“Traditionally, a campfire is the focal point of an African community, where people exchange stories and traditions. This tradition continues on an African safari, where guests gather around a campfire before or after dinner to swap stories and reflect on their day in the bush,” according to African Safaris.
It was hunter’s heaven for me. Surrounded by landscape reminiscent of one of my favorite ecosystems in the US, the western, high desert; my very first African animal, the bizarrely beautiful Vaal rhebok, cooling in an ice chest; and watching my Professional Hunter (PH) Arnold Claassen of African Select Hunting Safaris and ranch worker, Henry, preparing the fire for a South African cookout, also known as braai.
Fire, as the agent for removing dead growth to make way for new green shoots, is essential for African herbivores. Enclosed by stones or metal it is a catalyst for warmth, cooking, and social interactions, and thus an integral part of the lives of native Africans and visitors alike. Attending my first braai, celebrating my first successful African hunt, was nothing short of magical; though I did not realize it at the time, it would be only the first of many such events.
Walking a short distance from the landowner’s home, I turned slowly in all directions absorbing the wonderful vistas of the Karoo region of South Africa’s Eastern Cape. Just then Arnold gave a shout that lunch was ready. Seated on the patio near the braai’s grill, I again took in the scene, and breathed deeply of the arid air, and the aroma of the German-esque sausages and lamb chops. The meal provided the marvelous capstone for my first encounter with the centrality of fire as a catalyst of fellowship in Africa.
This would not be the last time, on my first safari, for an experience with the significance of open-fire cooking, with the next coming a few days later in the main lodge of my host-outfitter, Blaauwkrantz Safaris. A wonderful setting in itself, I watched, drink in hand, as apprentice PH, Gerald Evert, worked his magic using the huge indoor grill, loaded with wild game sausages, lamb chops, and a pot full of stewed vegetables. As with my first encounter in the Karoo, the aromas escaping the fire set my stomach gurgling, and my mouth watering; it also provided the perfect setting for listening and contributing to the reviews of the day’s events by all the hunters in residence.
Those first encounters with the culture of African fires occurred during the cooler autumn weather of the Southern Hemisphere. Less than two years later, I would find myself traveling through drought-struck Namibia with Jamy Traut Hunting Safaris, to the bone-dry Kaokoland region during the height of summer, with mid-morning temperatures reaching over 40°C (100°F) in the shade. I wondered if I would again find myself entranced by a braai or firepit, given the incredible heat and dryness. Spoiler alert: the answer is yes.
I sipped on my sundowner and lazily watched my PH Kabous Grünschloss, and tracker, Kapetja setting up our end-of-safari braai, complete with an overlook of the spectacular Namib desert. Lazy is a very appropriate descriptor of me, given that my two new friends did not let me lift a piece of wood, or ice chest, only my drink. Like my first safari, I reflected on the incredible adventure on which I’d been for the last week. During our hunting days, we’d taken three amazing beasts included on my long list of coveted animals. As with all three, the first — a beautiful, old, Damara springbok ram, with well-broomed horns — fell within a few yards after a single, 70-yard shot from my MG Arms Ultralight in 7mm Remington Magnum, stoked with handloads topped with Hornady 162 gr ELD-X bullets. Next, a teeth-and-hooves-marked Hartmann’s mountain zebra stallion, an old battler, stumbled and collapsed from a shot taken at over 340 yards with the Hornady ELD-X entering just behind the onside shoulder and lodging against the opposite shoulder.
The springbok and zebra fulfilled long-held daydreams. The final animal taken on my safari fulfilled a longing never imagined as achievable. Kabous’ whispered words mimicked those read over-and-over in African hunting tales: “He’s in the tree.” Breathing deeply, and squeezing the trigger took only a few seconds. I did not hear the Hornady ELD-X hit the big tom, and the sound of the thump from the leopard falling from the branch seemed to take a lifetime to reach our blind. The search for the big tom after he ran for 20 yards into the bush before falling, seemed even longer. As I lounged in the camp chair, watching the grilling of the eland loins from a previous hunter, I marveled yet again how fire causes memories to stream back into a hunter’s consciousness during every African adventure.
A place my wife, Frances, and I call home, and the setting of my book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique is Zambeze Delta Safaris’ Coutada 11 (C-11). In the middle of the Mozambique backcountry, made accessible by light planes and helicopters, C-11 is awash with game animals, birds, insects, reptiles and plant life. It is also overflowing with the kind of warm fellowship that the best outfitters stage manage. Whether around the dining table, or in the open-air lounge, or in the hunting vehicles, Mark Haldane and his PHs and staff give every visitor the opportunity for a delightful encounter with wild Africa.
