Adventure in Africa Journal - 2004 through 2008

 

June 5, 2004

 

Where in the world are Kim & Alan?

I know you’ve been on the edge of your seats wondering about Kim and Alan’s African Adventure...

Kim & Alan arrived in Johannesburg on Tuesday May 25 and proceeded to stuff their mountains of luggage into a very tiny rental car. Sort of like the circus clown car with suitcases! They spent their first few days doing necessary (and boring) stuff. You know- insurance, residence permits, airplane stuff. Kim said that everything takes forever and she never leaves the hotel with out a book to read! They bought a South African cell phone so they can feel more at home. The airplane arrived a-ok. Alan helped unload and put it together. It was a slow process. Day 1 it got landing gear; day 2 a tail; day 3 a wing and so on. It was finally assembled and flown (by the mechanic, not Alan) and checked out just fine. With all the paperwork and boring stuff done Kim and Alan were ready to go adventuring.

They left Jo-burg Saturday June 5 for the cheetah camp. This is a game tracking project for Cheetah Conservation Botswana. Although the group is based in the Mokolodi Nature Reserve near Gabarone, the capital, their research is conducted in the Jwaneng Nature Reserve near the Kalahari Desert. In an attempt to track the local cheetah population two groups have been radio collared; one a group of three females traveling together, and the second a group of three males. Both groups have traveled out of land based tracking range. Using the airplane with antennae attached to the wings, an area of about 150 sq km. will be searched for these animals. (For info about many of our projects visit www.wings4wildlife.org) Kim and Alan will spend a week supporting this project, then continue on to Maun and Gabarone to establish themselves in Botswana.

Kim and Alan hope all is well with you and your families and wish you fun filled summer adventures!

More news as it becomes available….

July 6, 2004

Greetings from the African Bush!

We had a successful 3 days out at Tau Research Camp in the Okavango Delta. The camp is run by a great couple, Hanlie and Christiann. They are terrific and like so many of the other folks we have met have tremendous dedication to their work regarding the preservation of their lion population.

Alan spent several hours over two days flying them around their research area to locate the various prides they have collared. The effort was very successful and quite valuable to them since they can not track these animals over land due to the high water and impassible roads. We plan to return there several times over the next two months- once to complete an aerial game count survey (determining the number of prey animals in the area, and their location) and while Stacey is here in early August to observe the darting and collaring of several lions. These activities, along with so many others we are planning to participate in, are exactly what we had hoped to accomplish. We are having a great time and truly enthralled with the experience.

We spent our afternoons driving around the vast open plains trying to find some of the lions. We were successful on one of our drives. We found Sabu, a full grown female and her grown daughter. They pal around together. We sat for about an hour and watched them play.

The camp is very nice and very relaxing. Good food and lots of time to read. We really enjoyed spending time with Hanlie and Christiaan.

From Botswana we flew north, crossed the Zambezi River and landed in Livingstone. We could see the steam from Victoria Falls about 5 miles away. We cleared customs, refueled and took off for Kafue National Park. We are definitely roughing it- We refueled the airplane from a 55 gallon drum. We used Mr. Pump and Mr. Funnel. They worked great. The hand pump was the best. Thank goodness after dragging it here it worked like a charm! There was a nice herd of Zebra as we approached the airport at Ngoma in the National Park. Alan has been doing some great bush strip landings. He is getting really good at it.

Alan has flown with the researchers twice since we arrived. The first flight they saw several large herds of animals- Buffalo and Sable Antelope. They were beautiful. On the first flight two of the passengers got sick but by the second day they were fine. On day two they flew over a river with about 20- 12 foot crocs, hippos, and lots of birds. Zambia is beautiful. Lots of animals and not a lot of people. A perfect place. Our camp here is good. They always give the pilot the best tent so I luck out since I get to share the tent with the pilot. There is a great bag shower and flush toilet and light in the tent. I have brought my hot water bottle and it is keeping me very warm.

Ann & Ron Carlson, the Wild Dog researchers have really taken great care of us. They cook for us, brought us good wine, and the camp staff will do our laundry. What a deal.....

Tomorrow I will go out in the plane and help spot for them. I am looking forward to it so I can see the park from the air.

There will be pictures when Stacey comes back.

To be continued….

Cheers!

Kim & Alan

 

August 8, 2004

 

Sunday, August 8th – We flew to Lion Camp in the Okavanga Delta. Stacey came with us. Alan was to do a survey for them. It would take 4 days of about 3 to 5 hours of flying per day. Before we went we found the fixings for our famous Colorado Brownies. The first morning Alan, Hanlie, Christiaan and Kim flew the survey. Kim was the recorder with Hanlie and Christiaan in the back as spotters. Stacey stayed back in camp and baked brownies. Boy was everyone happy when they got back to camp and had brownies. The flying was good. The area is beautiful with lots of animals. There is a lot of water in the delta this year so the animal population is very scattered. You can get a good view from the plane. We flew at 300 feet above the ground. Stacey went as the recorder for one of the sessions.

There were several very brazen Hyena’s running through camp. One night after dinner we put out the leftovers for the birds. We had a lot of leftover broccoli. We were not sure if Hyenas like broccoli but we thought we would give it a try. Just after we got into bed there was a lot of Hyenas running through camp and making very loud noises. They were right next to our tent. They kept up the screaming and the running for some time. We decided they did not like broccoli and will never give it to them again.

Stacey left on Tuesday afternoon. We flew her into Maun for her Air Botswana flight to Joburg. We had some lunch and got fuel for the plane. We had a great visit with her and were sorry to see her leave but it was time for her to return to Jim and her new house. She loved her visit to Lion Camp.

We finished the survey and went back to Maun on Thursday. On Saturday we flew to Kasane in the north eastern corner of Botswana. We spent a week there doing an elephant survey for Mike Chase. He does elephant research in northern Botswana. This survey was to take place in southern Zambia but we would fly each day from Kasane. There are no airstrips in the survey area and no fuel. Alan & I stayed at the Chobe Safari Lodge right on the Chobe River. The lodge is a very beautiful setting with lots of animals along the river all the time.

Alan flew each day for 4 to 5 hours. One of the days he flew for 5 hours and 22 minutes nonstop. That is the longest he has ever flown nonstop. The Kasane airport is an international airport in Botswana. It has a tar runway and fuel. Not a bush strip. One morning they went out to the plane and right in front of the propeller was a large pile of elephant droppings. They had made a visit during the night. We did not get a picture but it would have been a good one. The survey lasted 5 days. On the 6th day I went with them and we did some tracking for Mike. He has an elephant in the southern Chobe area that he was having trouble locating. We got a strong signal but never found the animal. We took an afternoon drive into Chobe one of the days and saw a Puku. It is a deer like animal but we had never seen one before. There were loads of elephants, buffalo, hippos and crocs along the drive.

After that survey we flew down to Joburg to take of some airplane maintenance and do some shopping. We also spent a few days in Pretoria preparing for our next survey in Zambia. We will be working with a group of Elephant researchers from the University of Pretoria. More on that after the survey.

On our way back to Maun in Botswana we stopped for 2 night at a Camp in the Tuli Block area of Botswana. Mashatu Camp is noted for its Leopards and elephants. It did sot disappoint us. On our first game drive we saw 4 different leopards. Just wonderful sitings. We also saw 4 Cheetahs that hang around together. We followed them for a time and when we went back in the afternoon they had killed an Impala. One morning we drove over to an area with a small rock hill. We climber up and on the other side was a wide open plain. There was a beautiful view of about 100 elephants. We sat there and watched them while we had our morning tea and coffee.

The Monkey and the Sandwich

At one of the research camps (I can’t remember which one) Mom and Dad have a tent under a sausage tree. (A sausage tree has pods that look like large white salamis that hang off the branches.) As if the falling sausages in the middle of the night are not enough, there are several vervet monkeys that like to sleep in the tree. It’s quite the nighttime chorus when they get going. Some of the guys were going to look for slingshots in Maun to help with the monkey problem. Mom told them all about my fancy slingshot. I told her to suggest a paint-ball gun! Anyhow- Mom and Dad were staying in this tent. One morning Dad went flying with the researchers and Mom slept in. She got up late and made herself two little PB&J sandwiches for breakfast. (Mom and Dad eat a lot of peanut butter!) She put her cup of coffee and her breakfast on the rail outside the tent and went back inside to get her chair. When she came out there was only one sandwich on her plate and up in the tree there was a vervet monkey snacking on PB&J! Ooops! A PS to the story…. The next morning she put her chair outside first and then went back for the sandwiches. The monkey was very sad!

