Padkos – food for the road

If you live in southern Africa, you are familiar with padkos, those snacks that are carefully packed for a road trip, to be enjoyed either in the car or along the roadside under a large shady camelthorn tree.

It’s a tradition we’ve grown up with and many of us have fond memories of our mothers or grandmothers preparing boiled eggs, meatballs and cheese sarmies the night before a trip, and our excitement for the journey ahead mounting as they did so.

The word ‘pad’ is believed to have originated in the 1500s from the Middle Dutch word ‘paden’ meaning to walk along a path or to make a path. Padkos - ‘pad’ (road) and ‘kos’ (food) - is one of those descriptive Afrikaans words like braaivleis and boerewors that are unique to the language, and has been adopted by other language groups. I think we all can agree that the direct English translation ‘road food’ just doesn’t come close in describing our much-loved padkos.

In days gone by, whether travelling on horseback, by ox-wagon or donkey-cart food was prepared for the journey. And with the advent of the motorcar, padkos was always prepared for long journeys away from shops and restaurants. It’s still the more affordable option, and take-away food is not quite the same.

We all have our favourites. While some people prefer a vetkoek, or a sandwich or Brötchen with a filling of their choice, others go all out with a range of food from cold meat and chicken wings to slices of moist cake for dessert. Snacks for the car include biltong, sweets, chocolates, biscuits and chips, and healthier options like nuts and fruit. Flasks of coffee are packed for those early morning stops when there is nothing to beat a hot, steaming cup of coffee and a rusk when the air is crisp. And on hot summer days, cold juice and drinks are sweet relief, as are bottles of water, frozen solid the night before.

Padkos is so much a part of the journey, and making a stop to enjoy the countryside and the good food - while taking a rest from the wheel - is an enjoyable and essential part of travelling through Namibia.

Let us know what your favourite padkos is. Let’s share our best food for the road.