My hunting adventures in C-11 included bagging a lovely sable and waterbuck, again taken with my MG Arms 7mm Remington Magnum, firing the same ELD-X loaded ammunition as used on my Namibia adventure. One of the major components producing the magic that is the Zambeze Delta Safaris concession, is the time centered around the braai and firepit. But for sake of full-disclosure, I must share our very first experience in our home-away-from-home. Let me set the scene. Our time in wild Africa was my wife Frances’ first trip to this wonderful continent. She is a seasoned and adventurous traveler with more than 30 countries under her belt, and a zest leading her to dining on everything from fried insects to spicy pig’s brains. However, since we were spending weeks in a hunting camp she’d never visited, and would eat many, many meals of game meat, she wondered whether she would be living off the peanut butter crackers she’d brought.
Before leaving our home in Georgia, I assured Frances repeatedly that every meal would be wonderful, because that was my experience from all of my safaris. Fast forward to our first night, and we were enjoying our drinks around the firepit while watching the resident biologist, Willem Briers-Louw and helper, James, stirring a concoction in a large pan over the open grill. I watched Frances slide over to Willem and James and chat briefly before returning to my side. I assumed she asked about the identity of the grey-brown mixture bubbling away in the wok-like cooking pot. I found I’d assumed correctly when she gave me a taut smile and stated emphatically “We are eating reedbuck liver pate. Isn’t that just wonderful!”
Frances hates liver, meaning over the 47 years of our marriage, I’ve never cooked one of my favorite dishes, liver and onions. I figured, maybe I’d survive the night. However, I also had thoughts of Hemingway’s hero shot in the back by his wife, while on safari in ‘The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber’. My salvation came from the fact that my earlier pronouncements to my sweet wife came true. The reedbuck liver mixture was magnificent, with Frances returning to the serving bowl three times. Score one for Zambeze Delta Safaris and their staff, firepit and grill!
We had many opportunities for sampling C-11’s fire culture, but the final occurred at sundown, on the Zambezi River floodplain, celebrating the end of safari for all of the hunters and their companions. As the golden hour slowly spread across the landscape, photographs and videos — both on the ground and from a circling drone — abounded. We all toasted the place, and the wonderful experiences. The food and drink, spread across portable tables, meant we would waddle back into our tents at camp. And, of course, the ever-present fire blazed in the center of the area surrounded by the camp chairs. We sat and stared for a last time into the much-loved companion, wishing with all our hearts that this was not the final gathering.
Coutada 11 will always be a second home for Frances and me, and thus its firepit and braai places for embracing our C-11 family, and for meeting new friends. However, without a doubt, our most stunningly scenic firepit experience occurred on the South African property known as Kalahari Oryx. Hosted by Chapungu-Kambako Safaris, we wandered across the 210,000-plus acres of Kalahari Desert in search of black and white rhinos for darting, DNA sampling and medical treatment. I also spent a few days hunting a beautiful Kalahari springbok ram. As with most of my African animals, the springbok fell to a single shot, this time a Hornady 30-caliber, 200 gr ELD-X projectile from a Blaser R8 Ultimate Leather rifle in 300 Winchester Magnum.
The conservation work and hunt for the springbok had gone off without a hitch. As the final sunset of our safari on Kalahari Oryx approached, co-owner Jacques Hartzenberg, and property manager, Johan Maritz loaded us into the Land Rover parked in front of the lodge. We made our way across the landscape, at one point stopping to admire and photograph a kori bustard stalking across the landscape. Unknown to Frances and me, Belis, lodge waiter, and our new friend, awaited us amidst the stunning landscape. As we crested the last in a series of enormous dunes, Belis, an elaborate sundowner setup, and the descending sun all met our widening eyes. We had trouble concentrating on the food, drinks, and conversation with Belis, Jacques and Johan; we repeatedly found ourselves interrupting our drinking, eating and chatting in order to take “just one more photo.” We did finally stop our photography, but only because the light was gone, and it was time to head back to the lodge. We did so, as always, feeling both elated by another interaction with fire culture, and a bit melancholic that it was over.
Every experience around an African fire, whether a braai, sundowner or early morning warming is magical. This is most often because others are there to share the time with, to recreate through words and hand gestures the great, or missed, shots at game, the length of stalks, the beauty of the natural setting, the unbelievable skills of PHs and trackers, and more. When not in Africa, the recognition of this shared fellowship reflects back from the delighted visage appearing on faces of those who are in-the-know, those who too have spent time around “the focal point of an African community, where people exchange stories and traditions.” Long live this ritual that embraces not only native Africans, but also those with whom they share the warmth, and ever-changing shapes and colors, of the flames.
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Author profile
Mike Arnold is professor and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia and author of the 2022 book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique. Mike’s book is available for purchase now at bringingbackthelions.com. You can find a description of Mike’s travels, talks, and articles at mikearnoldoutdoors.com.