The Wildebeest Dance

Mom and Dad were at Cheetah Conservation Botswana, a research camp. The accommodations are nice (a huge exaggeration)- they have a trailer and electricity. The electricity is not always so reliable and the breaker trips quite often. They had explained where the box was (outside and a short way off) so when they blew the circuit Dad went to fix it. He looked and looked and could not find the box. Then he realized it was behind a male Wildebeest lying at the end of a clearing. So Dad looks at the Wildebeest and the Wildebeest looks at him. Dad waits and the Wildebeest waits. Now Dad had to figure out how to get rid of the Wildebeest. He didn’t want to throw anything at it and the noise of the vehicle he was driving had not spooked it off. So Dad starts jumping up and down and waving his arms hoping the Wildebeest will run off and not charge. He did stay close enough to jump into the vehicle in an emergency. The Wildebeest Dance worked and Dad was able to get to the breaker box and restore power. It’s amazing what they are learning here in Botswana!

 

September, 2004

 

In September we went to Zambia again to do an elephant survey for a group from The University of Pretoria. A very nice group of people. We had a wonderful time and made it out with no treatise fly bites and no Malaria. The researcher’s camp was in an area very prone to both of these. Alan did over 30 hours of flying and I read a lot of books. We had some beautiful bushbucks in camp and a lot of annoying Vervet monkeys. This time I managed to hold on to my food. The survey went very well and we met some wonderful people doing it.

From Zambia we flew to Kasane, Botswana to pick up Marilyn & Jim Steane and then flew to our first safari camp. We flew right over Chobe National Park. We stayed low so we could see lots of Elephants and Hippos. They loved it. There were lots of animals. We continued on to Lagoon camp located on the Kwando River. On the way from the airstrip to camp we came upon a breeding herd of elephants. We got up close and personal with them. Marilyn & Jim could not believe how close you can get to the animals. Our first camp was great. We say a pride of 13 lions, 2 large herds of buffalo. Lots and lots of beautiful birds. Next day we saw some Roan antelope. Very beautiful and not very common. That afternoon while we were in our tents resting a large bull elephant walked right between our 2 tents. I looked out the screen and it was right there. Alan went our on the porch to get some good pictures.

Traveled on to our next camp. Kings Pool had just had a major renovation. It is over the top. The tents (if you can call them tents) are very large. They are built around a hippo lagoon so there are always lots of hippos making lots of noise. Each tent has its own plunge pool and outside sleeping area. We had requested a special guide and Richard Coke showed up. Turns out Alan & I had him as our guide 3 years ago at Ongava Camp in Namibia. He is just great. One of the best guides we have ever had. He made our stay at Kings Pool wonderful. We saw Wild Dogs, a leopard, large herd of Buffalo, 4 large male lions eating a dead elephant, lots and lots of live elephants, hyena and some beautiful birds. We saw a flock of about 200 Carmine Bee-eaters nesting along the river bank. A beautiful site.

From Kings Pool we continued on to several more camps. The game viewing was wonderful. On a morning boat ride we saw 19 crocs! It was very hot in some camps and we spent most of mid-day by or in the swimming pool. It is very refreshing and the only way to cool your body down. Hard to contrast the weather from July when Stacey was here and the temperature went down to 30 degrees. Now it is about 95 degrees in the afternoon. We were sorry to see Marilyn & Jim leave but they had a wonderful trip. They are already talking about the next safari.

We spent the next few days in Maun. It is so hot and dusty in Maun this time of year we needed to get out so we headed out to Lion Camp for a few days. After that we went back to Kasane to do some elephant tracking for Mike Chase. He has 5 collared elephants that he has not been able to find in several months. We had to delay our early take off the first morning of tracking because there was an elephant on the runway. A very large bull, but not one we were looking for. Anyway, we took off and flew for about 3 ½ hours. We were very successful. We found 4 out of the 5 elephants. Mike was very pleased. We all went back to Maun and had lunch in the only air conditioned restaurant in town. It was nice and cool.

After that we went back out to Lion Camp. They need some help doing some tracking and some Lion survey work. We spend 6 nights there. Alan did some tracking, and I read a helped in the kitchen. He also had to fly Tahliti, one of the research assistants, to Maun and back one day. She got a bug in her eye and it needed some medical attention. She was very glad the airplane was available. It would have been a very long drive for eye drops.

From Lion Camp we flew to Savuti Camp to meet up with Jane and Mel from Vail. We spent 2 nights there with them. We had a wonderful time. We had requested a special guide named Benson. He is the same guide that took out Matt Lauer from the Today show when he was at Mombo Camp last February doing his segment “Where in the world is Matt Lauer”. Benson is a great guide and he made our game drives very special. There were also tons of elephants there. We also saw wild dogs, zebras, lions, and lot of beautiful birds. We saw an Aardwolf for the first time and a lion eating a crocodile.

One of the special animal encounters came late at night. We had just gone back to our tent after dinner. Our tent had a very unique bathroom. It was outside on the deck area overlooking the waterhole. A beautiful view just steps away from out bedroom area. Anyway, I went to use the bathroom and then went over to the shower to check to see if my underwear had dried. As I touched it I heard a loud hissing noise. I looked down and there was a very large snake coiled up in the shower. I screamed, called to Alan and ran very fast back into the tent. We put some close back on and walked very quickly back to the dinning room. We told the camp managers we had a little problem. They called Benson back. He had just left to go to his tent. They got the snake catching pole and went to our shower. Sure enough there was a 6 foot African Rock Python in the bottom of the shower. It had just strangled a squirrel and was just starting to swallow it. They caught him with the pole and carried him out to the deck area. They wanted to us to come and look at it. I looked from a great distance and that was enough for me. They put it in a pillow case overnight. They will take it out tomorrow and set it free far from the camp. Alan and I went back to our tent and did not venture out to the bathroom during the night. After that we had the guide check our bathroom every time we went back to the tent. Yet another “Snake Encounter of the Worst Kind.”

We flew Mel & Jane back to Maun with us. It was so hot there that we couldn’t stay for long. Alan did a quick oil change on the airplane, Mel & Jane left for Joburg and we flew back out to lion camp for a few days.

We hope all is well in the USA and look forward to catching up when we return.

-Kim (& Alan)

 

December,  2004

Hello again,

This is the last installment of the "Where in the ..." African adventure series for 2004. While past emails chronicled our activities I thought you would enjoy reading the following we recently received from our favorite researcher - Hanlie Winterbach.

She and her husband Christiaan run the Lion Camp mentioned in earlier messages. Besides volunteering our time for lion tracking and a game census count, we spent a bit of time hanging out in their research camp getting to know them and their staff. It was a great way to spend our down time, relaxing in the bush with a book, or watching the elephants, zebra, hyenas, or lions amble by.

Hanlie sent this to update us on what we missed since we left Botswana in October. To clarify, the FIV project is sponsored by the US National Cancer Institute, to study the feline version of HIV, which is pervasive in lions, but they do not develop full blown AIDS. They are hoping to find a genetic link that would lead the way to a human therapy that would slow, or prevent AIDS in HIV infected people.

Every year they undertake a military style operation to dart and sample as many lions as possible within Hanlie's study area in the South West corner of the Okavango Delta in Northern Botswana. Although you can not appreciate the full gist of her tales without knowing the individual personalities, it gives a humorous glimpse into the chaotic world of independent research. No, it is not all fun and games gazing at cuddly lions doing lion-like stuff.

Hope you enjoy it!

Kim

PS: Samil - mobile lab on huge 4-wheel drive Unimog vehicle - size of a dump truck. Grasshopper - Land Rover type vehicle. Participants - people who freely give up their vacation time, and pay to work ten days at Lion Camp, enjoying all the deprivations and abuse the rest of the folks get for free.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Kim and Alan

 

Yes, it must be quite something to get used to be at home again! All the luxuries of a civilized world; a simple switch and one has electricity, hmmmm what bliss (if one remembered to pay the bill of course!) instead of first having to fill a generator with fuel (after dragging the bloody jerry can from some dark, spider-infested corner of the store room), clean the air filter, check the oil, then abusing a tendon or two in one's back while pulling the stupid string to kick the engine on. If one is lucky the generator will start and you would sit in front of the computer with only a slight irritating back pain and nursing the oh so fragile, over-taxed, and constantly harassed sense of humor! So, enjoy the luxuries. But I can imagine that you miss the peace and quiet of the bush with all its sounds and the million of stars on a clear night. You will be back soon, time will fly, you'll see.

 

We worked ourselves silly with the FIV project, but wow, what an experience. We couldn't locate the lions for two weeks and then in the last week we had left the lions showed up where we couldn't get the Samil in, although we managed to get the Grasshopper through some huge floodplains (Lin, the anaesthesist said it would be impossible and could not believe her eyes when Christiaan got the vehicle through). But there was no way we could take the chance of getting stuck by using the Landrover to get the darted lion to the Samil. So we got Peter Pilstein with his helicopter to come and pick up the happily snoring kitty, and, with Lin, take it to Lion Camp where the Samil was set up and the team was waiting while having a cup of coffee (very colonial style of research this!! no getting noses out of joint due to hassles). We would sit in the front of camp, waiting for the chopper to appear in the distance, then scan its side; if we saw part of a bum attached to a light-brown tail with a black hairy tip hanging out, we all knew we were in for a sampling session and jumped up to get into position, ready for a kitty. We then did the samples, and Peter took a sleeping lion back to where she was darted - no rocking, bumping and shaking on the back of a vehicle. Christiaan and Dane would remain with the vehicle and the rest of the pride and then baby-sit the darted lioness for the night. We would clean up, start the initial sampling processing and then go for a cool-down in Beetle-Xing with a beer or two.

