Boma Dinners at Umkumbe Safari Lodge

Little improvement is needed when you wake up in one of the Greater Kruger Park’s most sought after private game reserves, spend the day wallowing in an infinity pool overlooking an elephant-filled river, and watch leopards with their cubs feasting on their hard-earned meals; but at Umkumbe Safari Lodge, a day like this is made even better with an African boma dinner served around a dancing campfire under the stars.

The Umkumbe Safari Lodge boma ready and waiting to receive guests for dinner under the stars

Every evening (unless it is raining), guests return from their game drive and take their seats in the boma, which is lit up with lanterns and decorated with bougainvillaea petals and green gwarri leaves, and toast to their fantastic safari holiday before dishing up a delectable, home-cooked meal. The Umkumbe boma is alive with the chatter of excited voices, vibrant colours, and the warm glow of the wood fire in the centre of it all.

Vibrant decorations and natural lighting keep the boma warm and inviting for dinner

The fire crackles away in the centre of the boma as the Umkumbe guests arrive back from game drive

Table for two... The dinner tables are arranged to cater for groups of friends or family individually, keeping things familiar and relaxed

The cooks and service staff present the evening’s delights: dishes of fragrant chicken curry, or hearty lamb potjiekos, paired with fluffy rice and cinnamon-roasted butternut, crisp green salad, and a variety of sides. Braai-grilled steaks, sweet potato, coleslaw, and home-made bread create the mouth-watering menus Umkumbe delivers to guests every night. Dinner is served on a help-yourself basis, so guests are invited to fill their plates to their preference and take their seats at their tables.

Desert is a must-have, especially when it is the famous chocolate brownie and ice-cream. This may sound like an old-faithful recipe, but there’s something undeniably special in the way it tastes inside the convivial boma under the Sabi Sand night sky at this unmissable safari lodge.

Butternut and fluffy rice is served in abundance to accompany the main attraction of the meal

Hearty lamb potjiekos on the menu