Feeling Untrammelled and Unconstrained

Helicopter Horizons - Feeling Untrammelled and Unconstrained

Many different people ride with Helicopter Horizons – couples just married or on their honeymoon, mobile safari travelers who want to go a little deeper into the Okavango Delta than vehicles can go, professional photographers and film crews, hunters looking for dangerous wounded animals or scientists doing research. The list goes on and is impressive in its variety. One common theme of all the people who do a helicopter safari is to take pictures. There is so much to see so it is good to have your own visual memory aids to review with friends when you return home,

The contrasts of a helicopter ride are extreme. Taking off and landing are such gradual, delicate stages that you feel an incredible lightness of being. Flying over the Okavango Delta can be exhilarating, particularly with the doors off. With seat belts firmly secure, you can hang-out and take your shots of wildlife photography. Doing that while the pilot banks the helicopter so you can have a better game viewing experience can be exhilarating. Hovering over some submerged hippos walking on the riverbed is something to dine out on. Having a flock of cranes flying below you is unforgettable. you feel lake a Bateleur eagle looking for prey down below you, Returning to base can often be the most exciting part of your helicopter safari. Often you are following the Okavango River at giraffe neck height, full throttle, with herds of elephant off in the distant floodplain, crocodiles are sleeping on the river bank and an African sunset is accentuating a very special end of an incredible day in your life.

Having a look at the surrounding geography is reason enough to take the ride. The Okavango Delta has untold kilometers of meandering waterways, isolated islands and land that combines acacia forests and mopane woodlands. The flood plains can be narrow or expansive. The Delta is majestic in stature and captivating either by boat or helicopter. You are looking at one of the natural geographic wonders of the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Alexander McCall Smith, in his book ‘Trains and Lovers’, describes a state of mind or feeling – being untrammeled and unconstrained. This is how I feel when I ride over the Okavango Delta with Helicopter Horizons. To see what lies before you and to be able to zero in on something you spot is pure magic. My guess is that when you take off your monkey ears and get back on solid ground you will have a big smile on your face. Good game viewing to you!