 

It was great and made things far more easy on us and the lions. The only thing I regretted was that none of the lionesses ever would know they had flown over their home range!!! Peter took us radio tracking with the chopper one day. I was sitting at the back with our two participants, Jan and Val, with Jan and me each sitting at the two side doors. Only there were no doors as Peter had taken it off to fit the darted lion in on the trauma board. I must admit, I was all ready to go and excited, until that chopper took off and suddenly the ground was disappearing further away. Me and Jan both almost sat on Val's lap trying to get a bit away from the gaping holes. After a while one got used to it and then the fun was just amazing. We saw two very fat cheetahs from the air, lots of game and one slightly miffed elephant toddling away from the overgrown mosquito above its head.

 

Val and Jan had an absolute ball, but they deserved every enjoyable moment they got as they worked very, very hard and their sense of humor was indispensable. It was unbelievably hot and we were all sweating by the buckets. The clouds kept building up, increasing the humidity, but with no rain to break the heat. Val became faint one day and had to lie down for a while, drinking liters of water. We dripped sweat on the darted lions and had to watch that we didn't fill the sample tubes with sweat. Imagine the laboratory person analyzing those samples! I didn't do too well in the heat, got sick for 4 days with nausea, headaches and tiredness due to slowly dehydrating over a period of time.

 

The heat and the elusive lions of course did not help when noses got out of joint due to conflicting personalities, and oooh boy, did noses get out of joint! A sociologist would have had quite a time here studying crooked noses. Imagine 6 vets (1 Italian, 1 Malaysian, and 4 Americans - all very bright, but alas still veterinarians and the nationality only adds to, but never quite manages to subtract from, the veterinarian fact), 2 ecologists (tired and half-nutty me and ever-calm Christiaan), 2 students (so young, so very, very young), 1 research-assistant (Scottish and by now very tired and frankly fed-up with people in camp and broken Landrovers), 1 Dutch and 1 English botanist (participants still very jolly and unspoilt by daily life in Lion Camp), 1 English ex-participant (a sweety and a master in mumbling), 1 American therapist (calm, sane and saved my sanity, or at least what was left of it), and 2 Motswana ladies (Gopo and Kate fed the "vultures" day and night always smiling and singing except when they told a vet or two to shove off).

 

I have to, however, give everybody credit that all remained highly professional, basically decent, constantly hardworking, and used the application of the American/English language as a tool of abuse to a minimum while keeping less-than-flattering personal views mostly under wraps throughout the time. Actually, we were a great team and even the Landrover bursting into flames (yep, a cable from the hand brake shorted and caught fire) on the way to darting Sadu for field sampling could not cause the disintegration of the team spirit!! I took this great photograph of Lin sitting on the oxygen bottle next to the Grasshopper, holding a puny bouquet of sedges in a scruffy water bottle, looking slightly baffled while Christiaan is standing some way off with the mobile phone stuck to his ear all in this wide expanse of flood plains.

 

Our postal address is Tau Consultants (Pty) Ltd, Private Bag 83, Maun, Botswana.

 

Cheers and we will keep you updated on the trials, tribulations and sunny moments of Lion Camp and its inhabitants.

Miss you (and the brownies, hie, hie).

Love

Hanlie

 

Africa Update - 2005

April 22, 2005

Guess who came to dinner?

We headed up to the Kruger Park area for a few days while the airplane repairs were being completed. Kruger is a 5-6 hour drive from Joburg- ground transportation is a drag but when its all you have... We chose two camps in privately owned game reserves on the western park boundary.  Our first camp, Lion Sands provided us with a quick glimpse of the “Big Five” (Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, and Elephant). One of the dinners was set up on a sandy area along the river, just below the camp. It was quite a sight, with the table laid out with white linen, and candle light. Unfortunately, just before ringing the dinner bell several buffalo were spotted some distance up the river bank, minding their business and chomping on some tender morsels of grass. It is not a good idea to be anywhere on foot with these beasts around, but since all was in place the staff decided to go ahead with the meal after posting some rangers with rifles between the animals and the guests. Dinner was well under way as we were up at the buffet line ready to dish out our food. Then we heard this loud cry “the buffalo are coming, the buffalo are coming” from one of the staff members. Everyone literally dropped what they were eating and stampeded (I thought stampeding was reserved for the buffalo) up the walkway back to the camp. In the chaos some were pushed into the brambles, while other elderly guests stumbled their way up the path to safety. When the dust finally settled and not a shot was fired at man or beast, we all gathered on the deck overlooking the deserted dining area scattered with half eaten meals and partially full glasses of wine. But where were the buffalo? Nowhere in sight after they were scared off by the panic stricken guests. Seems two bulls were having a test of strength confrontation that was misinterpreted as a full charge against us… but all ended peacefully when they headed back to the bush. All was not lost due to the staff’s effort to relocate the buffet, reset the table in the dining area, and rescue the stranded wine bottles. Just another day in the bush.

 

YASE – Yet Another Snake Encounter

Yup, these slithering creatures have certainly got our number. On the way back from a rather unexciting game drive we came around a bend to see this “stick like” object partially in the road. It only took a nanosecond to realize that the stick was moving. The driver hit the brakes as the snake recognized the impending danger. It lifted two thirds of its body, about a meter (three plus feet to those who are metrically challenged), in the air, completely reversed direction while in midair, and then slithered off at mach-1 snake speed back to the bush. So what was this two meter (six plus feet) black reptile? A Black Mamba, one of the ten deadliest snakes in the world, and the most deadly one in Africa. Just ten milligrams of venom will send you to the afterlife. This snake stuff is getting out of hand.

 

Dave the Lion Man

At our second camp we met Dave, whose last name starts with an “S” and ends in a vowel, a cat trainer from Toronto. Animal Planet/Discovery Channel commissioned his production company to shoot a two hour film (Dave is the on screen talent) for broadcast on their channels later this year. The premise is that although lions are vicious hunters they are not the “devil incarnate” who delight in killing everything that walks across their path --- especially two legged creatures. The idea is that Dave, who has extensive experience with a variety of cats, would slowly approach a pack of wild lions and ultimately gain their confidence that he means no harm and is neither a threat nor food. The project is seven weeks into its three month duration and Dave still has all his limbs and digits. When we explained our involvement in conservation we were invited to sit in on the next day’s shooting session. So, after the morning game drive and a quick breakfast we rendezvoused with Dave and his filming crew including two safari vehicles equipped with rangers and rifles, two camera men, and a paramedic – just in case Dave’s appeal wears thin, or one of the lions is having a bad hair day. Our assignment was to sit absolutely still, make no sound, and bake in the beating sun. Actually we could cough, sneeze, talk, and take pictures when the camera wasn’t rolling. Otherwise, between rolling and cut if a fly goes up your nose, that is your problem.  When we arrived Dave was already moving in on four females whose five cubs were nowhere in sight, so they were somewhere stashed in the bush. Hopefully, Dave’s chosen path was not between mother and offspring, or things might have gotten exciting. He would slowly move closer to these snoozing ladies, watching their every move, and twitch. Obviously reading their body language is the key to survival for any animal trainer. His every move is accompanied by soothing tones of “nice lion, pretty lion” and other lion like phrases. He was able to get within thirty feet before reversing the process, making his retreat, and calling it a day with them. After a quick lunch at a safe distance we went looking for the ruling male. He was resting on the far side of a water hole. After our vehicle got into position on the near bank, Dave jumped into this disease infested water and swam closer and closer to this huge lion that would make MGM envious. When he first noticed Dave he headed for cover behind a few blades of grass to watch the action. Just as Dave approached the far bank, not more than twenty feet away he decided he had more important business to attend to and retreat deep into the bush. Since he was either disturbed by Dave’s advances or thought he had more pressing tasks, it was decided that any further pursuit was not wise and the day’s shooting came to an end. Since we left the next day we will have to wait for the film to appear on our local network to see how it all turned out, or if it never appears you can only wonder what happen to old Dave. If he lives to see another project, I am sure you will see a lot of sexy, Fabio-like Dave on the Animal Planet, where more than sixty percent of the viewers are female. Go figure.

 

Where to from here?

The airplane repair will be completed this weekend, so we should be in Botswana by Monday. From there we are still working on specific projects, and making final arrangements for a safari with some friends at the end of May. I am sure there will be many more exciting moments in the months ahead. It’s great to be back in the bush, see new animals and a dozen new birds.

Cheers,

Kim and Alan

Africa Update

May,  2005

 

Just another night in the bush!!!!

