Black Mamba for Breakfast: Three Kayaks, One River, Six Months

by Hollie M'gog, Jamie Manuel

What would you do if elephants tore breakfast branches from above your swinging hammock? If a pride of lions invaded your camp? Or you were knocked into the water by a charging hippo? Jamie, a colourfully blended character and possibly a careless adventurer, intertwines the tale of his 2009 Zambezi River descent with often hilarious and sometimes scary bush tales from all over Africa. The River drifts the three boys down towards Mozambique in sea kayaks that they have yet to master, through rapids they may not survive and through communities that tell of the disappearance of a way of life. Distance bears no relation to the time they take and mid trip, the back weary paddlers take a fortuitous river break, in which they deal with a ruptured appendix, the ear notching and chip tagging of a wild population of rhino, and the escape of two of these prehistoric beasts. The chase is epic and the boys cannot afford to fail. The rhino must come home.

362 pages, Paperback

Published May 22, 2017

Reviews

[Tara]

A must-read for all wanderlust adventurers! Black Mamba for Breakfast is a truly special collaboration of an extraordinary adventure told by an incredibly talented writer who possesses a real gift of storytelling. The journeys of these young men will have you laughing and crying and ultimately wishing for your own crazy quest, leaving you wanting to hear more tales of their explorations. I only hope there will be more to follow!

[Edward Robinson]

A lovely expedition tale down the Mozambique. The expedition happened in 2009 so it's great to read the wild adventures considering there isn't too much wild territory around us anymore. A nice book to read if you are travelling.