Special Experience #1 was breakfast in the bush. As I mentioned in the previous post, this experience was an open secret. We knew it was coming but not when or where. Luckily Leslie had brought a protein-bar to keep us going as we got to see the lions and the leopard before we finally arrived at the breakfast spot. There was a weber grill all fired up and filled with different cast iron skillets containing bacon, sausages and baked beans. It was the Full English breakfast out in the open. We also got freshly make omelets to order. The food was great and the setting was superb. We were treated to a flock of birds hovering above us on a brisk breeze. They flew over us for two minutes or more.
The second Special Experience #2 was a complete surprise. The manager was a kind of a jokester and when he told Leslie and I that we needed to be back to the safari vehicle by 10:50 we thought it was a joke. He said it was not a joke and that we had to come back. It was 10:15 AM and it was not long after we had eaten our bush breakfast and we just wanted to sit in our pool and relax. But we arrives at the correct time only to find out that we were given a "Champagne Helicopter Date for Two". How very generous of the management to gift us this very expensive excursion. Out pilot was a ripe age of 30 and had enough tales to fill a book. He was in the SAS and told us about riding in a zodiac at 70 knots in the dark practicing the boarding of ships. He was a professional fishing guide and told us of a client that caught a 20 foot thresher shark. They go the shark on the boar and the client wanted to ride it like a bull rider so they both jumped on. Unfortunately the shark skin did a number on his leg and it got infected requiring hospitalization. The helicopter had no doors for two reasons. First it allowed unfettered access to the best angles for photos and second it scared the hell out of the riders. We swooped oner giraffe, elephants, crocodiles and flocks of birds. He told us that the birds are actually a hazard, they do not get out of the way.
Around this corner is breakfast
All the meaty goodness
There was an extra guide to watch our backs
Tables with linen tablecloths
Weber grillaliscious
Our chariot awaits
He is sporting his best Captain Morgan Rum pose
Sure, I fit in the cab, no problem
We even were shown how the controls worked.
Excited to ride. You can see the lack of doors
Here we go, off into the wild blue yonder
Trails for the people and trails for the animals
These elephants look pretty small
Our lodge to the left
Time for some champagne
Smiles all around
Let the champagne flow!
It was very cool the see the sand formations
A canoe in the bottom right corner
Birds!
Elephants in the water
A giraffe on the bank
We swung around to see her again
Our shadow
I could not figure out what was on the ground in this picture when I realized it was part of the helicopter
The white part is an elephant carcass and the brown spots are all vultures
lots of vultures
We swung around for this one too
From wet to dry and all stages between
Water Buffalo