We flew from Joburg to Maun, Botswana. Cleared customs and went directly north to a wonderful camp called Kings Pool. It is in the Lynanti region of northern Botswana. Some friends (guides at Kings Pool) invited us up for a 3 night stay. We could not say no to this wonderful offer. The weather was beautiful and the flying was great. It was so nice to be back in the airplane and everything performed well.

Alan made a perfect bush strip landing. Just like ridding a bicycle, you never forget how. We settled in to our beautiful accommodations and headed out for a game drive. Our guide, Moses (very well named since it was Passover) started out by telling us that they had seen several Leopards in the area over the last few days. The game viewing was just great. The elephants have started to return south through Namibia and across the river. The birds were wonderful, we even got to mark off a few new ones on our book. After our sundowner drinks we drove past a large group of Impala. They seemed very alert and on edge. Moses said we could check out what was bothering them. We headed of the road and over hill and dale. It was getting very dark so Moses just turned off the engine to listen to the animals. He put the spot light on and started to scan the area. All of a sudden we saw the Leopard sneaking up on the Impala. Right behind the Leopard was a large Hyena. At this point things started to happen very fast. The Impala started running with the Leopard right behind them. We did not move from our spot. All of a sudden a large female Impala came crashing into the side of our vehicle, right next to me!! Moses put the spotlight around the side to see the Impala. She was still breathing but was knocked out and must have had a very bad headache.

At this point Moses thought we should move out of the way. We could not see the Leopard or the Hyena anymore. He started the engine and the Impala got up and moved behind the vehicle. We ere happy for that but then we heard a cry and knew the Leopard had gotten it. We drove around to find the kill. It only took us about 5 minutes to find it but by the time we got there the only thing we found was a very sad Leopard. It seems that as soon as the Leopard killed the Impala he gutted it. Then the Hyena moved in and ran off with the Impala carcass. They only thing the Leopard had left was the stomach cavity. It was quite a night all around. We stayed and watched the Leopard for a time and then went back to camp. When we got there we could see the dent on the side of the vehicle and some blood splatter. Strong drinks were needed all around.

Just another night in the bush. A real animal eat animal world.

 

Over Angola

In early May we assisted Mike Chase, a Botswanan elephant researcher completing his PhD at the University of Massachusetts, conduct an elephant count in the Luiana Park in southeastern Angola. The project was uncertain until the last minute when the flight permits were approved after extensive string pulling within the diplomatic channels. Angola is still very much the “forbidden land”, coming off twenty five years of civil war. To refresh your memory it was once a square on the cold war chess board, with the US supporting one of the warring factions, and the Soviets funding the opposing team. Its great fun fighting a war on someone else’s soil, with other peoples lives, but with the fall of the Soviet block the game was essentially over. So the fighting ended in the late 90’s followed by free and fair elections. Unfortunately, our side lost the election, and UNITA went back to the bush and started fighting again. Only this time we were in no mood for extending the war so we decided to support the legitimate government and the ever “slimy” CIA betrayed Jonas Savimbi by giving up his hideout to the military after picking up his Sat Phone signal. After a barrage of bullets all is quiet again.

The survey area was the base of operations for the UNITA forces. When the fighting ends the remnants of war unfortunately remain; in this case land mines throughout the area. It is believed that the elephants, along with other animals fled the area to avoid the exploding dangers. So there is a major effort underway to de-mine the area with the expectation that once removed the animals will return. The purpose of this count was to determine if the number of elephants had increased, and returning in spite of the danger.

Mike based us in the Caprivi Strip in a town called Katima Mililo. It is in Namibia about 75 miles from the survey area. Katima is the closest airport that has fuel available. We stayed at a lodge right along the Zambezi River. It was very comfortable but a lot of ferry flying each day. We flew for six days and a total of about thirty hours covering the area west of the Kwando River (which forms the eastern border with Zambia) and north of the Caprivi Strip (which forms the southern border with Namibia). Due to time constraints we only went about half way to the Okavango River which forms the western boundary of the park. The first day we spotted a number of large breading herds and several bulls, but as we moved further north the elephant sightings became fewer, with no elephants seen the last few days. However, this was still good news since it appears that their numbers are increasing. Mike is planning to put radio collars on a few animals later this year so he can get a better picture off the yearly movement of animals in this area.

While looking for elephants we did see other positive indications that other animals are also moving back into this area (or at least the soldiers did not kill off everything for their dinner table). Along the way we noticed a number of abandoned and bombed out vehicles, victims of the land mines which were obviously in residence. We saw a number of  craters that were obviously not formed by nature, unless a gaggle of aardvarks on steroids went wild making perfectly round holes in the ground; unlikely. Fortunately we did not see many elephant bones, and none in the vicinity of the craters which means that few if any elephants were killed by exploding land mines.

The most promising revelation was that this large expanse of unspoiled land (mines excepted) holds great potential as an uninhabited (except for the army installation) wildlife refuge for future generations of elephants and friends. The area offers abundant water and diverse vegetation, and is a beautiful landscape of woodlands and savannahs. Let’s hope that this byproduct of a senseless war lives up to its potential as an unspoiled sanctuary.

 

Elephants and Friends

After the survey we headed to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe to meet up with our friends Dianne and Mark Orenstein. Naturally we did the obvious stuff such as viewing the falls from the Zimbabwe side, taking a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River upstream from the falls, and enjoying the colonial splendor of the Vic Falls Hotel now celebrating its 100th anniversary. Upon the recommendation of Mike Chase we decided to spend the afternoon at an elephant sanctuary in the area.

When we got there we were taken out to play with a few four year old elephants. They were so cute but not very cuddly. There hides are almost like a metal brush. We played with them as they were fed a 2 liter bottle of milk each. Then we gave them some elephant treats and took lots of pictures. It was a wonderful experience to get so up close and personal with them. You can touch the ears and trunks and get a good feel for the animal. These babies are orphans that have been rescued by the foundation. Next we got to meet the big guys. They have about 20 orphaned adults that they have raised. We were introduced to several of them and then it was time to take a ride. They put a sort of saddle on the elephant and we walked up to a high platform. From there we climbed up onto the elephant. There was a handler sitting on the elephant. I got on first and then Alan behind me. We rode on Jock, a 23 year old male. He is the largest male in the group. He is very big and you are very far away from the ground but the ride was comfortable (except for humans with an X and Y chromosome). We went out into the bush for about an hour. We saw some general game and headed to a watering hole. The elephants got to take a drink and then we crossed the water. No one fell in or even got wet. We went back to the camp, got off which was not easy and said goodbye to our new friend.

It was a very special experience. It is rare to get that close to an animal that large. We got to feel his trunk and touch his ears. They are massive and beautiful animals. We loved the whole afternoon.

 Well, for now it is back to bush with Di and Mark visiting safari camps for the next ten days. After that we have a number of stops and a few projects before heading back to the states in late June. So more to come before we return. Cheers to all!

 

 

Africa, 2006

May, 2006

A few African moments relayed from the bush…

 

Jack's camp and the Lions....

Jack’s Camp is a beautiful colonial style camp named for one of the original Botswana hunters. Though Jack was hunting here in the 60’s, the camp is not that old. It is located in the Makgadikgadi Pan on the eastern side of the country. On our way from the airstrip we saw two male lions- a preview of what was to come. We spent our first night in the tourist camp, and then moved to the Glynn Maud research camp, closer to the airstrip. Much more rustic accommodations with a long-drop bathroom. Glynn Maud is researching brown hyenas. About an hour before sunset, Alan and Glynn flew a successful tracking mission and found some of the Hyenas. We celebrated their success with a lovely dinner by the fire, and then headed to our tent for bed. The adventures began around 2 am when we heard lions in camp. For the next few hours they were calling to each other as they wandered around the camp. When Alan’s alarm went off at 5am he asked me, “Do you think I should go out there?” I said that I’m not going out of the tent. He went to the wash basin just out of the front of the tent. No lions. He got dressed and eventually saw a light on in the camp kitchen area. Still no lions. Finally I heard the vehicle start and they were gone. I breathed a sigh of relief, but still did not leave the tent for several hours, and at least an hour after I heard the last lion sounds. When I finally ventured out (and the sun was fully out), I could see tracks throughout the camp and very close to our tent. A little too close for comfort. Yet another bush moment!

 

Blood on the plane....

We went to Duma Tau Camp in the Savuti Channel to see our friends Brian and Chantelle who are guides there. One evening, after our game driver, one of the guides came to us with quite a story. On their afternoon drive, his group was watching some lions stalk a buffalo near the airstrip. The lions attacked one of the buffalo, but only managed to pull his tail off. The buffalo moved near our airplane for protection and rubbed his wounded backside on the plane, leaving a trail of blood. We were leaving camp the next day and as we approached the airstrip we expected to see buffalo parts hanging from the plane and blood everywhere. Thankfully all we founds were a few streaks on the side of the plane. Back in Maun we had the plane washed and away went all traces of the unsuccessful lion hunt near the airstrip.

 

The baby buffalo.....

One morning while game watching in the Varumba Plains, we came upon a herd of buffalo. While watching the herd we noticed movement in the nearby grass. When we arrived at the spot we were greeted by a baby buffalo, less than an hour old. The baby had not stood up yet. We watched as it tried to stand first one it’s back legs, and fell, and then on it’s front legs, and fell again. He called to his mama for help and through she came closer, she didn’t offer any assistance. The baby tried again and managed to stand for a few seconds before all four legs failed him and he went down again. His mama called out to him for motivation and this time he managed to get up on all four legs and take a step. The mother kept inching away from the baby to encourage him to walk and he kept trying to move closer to her. An old trick, but it worked well. It was an incredible moment to witness!

We hope you are well and enjoying some summer adventures!

 

Kim & Alan

 

Africa 2006

June, 2006

Greetings from South Africa!

We have changed our mode of transport for a few weeks and are exploring South Africa by car. It has been quite an adventure! We spent two nights in Swaziland, a small independent state between South Africa and Mozambique. It is a beautiful area, and though the weather has been cold (we have not worn shorts in weeks), we did not let a little chill slow us down. Sadly, the Swazi King was busy, so we had to stick to animal viewing, not royalty. We visited a private game reserve and saw many new animals and birds. We saw a black Rhino, a terepin (turtle), a gigantic Spotted Eagle Owl, and crested Guinea Fowl. We spent the night at Stone Camp. It’s a bizarre place where the buildings are made of stone, and the walls are only 3 feet high. There are stone pillars with a thatched roof. Not the ideal place to be during the winter, but very interesting regardless.

We left Swaziland and are making our way to Durban, on the eastern coast of South Africa. We have made a few stops and have visited some very interesting battlefields. Some are Zulu vs British, and others involve the Bantu. (Apparently the movie Zulu with Michael Caine depicts the time period well. We will have to rent it when we get back to the states.)

We wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!

Cheers!

 

Kim & Alan

 

Africa 2006

July, 2006

 

News from South Africa…

Alan and I just returned to Joburg after 3 weeks exploring the eastern side of South Africa. We drove over 4700 kilometers (that’s 2900 miles) and had a wonderful time. We began by driving east from Joburg and made our first stop in Swaziland. The king was busy entertaining his 17 wives so we went to a game reserve called Mhkaya. We stayed in a place called Stone Camp which was very funky but nice. We had a wonderful view of a black rhino. He came very close to the vehicle which was great. Rhino’s are so big and prehistoric looking.  From Swaziland we went south back to South Africa to a town called Dundee to see the battlefields of South Africa. We saw several of them. We covered the Zulu’s against the Brits where the Zulu’s won, and then the Brits and the Zulu’s where the Brits won. The next day we went to Ladysmith where the Brits and the Boers had a battle and lastly we went to Blood River where the Boers won over the Zulu’s. It was all very interesting and a major part of South African history.

Next we made our way to a beautiful park called Umfolozi. We spent 2 days in the park with a friend who is doing wild dog research. We had a great time with him and got to see places most park visitors can not see. The first morning out we saw a big male leopard going to the watering hole. Then we drove down to the river bed near where the dogs have there den. There were 4 large lions walking thru the river. The 19 dogs of the den started across the river towards the lions. It was a very interesting encounter. As the dogs moved into the river the lions moved towards them and the dogs backed away. Then the dogs advanced and the lions started backing away. This went on for several minutes and the aggressor kept changing. Finally the lions moved off and the dogs ruled the territory. The dogs were protecting the pups that were still in the den. After the lions moved off the dogs started their morning hunt. We could not keep up with them so we headed back to our home base. We had had a wonderful viewing. The next morning we again found the dogs down by the river. This time there only about 8 of them. Tady, our researcher friend wanted to see if the pups were coming out of the den. We drove around to the other side of the river and found 2 park rangers with rifles. Tady convinced them to walk with us from the vehicle to the dog den. When we got to the den the rest of the adult dogs were there, but they ran off. We looked around but the pups were still inside then den. This was a wonderful experience. Normally you can not get out of the vehicle and walk near predators.

After Umfolozi we headed to the coast and the city of Durban. It is a beautiful city right on the Indian Ocean. It was nice and warm so we stayed a few days. We visited with friends and took an early morning boat ride to see the shark nets, the whales, the dolphins and lots of sea bird. From there we continued south to a coastal area called “The Wild Coast”. It lived up to its name with just the drive there and back. We left the tar road and had to travel on a gravel and dirt road for 50 kilometers. We went thru very rural Africa with many small villages with goats, cows and chickens roaming free. We stayed at “The Haven” which has a 9-hole golf course. There are no sand traps but you have to play around the zebras and the droppings. The green fee is all of 5 rand which is about 75 cents. There were not a lot of people playing while we were there. We had a nice 2 days with a long walk on the beach and warm weather. The drive out was 80 kilometers back to the tar road. It was quite an adventure.

Our next stop was a very fancy private game reserve called Shamwari. We stayed in the luxury tented camp called Bayethe. It was just beautiful and very luxurious. The area was very hilly with wonderful valleys and vistas. We stopped on one drive to look out over the valley and watched several different animals grazing. There were zebras, giraffe, springboks, kudus, impala and rhino. It is very nice to see all the animals together. One morning we had a very large female elephant come right next to the vehicle. She almost had her head over the door and her trunk was over our seat so she could smell us. Our guide was not very happy about this but we could not move on because we were blocked in by other elephants. Alan and I thought it was great. We were sorry to leave but it was time for us to move on. When they brought our car around they had washed it for us. That is a full service camp. We have never had the airplane washed for us at any of the camps we have visited.

A few days later we drove into a county called Lesotho. It is a very small county that is completely surrounded by South Africa. We just spent a few hours there and then headed north back to Joburg. We had a wonderful trip and next year we are planning to drive the western side of the county. We are now in Joburg for a few days and then off to Mozambique, Tanzania and Rwanda. More on that later.

Cheers form Africa,

Kim & Alan

 

 

Africa 2007 Update #1

June 14, 2007

 

The Dark Continent is Getting Brighter

When we first starting coming to Botswana in 2003 accessing our email was a bit of a challenge. The few internet cafes in Maun, the central point of convergence for most safaris, had dial up connections that limped along at less then five digit speeds. Every time we entered one of these establishments the person on duty offered the same refrain: “We are open but the dial up internet connection is down”. The rest of the time the whole place was just closed.

Over the years things did improve. But this year we had an epiphany. A friend here in town mentioned that if you went to the Steers, a local burger joint, there was wireless access. This had to be seen to be believed. So the next day we drove over to the place. But before we blew a bunch of Pulas on a cup of coffee we wanted to verify that this was not a fantasy. So instead of going inside we parked out front, pulled out our lap top, and powered up. Balancing the computer on the steering wheel and using my leg as a mouse pad I clicked the network icon. After about thirty seconds of scanning the universe for available connections I got a choice of three… unbelievable. My choices were reduced to only one unsecured connection (no one was kind enough to slip me the password). With only two measly connection bars indicating a rather poor connection I launched my email program, sat back and waited for the messages to appear. Amazingly, after only several minutes we were united with our world back home.

If you are wondering whether we jumped out of the car to patronize the joint the answer is no. It was not their connection we were using, but they just happened to be in the hot spot. So off we drove to try our luck elsewhere. Although we have only been in Maun a few nights we have already found two other hot spots, and one offering a free public connection, so our conscience is clear that we are not stealing time from an unsuspecting user. Some of the other connections are just businesses not aware of how to secure their access, or just don’t care. There are not a lot of computers here in Maun and few people have laptops although I have seen some other folks clicking away in the oddest places.

So Botswana is a developing country that has a long way to go to catch up to the technology leaders, but they may be closing the gap faster than anyone could have imagined. What a country!

 

The Big Five Comes To Botswana

One of our stops on our first escorted safari (more about that later) was Mombo camp in the Moremi National Park. The camp is situated at the northern tip of Chief’s Island, deep into the Okavango Delta.

The Big Five is a term dating back to the days of big game hunting here in Africa. It refers to the five animals that are the most dangerous to hunt because once they charge you or are wounded they keep coming until either your or they are dead. The big five are the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino (either black or white).

The term has been carried over to the photographic safari world, and has become the gold standard for game viewing. This is somewhat myopic since there are many other animals that are as interesting and exciting to see but this litmus test continues to dominate the criteria for good game viewing. So be it.

Until recently you could not see the big five in Botswana. The Rhinos were hunted and poached into near extinction with the few remaining animals captured and transported to secure reserves. This, all for the coveted horn which is used for medicinal purposes in parts of Asia, and dagger handles in the Middle East. Go figure!

In 2000 Wilderness Safaris joined forces with the Botswana Wildlife Department to reintroduce these species back into the wild. Over the past seven years more than 30 whites were trans-located to the Mombo area along with four blacks. The whites have been breeding well and a handful of calves have increased their ranks. Later this year ten more blacks will also be released. This has been an enormous effort on the part of Wilderness Safaris and their partners who have contributed resources and funds to insure the success of this project. Space and time does not permit a full description of all the problems and challenges that were encountered. However, for those of us who are passionate about conserving these animals and their habitats it is truly a wonderful feeling to see such a monumental success in such a short period of time.

Now back to the big five. In all our trips and hundreds of game drives we have never seen the big five here in Botswana... we did see them in the Kruger area of South Africa, and on safari through Tanzania back in 1994. On our first morning game drive at Mombo we saw all five…. what an exciting feeling. It looked like we would be one short as the drive was coming to an end, but then a call over the radio alerted us to a leopard sighting not far away. So off we went and there she was, out in the open for all to see. Wow.

Back to the beginning of our safari… The Theurbach’s and the Van Beelen’s joined us for an 8 night safari through the Linyanti area of Botswana and the Okavango Delta. We visited three camps, Xigera, Duma Tau and Mombo Camp. We had a wonderful time in all the camps. The game viewing was outstanding. Even better than we hoped for. The birding was beautiful at each camp. We know that Carol, KT, Jen and Jake took away with them fabulous memories and some of our love for Africa. We look forward to seeing all the great pictures when we return in the fall. After we left them we went to the Selinda concession in the Linyanti area of northern Botswana. We flew a survey there which was a general game count. Lots and lots of elephants and buffalo. We stayed an extra night at the camp so we could experience the area. The camp has just been updated and is beautiful. On our last morning drive we saw several lions take down a buffalo. It was one of the most dramatic sitings we have every seen. Lions chasing buffalo and then the buffalo chasing the lions. It went back and forth for some time but the lions finally won. Our last camp on this trip into the bush was Savuti Camp, also in the Linyante area of Botswana. On our last night drive there we had the rare opportunity to see an aardvark. This nocturnal eater of termites eluded us for almost 15 years and 400 games drives. It was a great viewing since he was a ways from his hole so he scampered around with us giving chase before he made a diving leap into his hole and safety.

We are now back in Maun to re-supply and do a few minor repairs on the plane. Tomorrow we are going out to the Makgadikgadi Pan to do some Brown Hyeana tracking  and then to the Tuli block to do an elephant survey. We are having a wonderful time. Catching up with old friends and making lots of new ones. The animal viewing has been very special so far. It is hard to believe we have been here for only a month. We are looking forward to all the projects ahead and to lots and lots of game viewing.

 

Africa 2007 – Update # 2

July, 2007

It has been a while since the last update, and not because life has gotten mundane over here. We could point to the fact that we move locations more frequently than bin Ladin but pure laziness is the only real excuse. Since the last installment we did some brown hyena tracking (a regular affair), lion tracking (also a regular affair), an elephant count in the Tuli block (where Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe come together), spent two weeks in Namibia, and the last two weeks of July at seven safari camps in Botswana. Rather than giving you a minute by minute accounting here are some of the highlights:

Etosha National Park, Namibia: Namibia, for those of you who are geographically challenged, lies to the west of Botswana, south of Angola, northwest of South Africa and borders the Atlantic Ocean on the other side of the pond. Formally German West Africa (one of the colonies lost after WWI) it then became a territory of South Africa until independence in the early nineties. The largest and most visited park is Etosha, which is flat, dry, and incorporates one of the largest dry lakebeds in the world.

Our purpose for heading in this direction was to work with an elephant researcher named Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell. Now an Assistant Professor at Stanford she has been on the elephant circuit since the early nineties studying elephant behaviors in pursuit of solutions to the growing Human Elephant Conflict (HEC) problem plaguing this part of the world. Her research has brought her to a private water hole tucked away in the northeastern corner of the park where tourists can’t go. The lion share of her work has been concentrating on the use of seismic communications between elephants at very low frequencies (8-12 cycles per second, well below human hearing). In addition to normal vocalizations and hearing in this range it appears that like a few other animals, elephants can send seismic messages through their feet and receive the communications via seismic sensitive cell via their toes (yes, elephants have toes).

What does this have to do with keeping elephants out of the corn patch you might ask, which is exactly what we asked. Well if we can decode the messages for danger, stay away, get out of here, etc. it would be possible to send these warning signals to potential crop robbers before they inflict their damage to humans and trample a years worth of food in a single sitting. (Other solutions to the problem include the use of red chili peppers, but more about that later)

Caitlin, and her husband Tim, who was also in residence during our stay are delightful, fun, and full of interesting and fascinating stories about their years in the bush. Clearly it is the people we meet that makes our travels in Africa such a joy. But even more unusual was their camp, clearly the funkiest (a.k.a. primitive) setup we have ever experienced. While Caitlin is all elephants, Tim’s career took a sharp turn when he left the field to obtain his medical degree at UC San Diego with a concentration in International Medicine. Due to Tim’s preoccupation they limit their field work to about eight weeks during June and July.

Their camp was designed to allow them to observe the local elephant population coming and going from this artificially fed watering hole… a favorite with several breeding herds as well as the roaming bulls. When they first arrived years ago they worked out of a concrete pillbox (ala the Normandy coast) which allowed them to get close and personal but was a bit confining. So they convinced the Namibian government to erect an observation tower a bit farther back (about 150 meters) from the water but offering a top down view of “elephant world”. Considering this flat almost treeless landscape the 30 foot tower extends high above the landscape like an invader from another world. It makes quite an impression as you approach by vehicle. Made of used train tracks welded together in a haphazard fashion it is about 15 foot square at the base and rises three levels above ground.  The ground floor is a storage and work area, with three floors above.

 

The first level houses the volunteers who pay a nominal fee to assist in the project. They sleep in two person car-top tents which makes for very close quarters and only a bit more space than afforded the travelers on slave ships. The middle level is the primary observation area and office where most of the toys are kept – cameras, night vision lights and cameras (most elephant visits occur after dark and all through the night), computers and deck chairs for visitors like us to sip our G&T’s at sunset. The penthouse is where Caitlin and Tim retreat for their private moments and also the seismic recording equipment. Their tent has an opening facing the water hole so they can conduct nocturnal observations between naps. Actually quite romantic! All access to this high-rise is via ladders which rely heavily on your early childhood jungle gym skills. And since all business is conducted at ground level it makes nighttime trips to the toilet something to avoid, especially since the clanking noise insures that everyone is awake to record your progress.

Fortunately we were not relegated to the ladder people and were given a dome tent at ground level. My knees were never so happy! The tower is enclosed in a perimeter of Boma cloth (canvas like material) to keep the critters out and blowing sand from burying the entire camp. As an extra measure an electric fence was added this year. The local lions made a game of trying to burrow under the flimsy cloth barrier in past years. The electric fence was a welcomed addition since one of the males decided to sleep just on the other side of our tent one night.

The camp facilities make the work basic seem un-basic. Water is brought in jugs so washing was limited to a sprinkle here or there; showers were available at the public campsite about an hour away. The toilet was a hole not deep enough and until we brought back a 50kg bag of lime not the most fragrant corner but fortunately downwind of most everywhere else. The wind and blowing sand did subside for a few hours each day, but most of time we felt like we were on the set of Lawrence of Arabia. Food, as always, is a valiant effort but limited to various stages of goopiness with all the necessary ingredients somewhere in the mix. Actually Tim and Caitlin are better than most when it comes to camp cuisine. Dinner is not something you linger over as the temperature drops and you are sitting alfresco in almost total darkness. Did I mention that artificial light is shunned since anything but nighttime red headlamps seems to annoy the neighbors? Also, talking is a low volume affair since this too has a disturbing effect when elephants are in residence.

One of the research questions in addition to identifying and cataloging individual animals and their behavior (like who is interacting with whom, avoiding him or her, establishing dominance, etc.) is trying to determine which adult males are fathering the offspring. This is important to know whether hunting would significantly alter the birthing pattern when the oldest tusker is suddenly vaporized by a big game hunter. The burning question is whether the one dominate male is making all the babies or spreading the reproductive wealth around to the younger and less powerful males in his bachelor herd? So you can’t just walk up to a toddler and ask “Who’s your daddy?” or wonder if the trunks look alike. Well this the 21st century so the answer is DNA matching of course. Right, now open wide so I can get a good blob of saliva. Not on my watch, so what is plan “B”. You guessed it, dung is the answer. So every time the herd arrives someone is assigned the task of creating a dung map, recording the position around the water hole for each dropping from a target animal. When the coast is clear and all the animals have left a dung safari is organized and driver and collector head out for the pickups… this is not something you want to do on foot. Each sample is placed in a clean brown paper bag and clearly marked with the suspected creator. When the deed is done they dash back to the camp (their arrival does not go unnoticed) for some processing. After drying and treating with special DNA extracting chemicals each sample is stored for shipment back the states and the full DNA workup. Actually it takes most of the off-season to get all the samples analyzed. So tune in next year for the continuing saga of who goes with whom?

