Well here we are at the start of another week and first off we headed out on safari to Zimbabwe where we met up with our tour guide, Paul Templer.
The day we are looking at started calmly enough for Paul who was showing real wildlife in the wild, when it suddenly went “pear shaped”!
Paul along with three fellow guides was taking a trip down the Zambesi close to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, when they came across a group of hippos.
Whilst initially he and his fellow rangers were unconcerned, things went awry when they were alerted by a huge splash and a crashing sound as one of the hippos collided with one of their canoes which flipped out of the water landing on the creature’s back.
One of his colleagues who had been in that vessel was sadly lost.
It became abundantly clear that the hippo was somewhat peeved as a result of this incident and Paul who, was also now in the water, noted that one of the hippos was heading straight for him like a torpedo from a submarine.
Suddenly for Paul everything went dark and quiet. At this point he realised that he was not as wet as might have been expected but he did note some unusual pressure on his back and when stretching out, he felt bristles. Oops!
At this point he realised that he was actually inside the hippo!
Probably not a great place to be!
Whilst struggling to free himself, the hippo actually spat him out.
Although he desperately tried to get back to dry land, it became obvious that the hippo was not about to give up his prey so easily, and so swallowed him again – this time feet first.
Paul recalled that he felt like he was being thrown round in the same way that a dog might do with a rag doll.
He then realised that the hippo had plunged into deep water, only to miraculously spit him out again.
Perhaps he hadn’t washed well that day and didn’t taste so good to the hippo!
By this point, enraged beyond measure, the hippo charged at him with its mouth wide open and grabbed him by the torso, so he was lucky not to have been bitten in half.
Amazingly he quite literally escaped from the jaws of death but his body had been badly mauled as a result of the encounter – his left arm was completely crushed with blood pouring from no less than 38 bite wounds.
He was rushed to hospital where surgeons initially feared he would lose both arms and one of his legs and his recovery was slow and painful.
You won’t be surprised to learn that Paul no longer works as a tour guide and is now employed as a motivational speaker.
He’s also written a book called “WHAT’S LEFT OF ME”.
Keeping to a theme of eating, in the second hour of today’s show, we reported on an unusual confession made to hosts of an Australian Breakfast show in Melbourne.
Australian radio show hosts are known for inviting some quirky guests onto their shows, but it seems that even the hosts of the Melbourne breakfast show, FIFI, FEV and NICK, compered by FIFI BOX, BRENDAN FEVOLA and NICK CODY were taken by surprise when a woman caller named CHEYENNE confessed that she had cooked and eaten her own grandmother’s ashes!
Cheyenne, from Narre Warren in Victoria, told listeners to 101.9 THE FOX, that her nan had died in August last year, and that as the whole family was mourning her loss, she went over to her mother’s house and thought that to cheer her up, it would be a good idea to taste Nan.
Not drink a toast to her you understand, but actually taste her, by sprinkling some of her nan’s ashes into a pasta sauce, which she also later served up to her brother, after he was released from prison.
“Bonne appétit”!
Cheyenne told surprised listeners that she has now developed a weird addiction to the ashes, but fortunately still has a whole boxful left.
She went on to say that she now feels closer to her nan than ever, stating that her nan will now live on for ever through her.
Sounds like a well adjusted family!
I hope to have the pleasure of your company again tomorrow, but we won’t be looking at any food items, I promise,
Scott
