Like I said, I was too busy just hanging on during our final drive back from the safari camp to get good video, but the picture I just uploaded to flicker should give you a good idea of what it was like.
The whole thing is a bit of a blur really. I just remember sliding sideways for the 1000th time. Then seeing a big rut 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep. Then the world spinning in an unusual way. Don't remember much else, although I do recall both Freddy and I dropping s-bombs as it happened so apparently that means the same thing in Swahili.
We had no seat belts but somehow I was still in my now-skyward seat when the music stopped. Not really sure how I was bracing myself even but I do remember it seeming quite effortless. Must have been some adrenaline. Freddy was plastered on the ground side door, but stuck a foot out his half open window and managed to stand up, reach across and roll down, er... over, my window, then I climbed out on to the roof. I mean, side. While Freddy climbed out, I sat there watching the only other jeep we'd seen all day drive off into the distance, just far enough away they for sure wouldn't see our unorthodox orientation and wonder if we needed help.
The incredible thing is that this could have easily happened anywhere on the "road" and we would have been stranded for hours, if not days, but the mishap actually held out until we were only 50 yards from the next road, so it didn't take too long before there was a pile up of more jeeps pointing and staring. Good thing too. We climbed down to walk over to them and saw big-cat prints larger than my hands all along the road. I have the pictures to prove it, and given they weren't washed out by the night's downpour they had to have been fresh within the last couple hours. A long walk for help might have been "very danger" in Freddy's words. Instead, it was just memorable, and I couldn't stop laughing every-time I thought of it for days afterwards.
So how many African safari drivers does it take to flip back a rolled over jeep? I forgot to count actually. More than could fit around the jeep though, so we ended up attaching a tow cable to the rollover bars (apparently not just for decoration) and using another jeep to pull it back upright.
"twendi twendi twendi!" I remember the shouts. That's Swahili for "let's go". (have since learned Arabic is yella). Then we were back on all fours, with just some minor body damage to the front of the jeep, and admonitions from the other drivers to keep twendi-ing, without even pausing long enough to say thank you. Apparently rolling a jeep in the serengetti is a $200 fine (a huge sum for Tanzanians) and the sympathetic drivers wanted us no where near the scene for a single moment longer than necessary. Although it had never happened to freddy before, several drivers told me it had to them many times and the drivers all look out for each other out here. Sometimes just to point out a leopard and help each other earn a bigger tip, other times to ensure each other lives another day. You don't mess around out here in the bush.
We stopped a little ways off to wash the mud off the truck and I told Freddy about my helicopter rescue experience on crowsnest mountain and his eyes almost popped out of his head at the concept of a government that not only doesn't punish you for an accident, but actually helps you out of it. He just shook his head in bewilderment when he heard the helicopter was sent for free. We truly do have it good in Canada. I wish I could always remember that and never complain. Especially after now seeing what Egyptians are dealing with.
Anyway, that's the story. Definitely 1 of my top 10 experiences from this trip. Maybe from any.
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