Eighteen days in the Soutpansberg.

This is the longest single stay of the whole tour. Eighteen days at Few & Far Luvhondo, up in the Soutpansberg mountains in the far north of South Africa, inside the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve.

The lodge has six suites. Six. After a year of cooking pop‑ups for full rooms, I get almost three weeks cooking for a handful of people at a time, in a place that runs carbon negative and is actively putting carbon back into the ground.

That is the closest thing to Elizabeth I will get before Elizabeth. Small room, no hiding, cook for the same guests night after night and get better at it. The baobabs up there are older than most countries.