How to prepare easy meals that taste like home while travelling

Travelling through Southern Africa can take you across long distances, from the winding passes of Lesotho’s Sani Top to the endless horizons of Namibia’s Etosha. Yet amid the adventure, there are moments when all you want is food that feels familiar.

Easy meals with a taste of home provide comfort and keep the journey feeling balanced.

When road-tripping along the N2 Garden Route, many travellers pack lightweight cooking gear to create simple but satisfying meals. Pasta with a quick tomato sauce, enhanced by locally bought herbs, is a go-to choice. The addition of fresh olives from farms near Oudtshoorn can turn an ordinary supper into a memory.

In Botswana, many overlanders keep tins of beans and tuna handy, ingredients that can be turned into a quick stew over coals. Comfort food often has less to do with complexity and more with familiarity. A sandwich filled with cheddar and tomato, toasted on a jaffle iron over the fire, can feel as rewarding as a restaurant meal.

South Africans have perfected this with their toasted braai broodjies, made with onion, cheese, and tomato, often enjoyed in Kruger camps like Satara or Skukuza.

Travellers also find comfort in porridges and cereals. Instant oats flavoured with honey sourced from KwaZulu-Natal farms make early mornings more manageable. Rooibos tea, carried in almost every vehicle pantry, brings a familiar sense of calm, whether brewed on a roadside stop or beneath mopane trees in Zimbabwe.

Carrying small items like spices, dried fruit, and nuts makes a difference. Curry powder can transform vegetables bought from roadside stalls into a warm, satisfying meal, while dried apricots from the Northern Cape add a sweet reminder of home to morning muesli.

Simple planning avoids long waits at roadside diners where menus can be limited.

The key lies in balance. Travellers need not replicate entire kitchens but can keep mealtimes stress-free while still evoking a sense of home. With a small supply of basics and a willingness to adapt to local produce, meals along the road can be both comforting and deeply tied to place.

• 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚊 𝚟𝚒𝚊 𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕 (𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚘𝚛@𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍.𝚌𝚘.𝚣𝚊).
• 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜, 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚘𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚎𝚗𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜, 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝙰𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚟𝚒𝚊 𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕 (𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚗@𝚒𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊.𝚌𝚘𝚖) 𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚜𝙰𝚙𝚙 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎.