Here at Baobab Ridge we just love surprising our guests, so when the opportunity comes to do so we tend to "go large" and organise a dinner out in the bush not far from the lodge. 

The unsuspecting guests are taken on their usual afternoon/evening game drive but before it gets dark - at around the time they'd usually stop for sundowners - we turn a corner and there, before their eyes, is the entire team waving and welcoming them to the most beautifully set dinner table, drinks station (and in these times of COVID-19 a fully fledged sanitation station!) and bustling "bush kitchen".

It all looks effortless, but of course, it takes a good deal of organisation and is something that requires the whole Baobab Ridge team to successfully pull off! The planning starts in the morning as soon as the guests have left on the early morning game drive, when everyone gets together to decide what will be on the menu and the check list of what will be needed is drawn up. 

It's this check list that's key to the success of Baobab Ridge's bush events, whether it's a bush breakfast, celebratory drinks station or fully fledged, three-course dinner. By ticking off everything that's needed as it is loaded onto the vehicles and as it's offloaded at the site of the bush dinner, the team makes sure everything runs smoothly and that nothing gets left behind.

As much food preparation as possible is done in advance. Bush dinners are usually a braai, so it's a question of preparing starters and something for dessert, as well as getting veggies and salads ready to accompany the braai meat, which is marinated and prepared for seamless cooking. Everything is carefully wrapped and put into cooking pans and cooler boxes and transported to the site - a wonderful open plain not far from the lodge. 

Tables, chairs, crockery, cutlery, glasses, condiments, lanterns, tablecloths and napkins are all packed up, as is table décor. The tables are laid as they would be in the lodge boma, and decorated with foliage gathered from around the dinner site. 

The chefs and kitchen staff set up the cooking station next to the braai, the drinks table is set up and the sanitisation station is prepared ready to welcome guests, with a bowl of water, soap, towels and sanitiser on hand to freshen everyone and maintain our strict health and safety protocols.

Our maintenance team chip in to help run the fire and ensure there is enough wood for the braai and to help transport everything and everyone to and from the lodge. And of course we are in constant contact with the guides to ensure they bring the guests on time and maintain the secrecy!

The result is an amazing thing to behold, as the guests' eyes grow wide with amazement and excitement on seeing the way things have been set up for them. They get to raise a glass or two to the setting sun as their dinner is prepared for them, sitting down in an idyllic setting under a canopy of twinkling stars to enjoy the al fresco meal of a lifetime, in the middle of the African wilderness!

In between dinner and dessert we often do a star-gazing session, with the guides sharing their knowledge of the African night skies and the myriad constellations in the heavens above. Using a laser pointer, the Southern Cross will be pointed out, as will key stars, planets and constellations, as well as the Milky Way. 

The evening will end with after dinner drinks before our guests are taken back to the lodge and the team has to dismantle everything and bring it all back to the lodge while our guests turn in for the night after another amazing bush experience!