Nou Gaan Ons Braai!
Rules Around the Fire
To avoid fights and bloodshed over a very sensitive matter, here are a few rules about our braai and fire.
The camp fire
- I make a fire every night if needed, whether for cooking or just a campfire to sit by.
- I supply the wood or charcoal for this fire. Wood is not always available, and then I use charcoal.
- I also supply braai stands. You only need to bring your own grid.
- I normally make the fire for cooking and let it burn down so that we can cook on it. Please do not put paper, tissues, rubbish or cigarette butts in the fire until everybody has finished cooking.
- Rubbish belongs in a rubbish bag, not the campfire.
- Some countries are moving to ban the sale of charcoal, so a regular braai will get harder in the next few years. When we keep the fire smaller, it is with our planet and the availability of wood and charcoal in mind.
Your own portable braai
- More and more guests bring their own braai, and I have absolutely no problem with that.
- Southern Africa: I buy firewood, so if you want to use your own loose-standing braai, bring your own charcoal or wood for it.
- East Africa: on the long East Africa tours I organise charcoal for the camp, and you are welcome to take from my charcoal box for your own braai. No charge, no worries.
Be considerate. These rules are applied loosely, because every night is different. If you are the only one braaiing and want a few coals for your little braai next to the fire, that is not a problem. When more people are braaiing, though, taking coals from the main fire can break it for everyone else, and a broken fire is no fun to cook on. So we play it by ear. All I ask is that you are considerate of everyone else who wants to braai: think about how you use the fire, and whether what you do makes it better or worse for them.