Can you cater for dietary requirements?

Yes — vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free, and allergies are all handled as a matter of course, not as a grudging exception. Tell us when you book and the kitchen plans around it.

Is there a children's menu?

Yes — smaller portions designed for kids, alongside the adult menu. Picky-eater requests welcome; tell us in advance.

Where are meals served?

Around the boma fire under the stars, in the central lodge dining room, and out on game drives — dining is part of the safari, not a pause from it. The sky deck is set up for private dinners by request; private dinners on your tent deck are also arranged on request.

Bush Dining at Sausage Tree

Q: Who is in the kitchen?

Chef Pitso has cooked at Sausage Tree since the camp opened in 2012. Kabelo joined as Sous Chef in 2023 — she attended Daktari Bush School as a child, returned to work there as a cook after school, and is the kind of bush-camp staffing continuity you can only build over fourteen seasons.

Food on safari is part of the experience, not a pause from it. At Sausage Tree, dinner happens under the stars, breakfast follows the morning drive, and the kitchen has been in the same trusted hands since the camp opened in 2012.

The chef

Chef Pitso has cooked at Sausage Tree since the beginning. His food is generous and unfussy — proper meals that suit the rhythm of safari days, from a hot drink and home-baked rusks on the morning drive to a full spread when you come back hungry. Fourteen consecutive seasons in the same kitchen is rare in the bush; most camps cycle chefs every eighteen to twenty-four months because the work is remote and the hours are unsocial.

The kitchen team

Kabelo joined as Sous Chef in 2023 and brings a story worth the trip on its own — she attended Daktari Bush School as a child, returned to work there as a cook after school, and joined Sausage Tree three years ago. She runs the kitchen during Pitso’s weekly leave and is also a skilled tracker who swaps her apron for the tracker seat when both game viewers run. Front of house: Thandy, Nelisiwe, and Karrine.

Where you eat

The boma — dinner around the fire under the African night, with the bush as backdrop and guides’ stories as the soundtrack.
The central lodge dining room — breakfast, brunch returning from drive, high tea, and dinner under canvas with an oil lamp on the table.
The sky deck — set up by request for a private dinner for two, candlelit, for honeymoons and special occasions.
Your own tent deck — a private dinner on your tent deck is an advance-notice arrangement, not a billable add-on.
On the drive — coffee and rusks at first light; sundowners somewhere Themba picks for the view rather than the route.

Eating with the day

Mornings start with something warm before the drive — coffee, hot chocolate and rusks for the early start. Brunch follows the morning drive when the heat builds. High tea on the deck mid-afternoon before the evening drive. Evenings are the main event: a shared table, real conversation, the fire, and the night.

Every dietary need, handled

Vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free, allergies — all worked into the menu as standard. Tell us in advance and the kitchen plans around it; we would rather know at booking than improvise on the night. Special occasions — honeymoon arrangements, birthdays, milestone anniversaries, a request that matters to a family booking — are easy to arrange when you tell us early.

Every booking with Sausage Tree contributes R50 to Daktari Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage.