Barbecue and bagpipes
"Some zebra, ma'am?" A meter high spit is placed point down on the hot plate in front of me. The meat is still sizzling from the barbecue fire. "Yes, please," I nod at the waiter and with a sharp knife he cuts off a slice that falls onto my plate.
We are enjoying an African barbecue in the hotel restaurant. Chicken, beef and lamb are on the menu. And also more exotic meats like zebra, gazelle and crocodile. We, the guests, do not have to do any barbecuing; no, here the meat is being cooked on large spits over an enormous fire, overseen by several cooks. The telltale scent of barbecue can be smelled a mile off.
I take a cautious bite of the meat on my plate, and decide that zebra is not quite my thing. Too tough. The others agree. Gazelle and giraffe, on the other hand, are quite delicious. Crocodile tastes oddly like fish.
Halfway through dinner, the most incongruous sound one can imagine hearing in Africa startles us: it is the sound of Scottish bagpipes! Four pipers march onto the restaurant grounds (no walls, just a roof to keep the rains out) and play well-known classics. They seem to march back and forth between this restaurant and the other eating-place on the premises of the Safari Park Hotel, delighting the diners with their music. Not quite what one would expect in an African restaurant.
The after-dinner show, however, is more in tune with our surroundings and the gentle late night air. A troupe of some two dozen dancers gives a whirling performance that is a mixture of tribal dance, modern ballet, and acrobatics.
All in all, this dinner was quite the experience. It is exemplary for the way guests are treated and spoiled in the Safari Park Hotel. The hotel also has a large outdoor pool, a casino and shops on the premises.