..

i love biltong its amazing jerky on roids

I didn't enjoy the warthog roasted on a spit. Tasted strongly of fish.

Springbok roast was the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. Unfortunately Ooma Bessie died 2 years ago and Mom never got the recipe from her. I think some of it was lost in translation when Mom was helping her in the kitchen (I guess not many safari clients help out in the kitchen because they really got a kick out of it).

That is sound advice from Ray........always take along some antibiotics specific for GI infections, plus Immodium or Lomotil and watch what you eat and drink. In camp you'll be fine........in town you are better off going to as good a restaurant as you can afford. On the coast in RSA, the seafood is great and as JB said the lamb is fantastic......the beef is very hit and miss, especially if you are used to grain fed beef.

Blair
this is not a fair comment about sa beef . local beef farmers export their beef to the EU. ask your super 14 rugby players about sa beef, they have made no secret about their love for sa beef. common guys s africa has got a lot of problems, their beef is not one of them.

I have to say that I have never had a decent steak in Africa. Experience was so poor that I gave up trying.

Not a lot of experience in better restraunts in SA though.

JPK

The best steak I have ever had was in South Africa at The guest house we overnighted at just out of Joburg. It is the one everyone reccomended Afton House. The steak was cooked to perfection, had great marbling and seasoning, salad, veggies, scalloped potatoes and all for just $20.

Randy

BigD,

My wife and I really like the lamb and fresh fruit in RSA...jim

I was there a month or so ago, and didnt have a bad meal in the ten days. BILTONG ROCKS. Too bad they won't let you bring it home(USA).While I was there I had
Springbok.. awesome
Kudu..very very good venison
Crocodile.. yes its kinda like chicken but better.
Warthog.. very gamey tasting, still not horrible
Giraffe..the best meat I ever ate. (We were hand feeding them hours before,not the one we ate though)
and last but not least Castle Lager with a side of BILTONG!!

Have a meal of bredie and posha...washed down with Tusker.

Kudu steaks were really great. Gemsbok was also good. Like adam76 said, I also was in Namibia for 10 days and did not have a bad meal.

Thanks for all the reply's.It is funny how things blow up from a simple question .I leave May 12 and look forward to the steak and seafood

We ate everything that walked on hooves while we were there plus including crocodile tail (really good, somewhat like white chicken) and wart hog, which I didn't care for as well as our domestic fattened-up farm-raised piggies. I'm not saying it was bad, but simply not the taste I'm used to with eggs.

South African beer is great stuff. Their wines are inexpensive and really good. Enough of this and you don't care what you eat.

What not to try: Native beer. It was black, stringy, flat, and it tasted like I would imagine used motor oil to taste. Perhaps not even that good.

Eland was popular chow when we were there.

I don't recall eating any of the big cats, elephant, hyena, rhino, hippo, giraffe, any of the ape-critters or any snakes. But then I didn't make inquiries either. I also didn't eat any Dairy Queens, Big Macs, or KFC.

Marula is a good after-dinner liqueur. The elephants would agree because they go kinda zonkers on Marula fruit.

Mampoor (spelling) is a great before dinner or ice-breaker drink. It'll put a fire right in the old beer locker.

Eat and drink everything except the native beer.