Premium Braai Firewood in Cape Town — Why Hardwood Makes the Difference

Not all firewood is created equal, no matter what the guy at the garage tells you while ringing up a
suspiciously light bag of “hardwood”. Two bags can weigh the same and behave completely differently on the
fire, and the reasons are not mysterious.

Density: why weight alone tells you nothing

Dense woods like Sekelbos, Rooibos,
Soetdoring and Swarthaak pack far more fuel into
the same volume than soft, fast-burning wood. That is why a 10 kg bag of real hardwood outlasts a bigger
bag of something lighter, and why it gives you a coal bed instead of a pile of ash.

A bag that feels light for its size is usually one of two things: soft wood, or wood that has been cut but
not properly dried and has since lost its water weight while sitting in the sun.

Why dry wood matters more than the label on the bag

Wet wood is the single most common reason a braai goes badly. Water in the wood has to boil off before the
wood can burn, so you get hissing, thick smoke, a fire that keeps dying, and a braai master who keeps
insisting it is “nearly ready”. It also coats your grid and your food in the sour, sooty smoke nobody wants.

Our wood is dried before it goes out, which is why it lights faster, burns cleaner and gives you more heat
per kilogram. That last part matters for your wallet too: a bag of properly dried hardwood does more work than
a heavier bag of damp wood at the same price.

Smoke is a symptom, not a feature

A well-built fire of dry hardwood produces surprisingly little smoke once it is going. Thick white smoke
means the fire is working to boil water out of the wood. That smoke is sour, it coats your food, and it is the
reason people think braai smoke tastes bad. Good smoke is thin and almost blue.

Which wood should you actually order?

Short version: they all burn well, they just burn differently.

• Sekelbos — the all-rounder. Lights without a fight, burns hot,
  gives you a proper coal bed. If you are not sure what to order, order this.
• Rooibos — dense and long-burning, with a subtle sweetness in the
  smoke. Good for a slow afternoon where the fire has to last.
• Soetdoring — sweet thorn. Hot, clean and steady, and it makes
  coals that hold their heat while you argue about whether the meat is ready.
• Swarthaak — the heavyweight. Hardest to light, longest to burn.
  Worth it for potjie and for anything that needs hours rather than minutes.
• Bluegum and Redgum — the
  familiar Cape braai woods. Reliable heat, easy to work with, good value in bigger bags.

Getting it going is easier with kindling (8 kg for R45) and a box of
firelighters. If you would rather skip wood altogether for a quick weeknight braai,
there is Namibian charcoal at R50 for 5 kg.

One supplier for the whole fire

Firewood, charcoal, firelighters,
kindling and braai spice, from one place, delivered together. It is a small
thing, but it is the difference between one order and four errands.

Bag sizes and what they cost

Everything below is sold by weight, not by a vague “bag” that shrinks when nobody is looking.

Going bigger? Bulk pieces run from R1 699 for 500 pieces (around 300 kg) up to
R4 620 for 1 000 pieces of Swarthaak (around 840 kg). The full range is on the
bulk pieces page.

How ordering works

1. Pick your wood and bag size in the shop.
2. Check out online — card payments are handled by Yoco.
3. Choose delivery to your address, or collection at our warehouse if you are passing by.

Delivery is available to 99 Cape Town and Western Cape areas and is priced by area, so the fee is
worked out at checkout rather than guessed at. Not sure whether we reach you? Send us a
message or call 084 050 4286 and we will tell you straight.

If something arrives damaged or wrong, report it within 48 hours and we will sort it out — the details are
in our FAQs.

Ready to stock up?

Browse the full firewood range, grab charcoal and
firelighters while you are there, and get it delivered before the weekend rather
than after it.