IN SEARCH OF KALAHARI FLAVOUR
Aunt Koera’s restaurant is more than just food — it’s culture and history too, writes Mart-Marié du Toit
The red dunes of the Kalahari become more striking after you leave Upington. It is here where you find the Khomani San, descendants of several original San groups, spread over 1,000km² in the Northern Cape. Since 2012 Rotary clubs in Germany and SA have collaborated with the Peace Parks Foundation to guide and assist the Khomani San in their operations in the !Ae !Hai Kalahari Heritage Park. On one of these farms you’ll find the Living Museum, where you can experience the unique attributes of this arid region and its people.
Upon arrival at Kgalagadi Lodge, just outside of the gates of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, an ice-cold Oryx or Puff Adder Kalahari Craft Beer, is well deserved.
Hunting for !Nabas is not as easy as it sounds. Look for a small crack in the sand, then gently scrape away until you find the treasure. We’re told you can only find !Nabas after the last rains and before the first frost. We searched for hours, but the footprints and countless holes we found suggest someone beat us to the chase. The !Naba, or Kalahari truffle, is a rare delicacy, its earthiness pairs well as an infusion in good-quality olive oil and, lightly fried, it makes a great accompaniment to red meat.
Giving up is never fun, but lunch at Aunt Koera’s Kitchen awaits, and her first question is whether we had found some !Nabas. “I’ll cook them for you,” she says. At her tiny restaurant on the R360 between Askham and Andriesvale, she cooks over an open fire, all the while talking about her people. The meal is completed with a salad of wild gemsbok cucumbers and sweet carrots. “Cooking over an open fire is the way of my people, it doesn’t really feel like a lot of work,” she says. You fill up on more than just food at Aunt Koera’s – you get a bit of culture and history mixed into the experience. And as she greets us she says, “Remember, it’s your heritage too.”
To book a visit at Aunt Koera’s Farm Kitchen, call 0835888346 or visit openafrica.org. To sleep nearby, try Boesmansrun Grass Huts, which is also a community-run initiative. The huts are authentic, rustic grass huts with basic facilities. For a more upscale experience, stay at the Kgalagadi Lodge, www.kgalagadi-lodge.co.za. Read more about ‘the first people’ at khomanisan.com.