So what does this have to do with flying? Actually our original project was to provide the aerial work for a proposed Animal Planet film, but due to delays in getting funding, etc. that was put off until next year. This year we completed some survey flights and were off again after only three nights in camp (the fourth night was back in town where we stayed during a refueling run, enjoying a hot shower, lavish meal, and night off the ground with clean sheets and toilet in striking distance.).

More to come once you have digested this humongous update!

Kim & Alan in Africa.

 

Africa 2007 Update 3

October 2, 2007

 

Heading Home !!!

It’s a wrap! The 2007 season (our fifth) is coming to a close; we are back in Joburg and heading to Switzerland and New York on October 7th. We will have been in Africa for 20 weeks, changed locations 54 times, been in and out of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia, read lots of books (Alan 20; Kim 26), spent over 40 nights in safari camps, flown over 140 hours, taken off 99 times (also landed 99 times; its good to keep things in balance) more than two thirds from unpaved bush airstrips, taken more stills than we care to sort through, taken almost five hours of video (a winter’s worth of editing), had memorable animal viewing, met lots of new and interesting people, been to many of the old places and explored some new places, and had an all around great time.

We are eager to get back to the states and make our way to New York to welcome our third granddaughter at the end of this month.

For those of you new to these mailings and our volunteer activities, this year we started planning, booking, and escorting Africa enthusiasts on safaris. With aviation fuel topping $6 per gallon (increasing more than 30% since 2006) the cost of flying keeps going up. The local rate for a Cessna 206 is over $450 per hour. So the portion of the safari fees that comes back to Wings4Wildlife has gone a long way in funding projects that are beyond the reach of most research budgets. Because of the increasing safari demand and small size of most of the camps (often fewer than 10 beds) space is no longer available at the choice locations for the 2008 season, and we are starting to reserve space for 2009. We do have safaris available for June and August 2008 for four people each, so let us know if you or someone you know would be interested.

Starting in late August we spent three weeks working with Mike Chase (now Dr. Mike Chase, having received his PhD this past spring from the University of Mass). Working with the Namibian government he conducted a total game count and wetlands survey across the entire Caprivi strip. This area, named for a German count with an Italian name, is a long, thin strip of land extending from what was once German  Southwest Africa (a German colony until the first World War) half way across the continent to the east. During the height of the European land grab the count envisioned a continental land bridge between their western and eastern colonies (German East Africa is now Tanzania) and a water route between the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Of course when he discovered that the Zambezi River dropped more than 600 ft into a narrow gorge at Victoria Falls a water passage was no longer a consideration. However, the area remained a part of the colony when it was annexed as a territory of South Africa when Germany lost the war. When Namibia received independence in 1990 the strip was offered to Botswana, which it borders it on the south. However, Botswana declined the offer when it realized that sharing a border with Angola, which was engaged in a vicious civil was, was not such a good idea. Unfortunately this missed opportunity was a bad day for today’s conservation efforts since it would have extended Botswana’s northern reserves into this water and habitat rich area. However the three rivers that nourish this area (Okavango, Kwando, and Zambezi) have encouraged extensive human habitation cutting off historical migration routes for many species, especially elephants and buffalo.

The entire project, which incorporated over 50 hours of low level survey flying, took us over the few remaining land areas comprising national parks and community controlled conservancies. We also flew along the flood plains of these three rivers to count the wild animals along with cattle herds and extent of human habitation which has spread all the way to the park boundaries and created a barrier that impedes wild animal movements.

The Caprivi is in the heart of the KAZA (area between the Kavango and Zambezi Rivers) Trans Frontier Conservation Area linking the remaining reserves. We started on the western boundary where the Kavango river divides the main land mass of Namibia from this needle shaped appendage extending to the east. The Kavango river cuts across this narrow strip leaving Angola on the northern boundary and entering Botswana about 25 miles to the south on its way to supplying the Okavango Delta with its permanent water and covering the seasonal flood plains from April through July. Our riverside campsite was along Popa falls, barely a rapid by Colorado standards, where the river drops about fifty feet around some small islands and rocks scattered along its way. However in an area which is flatter than Kansas a small depression is a canyon, small hill is a mountain, and any riffle is a falls.

As always spending time with Mike, Kelly (his partner in both work and play), and Thanda (his long time field assistant from Zimbabwe) was a pleasure. Having spent so much time in the bush they really know how to make the most of a camping experience, from the food to the G&Ts with lots of ice. It took a week of flying out of the Bagani airstrip to survey the targeted areas, including Khaudum, a dry, smoke covered Namibian park on the Botswanan border, with few signs of life beyond the occasional elephant and odd mix of antelope. Our next stop, Bum Hill in Kongola, along the Kwando river was a bit more primitive (no electricity, sleeping in a tent perched on a high platform, but with flush toilets and hot showers) but far too hot to be comfortable. The setting, also along the river, was equally beautiful with lots of new birds for Kim to tick off, and the occasional dead hippo being pulled down river for the annual community meeting and feast. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it was consumed before we were invited to partake in the gathering. Bum Hill, supposedly named by the South African military who occupied this area to keep the Angolan civil war from spilling across the border into Namibia and beyond, was an undesirable posting at best. However, since it was close to the airstrip and survey areas the location was ideal. This survey area was far greener and blessed with abundant water so there were far more animals to count, especially elephants.

I know that there is persistent concern about the dwindling elephant population elsewhere in Africa, but there was clearly no shortage of elephants in this part of the world. As I observed after passing over one large breeding herd after another, it is a good thing that elephants don’t carry guns, or we would all be in trouble. We also saw large (100-200 animals) herds of buffalo in the lush floodplain along the river. Even the elusive Sitagunga, which neither Kim nor I have ever seen from the air or ground could be spotted in the waterlogged reeds.

Fortunately we cut our stay along the Kwando a few days short to move the operation to Kasane, a beautiful town along the Chobe River not far from the point where Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe all come together, and the gateway to Chobe National Park. No more camping! We checked into the riverside Marina Lodge with all the comforts: air conditioning, ice, refrigerator, ice, abundant hot water, ice, electricity, ice, microwave, and also did I mention ice. This was a grand way to finish off our three weeks with Mike & company, before heading to Zambia for our next project.

We will leave you here since there is far more to tell than time or patience would permit. Even though we will be back in the states in a week we will continue the mailings from Colorado.

 

Africa Update – 2007 - #4

November 6, 2007

 

Post Script

We returned on October 15th after almost five months of foreign travel. As always it is a difficult adjustment – the people, the noise, the congestion, and people walking down the street talking to the lamppost, into their coffee cups, or just staring blankly while deeply engrossed in conversation.

Although we normally stop this running commentary (a.k.a. drivel) when we leave Africa we decided that most readers can tolerate one more update. If your threshold has been exceeded just press the key marked delete and move on.

 

Almost Attack of the African Killer Bees

One of our last projects was an animal count in the northern reaches of Kafue National Park in Zambia. The area, Busanga plains, is an expansive savannah surrounded by dense miambo (teak) woodlands. This is a very beautiful area just being developed as a tourist destination. Wilderness Safaris has opened four camps in the area and wanted to initiate an annual game count for the plains and a portion of the woodlands. This inaugural count would provide a baseline to track total numbers and movements of all the large mammals that can be seen from a fast moving airplane. This was the survey that almost wasn’t, due to the torturous process of obtaining an over flight permit from the Zambian Air Force – but we will leave that ordeal for another time.

Since we were already in the area, we never pass up the opportunity to explore some new safari lodges, and take in a few game drives… which is one of the activities that draws us back here year after year. We never tire of watching animals do their animal things, or Animal Planet/Discovery Channel in the flesh. One sighting that never disappoints us is seeing a pack of wild dogs, especially when they are not on the move in the fast paced chase to their next meal.

While sitting in the safari vehicle watching puppies at play we noticed a dark mass hovering in the distance but moving in our direction. As it got closer the faint noise got louder. The buzzing was unmistakable. I had never seen so many bees together. As it headed for the tree under which we were parked it became clear that we were right in the flight path. Not a good place to be. Keenan, our guide, came to same conclusion, so he started the vehicle and slipped into reverse. Just as we started to move the swarm was right over our heads about five feet above looking like a tornado about to touch down. He gunned the engine about the same time they engulfed the tree. Moments later we watched from a safe distance as they headed off in the opposite direction. Maybe not the closest call we have ever had but close enough to make you wonder how dangerous a large number of small insects can be.

Footnote: We have had more guides over the years than we can easily recall. Each usually has some memorable trait… funny, engaging, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, or just drop dead gorgeous (a female point of view). However, Keenan has to be the most worldly we have ever encountered. He grew up in Lusaka, the capitol of Zambia. I believe his mother was once a member of parliament, so the combination of city living and educated parents gave him more opportunities than most Africans. Being in his mid forties he grew up during the sixties and was exposed to every aspect of American TV and movies. The three days we spent together was an endless trivia contest about obscure shows like Cisco Kid, I Dreamed of Genie, Sanford and Sons, and many I had never even heard of. His knowledge of TV was only surpassed by his knowledge of old movies. His training as a botanist (he was constantly collecting seeds to replant at his horse farm near South Luangwa) was only one aspect of his command of the natural world. But probably most interesting was his fascination with the native peoples of North America. He has read extensively about American Indians and was fascinated with the little factoids that we shared with him. Some game drives are often more than moving and gazing, especially with a guide as interesting as Keenan.

