Tourism and Torah perfectly entwined

THOUSANDS OF honeymooners and families have revelled in an African safari — and orthodox adventurers need not miss out. Chananel Green, an orthodox South African-Israeli Jew, created Glatt Safaris in 2013.

He had organised a safari trip for relatives from Israel and became aware of the challenges faced by the religious holidaymaker. While generic tours did not offer a kosher food option, the glatt kosher tours available in South Africa did not necessarily specialise in gourmet food and could be expensive.

So Green created a way for religious Jews to experience South Africa, on an affordable glatt kosher holiday that suits their values and palates.

A Glatt Safaris tour features three gourmet kosher le’mehadrin meals a day, all supervised by the Cape Town Beth Din, plus minyanim, Sefer Torah, mikvah, places for netilat yadayim, kiddush wine and Shabbat candles. All your religious needs taken care of.

While meals can be provided in Cape Town and Johannesburg by kosher restaurants as well, in more remote areas the company will always fly in its own food, chefs and mashgichim.

Glatt Safaris offers both public and private tours. The former are for 20 to 30 people and offer two tracks, silver and gold. The silver track travels within South Africa, while the gold takes tourists throughout South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. Private tours are fully customisable to your interests, desires and budget.

The tour guides are local professionals with expert knowledge and stacks of anecdotes about the spectacular scenery and wildlife. And how incredible that wildlife is. On every adventure, tourists will come face to face with Africa’s Big Five — lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and buffalo — as well as whales and penguins. The trips also include the chance to see Table Mountain and Victoria Falls.

Accommodation ranges from three-, four- or five-star hotels to private reserves and VIP retreats. Everything is strictly kosher, pas Yisrael, chalav Yisrael and kosher le’mehadrin. glattsafaris.com