Postcards from Africa - Decadence

Decadence, thy name is Champagne breakfast in the Mara. Floating aimfully across the plains only occasionally scaring off the odd creature with a burst of flame driven hot air (seems the animal kingdom has declared this Sunday a day of rest and all but vanished off the plains!), it's easy to forget that the continent is still "third world". A hard bump and tilt and we're ejected from our wicker basket to be transported balloon et al for our already paid for champagne breakfast. Unimpressed, our disgruntled rumblings are reflective of a balloon ride that promised much and delivered nothing (and having super balloon guide/captain exclaim he'd never seen the plain this empty did not help matters!). We alight, graciously accept champagne flutes and amble over to the table and stop dead. The table is laden with artistically placed baskets and trays dripping with fruit, breads, cheese and crackers, jams and marmalade, glasses of cereal topped with yogurt and strawberries and a gorgeous centrepiece. We gape and turn our heads to the buffet on the side. What might that augur?? Bain maries offering sausages, bacon, fried potatoes and baked beans as a smiling chef surrounded by cheese, mushrooms, chopped tomatoes, peppers and onions asks your pleasure as he whips eggs into submission. Giggling at this debauchery seems called for and we can't stop. That is before I realise chef number two is asking me if I'd like a crepe or perhaps a waffle? Sitting at the table, in the middle of nowhere (as our host put it, the best Waffle House in the middle of nowhere), you forget where you are. It's surreal and in the near distance, a flock of vultures congregate. We turn protective of our breakfast before realising its a zebra carcass that luring them. They're joined by a tentative hyena, but promptly gang up to send him scurrying off tail between legs. What else is a girl to do except head back to the heat and accept a freshly made crepe? We feed like the vultures (who now outnumber us 4:1), with less jostling and flapping of wings, and do a fair take on there ungainly gait as we move to find vantage positions for photos. Them and us. Both enjoying a meal in the bush. Nature in perfect harmony. Satiated. Luxuriant. Indulgent. Fat. There's little to choose between us and the lions lolling on the Mara.