We told Richard at the lodge that we were interested in the ride and he was able to arrange it for us almost immediately, leaving time only for a quick lunch, but it was a gorgeous afternoon so we said sure why not start off with a bang. We chose the 30 minute ride rather than the 15 minute one, because hey, how often will we be at Victoria Falls. The company called and said there was a forty minute delay because they were switching helicopters due to mechanical issues, which made me a bit nervous, but at least they were paying attention to these things. Before we knew it the driver had arrived at the lodge to take us to the heliport.
I had imagined the flight would be extremely loud, and fast, and jolting. It was the complete opposite. The loudest part was as we approached the helicopter to board. Once we were in, with our ears covered, it was peaceful and quiet, and absolutely pure magic. Words can't really capture the feeling of hovering over the river and the lush green plains and the falls, with the wind through an open window. I will let Juan's photos speak for us.
Excited:
The falls:
After the ride:
I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to fly. And the best part was that because a storm was coming in fast they had to cut the flight to 15 minutes and we will get to do the other 15 minutes on Wednesday morning when we'll be able to fly down into the gorge. I can't wait to fly again.
In the evening, back at the lodge we had a delicious dinner that included a game stew made with Impala meat (which was very tasty). I had a vegetable curry which came with salads (yay vegetables) and made me very happy. Both the curry and the stew were eaten with a local staple called Nsimi made from Maize, that bore a strong resemblence to the Fufu we had in Ghana.
An incredible day. And it's only been 6 days since we arrived in Africa. Wow.
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Apparently people are missing the photo album, so here are some big links
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