Our Experience | Our Equipment | Our Vehicles | Media/PR | Traveller’s Gallery | Testimonials

2008 Black Pot Safaris Newsletter

Black Pot Safaris have enjoyed another wonderful year guiding our adventurous clients into the wild heart of Africa! We have discovered some exciting new destinations, prepared some mouth-watering new black pot dishes, created some interesting new itineraries and are ready to take our clients even further in 2008! But, be warned, bookings are becoming increasingly difficult to secure, so don’t delay in making your safari plans for next year.

EXCITING NEW DESTINATIONS

The African Ivory Route

The private bush camps of Ndzhaka, Mtomeni and Mutale Falls in South Africa’s Limpopo Province bordering the Kruger National Park offer total privacy and the opportunity to combine your Black Pot Safari with game viewing in open vehicles.

Your Own Private Island

Private island destinations in the Okavango Delta and Lake Malawi offer bare-foot luxury and total privacy. Parque Nacional do Limpopo, Mozambique Machampane Wilderness Camp in Parque Nacional do Limpopo is currently the only tented camp on the Mozambique side of this exciting transfrontier initiative with South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

Inhambane, Mozambique

Stay at the Flamingo Bay Water Lodge in Inhambane where you can snorkel in crystal blue waters straight from your balcony!

Dhow Safari, Mozambique

Join us on a Dhow safari in the Bazaruto Archipelago which is home to dolphins, turtles and the only viable remaining dugong population.

Maziba Bay

Maziba Bay on the Zambezi River is one of the most dramatic and beautiful river lodge sites in southern Africa and boasts its own private beach.

Chobe River House Boat

View the prolific game of the Chobe National Park from the unique perspective of the water. Sleep-under the stars and enjoy memorable sunsets from this comfortably appointed house boat.

MOUTH-WATERING NEW BLACK POT DISHES

Sausage, Sweet Potato and Cannellini Bean Hotpot

A classic one pot dish where the smokiness of the homemade Italian sausage infuses the chunks of sweet potato as it bubbles away in a thick cannellini bean sauce! Washed down by a silver goblet or two of cabernet sauvignon or Shiraz from the Cape, this dish is capable of warming up the coldest of nights.

Hunter’s Pot

Once browned off in smoked bacon fat, the bite-size Kudu fillets are slow cooked over coals for 3 hours in a rich button mushroom sauce and served over crushed new potatoes. A good merlot acts as a great palate refresher.

Lamb Hot Pot

Tender chunks of Karoo lamb are slow cooked in a lentil and hearty vegetable sauce while smoked sausages are braised in the top of the pot. Once ready the sausages are sliced and stirred in at the last minute to add another dimension before serving.

Sweet Potato and Sage Risotto

The sweetness of the potato, the bitterness of the sage, the sharpness of the parmesan and the subtle flavour of aged Parma ham combine to create a truly fabulous risotto. All done on a fire in a black pot! Any cold dry white will do!

Beef and Red Wine Stew

Parsley, thyme and a bottle of fine wine make a wonderful base for this melt-in-your-mouth aged beef fillet stew. The 3 hour cooking time may seem long but it’s worth the wait! Served over steaming mustard mash.

Baked Pasta with Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Pasta baked in a bush-oven (coals under the pot and coals on the lid) is hard to beat! The hint of chilli is countered perfectly by the creamy mozzarella. The fried garlic and plum tomato sauce poured over layers of orecchiette with a good handful of aged parmesan and fresh basil makes for a classic combination!

INTERESTING NEW ITINERARIES

Botswana Safari

A classic camping safari through the Moremi Game Reserve, Chobe National Park and the Makgadikgadi Pans featuring a scenic flight over the Okavango Delta, an overnight stay on an island in the Okavango Delta, an afternoon cruise along the Chobe River and a two day package with Planet Baobab including a quad biking excursion and night sleeping out on the pans.

Zambia Wildlife Safari

A safari designed to experience the wonder and magnitude of the Kafue National Park combined with a canoe safari down the Zambezi River to the famous Mana Pools National Park and an opportunity to visit the Victoria Falls featuring a two night stay in the luxurious Busanga Bushcamp, the tranquillity of a canoe safari and the splendour of the falls themselves.

Zambia Adventurer Safari

A classic camping safari for the adventurous who want to experience ‘the road less travelled’ and take in the Victoria Falls, one of the only beaches on the Zambezi River, the impressive and little known Ngonye Falls and the totally wild Liuwa Plains National Park featuring excursions to both the Victoria Falls and Ngonye Falls and the totally pristine wilderness of Liuwa Plain. This safari is particularly suited to avid birdwatchers.

Malawi and Zambia ‘Bush to Beach’ Safari

A combo safari designed to take in the amazing wildlife experience provided by South Luangwa National Park and the exclusivity of being the only guests on a deserted island in the middle of Lake Malawi with fabulous snorkelling and diving opportunities. This safari is unusual in that all accommodation is in permanent selfcatering tented camps with the exception of two nights spent in a lodge environment.

South Africa and Mozambique ‘Bush to Beach’ Safari

A combo safari through the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park to the tropical beaches of Mozambique featuring the private use of bushcamps in South Africa, the novelty of a night spent in a luxurious water lodge, a three day dhow safari and finally a night on the town in Maputo’s jazz cafes and an overnight stay at the famous Hotel Polana.

OTHER NEWS

Killarney Farm House has been re-thatched and is ready to receive guests. Please visit our website at Paddy and Amanda Bond Gunning, the owners of Black Pot Safaris, are soon to open the doors to 21 on 12th – an exclusive, private address in Johannesburg, South Africa for business and holiday travellers. 21 on 12th will be part home, part hotel offering total privacy for the discerning traveller because only one booking is taken at a time to ensure that a guests’ stay is tailormade to suit their personal requirements. The website is still under development, but they hope to be open for business by 1 April 2008. For further information, please e-mail Amanda at amanda@genesisroom.com

BLACK POT MISCELLANY

In South Africa, they have a whole family of black “potjie” pots to choose from. They come in a range of sizes from mini (holding 0.35l) to the giant number 25 (holding 70.5l). The choice is almost overwhelming. And to make it worse, you can now choose from a range of three-legged potjies, platkpotkies (basically potjies with their legs cut off) and bake potjies (which look like casserole dishes, but funnily enough are used for baking bread known as pot bread). These cast-iron pots last a lifetime and are handed down from one generation to the next.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Amanda and Patrick Bond Gunning
Phone: + 27 (0)13 733 3124 Fax: + 27(0) 13 733 3155
Mobile: + 27 (0)82 479 9700
E-Mail:amanda@blackpotsafaris.co.za
Web:www.blackpotsafaris.co.za