Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ded goat or lamb),
morogo
(wild spinach) or
leputshe
(wild pumpkin). For breakfast, you
might be able to try
pathata
(sort of like an English muffin) or
megunya,
also known as fat
cakes. These are little balls of fried dough that are kind of like doughnuts minus the hole
and, depending on your taste, the flavour.
Oh, and don't forget mopane worms. These fat suckers are pulled off mopane trees and
fried into little delicacies - they're tasty and a good source of protein. You might be able
to buy some from ladies selling them by the bag in the Main Mall in Gaborone ; other-
wise, they're pretty common up in Francistown.
Kalahari Cooking
The more challenging environment of the Kalahari means that the San have an extraordin-
ary pantry, including desert plants like
morama,
which produces leguminous pods that
contain edible beans. There is also an immense tuber that contains large quantities of wa-
ter. Other desert delectables include marula fruit, wild plums, berries, tsama melons, wild
cucumbers and honey. There's also a type of edible fungus (grewia flava) related to the
European truffle but now known to the marketing people as the 'Kalahari truffle'.
What You'll Actually Eat
Sadly, most travellers rarely encounter local dishes, not least because self-drivers are usu-
ally also self-caterers. Some top-end safari lodges do make variations on some of the more
conventional Batswana meat and vegetable recipes. In general, however, you'll be dining
on international fare, some of which is quite sumptuous considering the logistical prob-
lems of getting food in and out of remote locations. One plate where local and internation-
al tastes converge is in the local obsession with steaks - Botswana's cattle industry is well
regarded and its steaks are available in restaurants in most cities and larger towns.
Gaborone's Courtyard Restaurant (
Click here
)
is a rare and welcome exception to the
separation of international clientele from local dishes - it serves impala or guinea-fowl
stews among other local dishes.
Otherwise, many hotels offer buffets, and there's always a good range of fruit and ve-
getables. In larger towns you'll even find a selection of Indian and Chinese restaurants.
Drinks
Decent locally made beers include Castle Lager (made under licence from the South
African brewery), St Louis Special Light and Lion Lager; also available are the excellent
Windhoek Lager (from Namibia) and Zambezi Lager (from Zimbabwe).
