South Africans love to braai and during September’s Heritage Month, 160 people including media are spending this week visiting some of the country’s best- known tourist spots, stopping off for braais along the way.
The National Braai Tour kicked off in Cape Town this weekend and aims to encourage South Africans to unite around a fire, while showcasing beautiful areas of the country.
Now in its third year, the braai tour draws participants from all over South Africa, and this year 40 teams will finish their tour in Addo Elephant National Park next weekend, with Cape Agulhas, the Calitzdorp Spa and the Wilderness just some of the stops along the way.
Jan Braai, real name Jan Scannell, the man behind the initiative, said in his experience sitting around a fire was “where we get to know one another best, so combining the braai with a tour of South Africa and its most significant heritage spots is essentially creating the ultimate South African history classroom”.
“In just three years, we have created an environment where diverse groups of people get to hang out and celebrate everything they enjoy about South Africa and being South African,” says Braai.
“Everyone who comes on tour does so because they believe South Africa is a great country and South Africans are great people and they want to be around different types of South Africans and share their heritage.”
With the braai tour entering day four today, the event has already seen the teams, some made up of families, some workmates and some just keen braaiers, camp at the most southern tip of Africa – Cape Agulhas – which is where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet, on the banks of the Breede River in Swellendam and last night was spent at the Calitzdorp Spa – the warm waters of which attract people from all over the world to come and relax ... and of course braai.
Danny Muianga, who is on his first Jan Braai tour with his three siblings, said: “The second night was really great.
“I engaged with so many people and made so many new friends ... it’s been great fun so far.” — ziphon@dispatch.co.za