The art of the picnic

We are in the midst of peak picnic season in North America. Picnics have long been a popular summer activity. Early in the 19th century, a fashionable group of Londoners formed the Picnic Society, where members met, each providing a share of the entertainment and refreshments. Beginning in the 1830s, the school of Romantic American landscape painters often included people picnicking amid spectacular scenery.

Today, we can travel far afield to enjoy a leisurely yet elegant picnic any time of day. Where would you choose to go for a picnic?

On a bush walk or horseback safari in South Africa’s great Kalahari Desert, savor a picnic break as you share the environment with springbok, buffalo, lion, kudu, hyena, meerkat and wildebeest. Tswalu Kalahari lodge presents bush meals utilizing tantalizing fresh local ingredients in stunning and unexpected settings.  For a once in a lifetime Africa safari, consider our 11-day South Africa’s Unique Lodges.

How about a picnic lunch on the barren knife-edge ridge of the 12,000ft Acatenango Volcano in Guatemala, overlooking the active Fuego Volcano as it churns and rumbles, shaking the ground around you? To reach this special dining spot, you travel first by 4 x 4 to the foot of the volcano and then hike about an hour and a half up the volcano to the unique picnic spot. You can incorporate this adventure into your customized Guatemala journey such as the new 18-day President’s Picks Adventure Guatemala & Panama.

Jamtara Wilderness Camp sits on the edge of the village by the same name a couple of minutes’ drive from Pench National Park. This remote camp is the only accommodation in the vicinity. In addition to ten luxury tents, it has imported the concept of the African “star bed”. Here, after a day on safari in search of Bengal tiger, chital, sambar, nilgai, wild pig, and jackal as well as some of the 201 bird species, you can choose to end your day with in drinks and a meal on the simple platform of your Star Bed as the sounds of the night and the stars envelop you. Your guide is nearby for whatever you might need. Experience this wilderness camp on our 12-day Precious Journeys India: Saving Tigers.

The settings and locations for your outdoor feast are as personal and as unique as you are. If you love the casualness and relaxation of a picnic, tell us where your ideal locale would be.