 

The World from Above

We like short projects so when we got the call from Conservation International’s South African manager for a one day fly over, we jumped at the invite. Our objectives were two fold. One, they are sponsoring a project to evaluate the effectiveness of chili peppers as a way to deter elephants from raiding the local crops. This has been tried before with varying degrees of success, actually spawning a secondary business selling high quality chili peppers to an American manufacturer of Tabasco sauce. The researcher from the University of Stellenbosch needed to scout a location to establish her test site along the migration path for elephants crossing the Kwando River between Zambia and Angola. Our task was to fly up the floodplain looking for telltale signs of elephant movements.

Secondly, CI wants to build a community run tourist camp along the river. Although a bit off the usual overland self drive safari route, they feel that it will give the local people some experience in the tourist business, and create new jobs in an area which consists mostly of subsistence farmers. CI and other NGO’s (non government organizations) feel that incorporating eco-tourist businesses into the local community gives them an economic incentive to conserve their environment.

We took off from Katima Mulilo in the eastern Caprivi for Kongola with Leo Braack from CI, Katerina the research student and her PhD advisor to rendezvous with the community representatives. We did our initial campground scouting along the river then headed south. Unfortunately, scouting flights are low level, and require numerous 360 degree turns to get a closer look. Leo, an entomologist by training, travels all over Africa in small planes. However, this flight was more than he could handle and joined the bag of the minute club scoring a personal best and new Wings4Wildlife record of five bags in a single 40 minute flight --- a record that we hope will not be bested any time soon. The good news was we were soon on the ground. The bad news was that we still had to fly back to Katima after our second group flight.

The second flight, four plus the pilot, was an all local team, with several never-evers. Our bag supply was depleted, but not exhausted. This group managed to keep a lid on. Considering that most of them had never been higher off the ground than the low branches of a sausage tree you can imagine the excitement of seeing the world from 300 feet. As we flew along they would point out their villages, local schools, and familiar landmarks. I could feel the action as they bounced around their seats causing the plane to tilt from side to side as I struggled to keep the wings level. I had no idea what they were talking about since they were jabbering in their local language. However, when we were back on the ground my copilot translated their comments and shared their enthusiasm. As they headed back to their village over land, we took off for our flight home satisfied that some times the shortest projects can be the most satisfying.

 

Life on the edge

A final tidbit. We stopped at the River Club on the Zambian side of Victoria Falls to check out this camp. It was suggested that we do lunch on Livingston Island. With little investigation it sounded like fun since it was a boat ride on the Zambezi, lunch on the island, and a swim in the Zambezi, something we have not done before. Once the boat dropped us off we were directed to the changing room (a rather minimal bush) to get into our swim suits. Our guide, plus one other couple, waded into the river then swam to a rocky area through reasonably shallow water. We scrambled on to the rocks and he proceeded to dive (head first) into a deeper pool before yelling back to follow him. Kim jumped in and quickly realized that this pool was right on the edge of Victoria Falls. Once at the far end he instructed her to sit on a rock ledge, which is only inches from the edge of the falls. Although the water was moving fast there was no sensation that it would pull you over. It was my turn, which for someone with a fear of heights, was a bit more challenging (we have photos to prove it). I did inch my way to the ledge, but could not muster the courage to look over. Even now, writing this, I get a queasy feeling. Had we known what was in store we would probably have passed on this outing, since it could be the most daring thing we have ever done. Although not recommended for the faint of heart it was really an exhilarating feeling. We could stretch our arm out and touch the water going over the falls. Maybe next year its bungee jumping off the Vic Falls bridge, but not likely.

So that’s all for 2007, but our reservations are already made for 2008.

 

October, 2008

Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!

 

Well we were going to muck around for some lame excuse for not sending any updates this year, like the high incidence of sun spots, the coriolis force, the aurora borealis, or some such cosmic event, but we were just too lazy. 

 

Not that we did not have a great time and lots to write about, but whenever the time was right we got lazy.

 

To recap we flew just under 100 hours, with about the same number of takeoffs, and close to that number of landings. The airplane performed admirably with the exception of the usual electronic glitches. Actually, our radar altimeter decided to be reliably unreliable… which for most pilots is not a big deal; most planes don’t even have one. However, for our volunteer work this is a big deal. Most surveys require that you fly a fixed height above the ground which can only be accurately measured using a radar altimeter. You can estimate your height using a conventional altimeter or GPS if you know the exact elevation of the terrain below. Botswana is very flat so this should be a minimal problem, but most researchers will not conduct a survey without one, so we actually cancelled one project since we could not guarantee that it would be working.

 

Most of our time was spent in Botswana, with one trip back to Joburg in early September to pick up some friends, and an overnight at Victoria Falls in Zambia. We curtailed our flying a bit to compensate for the astronomical cost of fuel… topping out at almost $10 a gallon in places (we burn 15 gallons per hours so you do the math). We still managed to move around a bit in our 3 ½ months changing locations 36 times. Of the seven safaris that we booked through Wings4Wildlife we escorted only four… either partially or for the entire length of the safari.

 

We often wondered if we are getting a bit old for this game. Looking ahead we are committed to returning in 2009, with three safaris already in the works and hopefully more expected. In spite of the gloomy economic news camp bookings are up with all of our favorite destinations almost sold out. So if you are interested we should be able to organize a safari for next year, but getting your first choice of locations may be a challenge.

 

The more significant decision is that we are planning to skip Africa in 2010. It has been a long time since we spent a summer in Vail, so we need to see what we are missing. Besides with our fourth granddaughter arriving this February (Stacey and Jim came through) we think we would like to stay closer to family. Beyond 2010 is still a toss up, but until we decide on the longer term we will keep the airplane in storage.

 

Anyway, if we would have sent an update here are some tidbits we might have covered:

 

1.Presidents Come, Presidents Go, Presidents Stay Too Long

 

It is somewhat appropriate that coincident with our own ordeal there was a lot of presidential happenings in our favorite corner of Africa (I will ignore the Kenyan debacle since we have not been there in years).

 

Presidents Come: First the good. I have to confess that our greatest affection lies in Botswana… as far as we are concerned the “crown jewel” of all of Africa. Botswana has a new president… Ian Khama. I bet you missed that little nugget of news since it happened last March with little fanfare and less notice. Despite the fact that the current president had one more year to his term he graciously resigned and through a smooth transition of power elevated his vice president to his position. What a novel concept? By the way Mr. Khama, whose father Seretse was Botswana’s first president after independence in 1966, is the son of Seretse and Ruth, a white women who he met while at school in England. He is an enlightened former general who is determined to make Botswana even better than it already is. He is focused, forceful, and fair, even if he sometimes reverts to the “Ready, Fire, Aim” school of diplomacy.

 

Presidents Go: South Africa’s political situation is such a mess that space does not permit a full discussion. With Mbeki’s sudden departure there may be a short period of stability before Jacob Zuma takes over next year. As president of the ANC which has about 68% of the vote it seems unlikely that some other outcome is possible, although there are signs that the ANC coalition may be fractionalizing. In South Africa’s parliamentary system you vote for your party, who chooses its parliamentary representative, who then selects the president. So a breakup of the ANC may result in an open contest, rather than a shoe in. The scary prospect about Zuma is that his disenfranchised younger supporters who have not prospered as promised under Mbeki have threatened to destroy the country if their demands for jobs and prosperity are not met. It would not take much instability to drive the most successful African nation into the abyss, and as noted in a recent book about Africa’s challenges, if South Africa fails there is no hope for the rest of the continent.

 

Presidents Stay: The situation in Zimbabwe has been well covered in the North American press, so no need to recap other than to say that living in a country with over 230 million percent inflation is a condition we can not even begin to imagine, even amidst our own economic troubles. I tried to get my hands on a 50 Billion Dollar note which is truly worth less than the paper it is printed on, but only got to see one. Operating under the pretense of democracy, this is a dictatorship that has no intension of relinquishing power. While Mugabe and his entourage maintain their grip the suffering of their people will continue. Even if he departed tomorrow (by death or exile) it is not clear that the rest of the world is still ready to contribute the necessary funds to rebuild this once and still beautiful country.  It might be past saving. Remember, that regardless who wins our presidency on Jan 20th there will be a smooth transfer of power.

 

So as we head to the polls ending our own presidential odyssey it is worth reflecting on our good fortune to be born where we were and when we were, knowing full well that no matter how bad the situation appears more than half of the world’s population have it much worse, and would gladly exchange places with any of us in less than a heartbeat.

 

2.The Four tenors

 

We were traveling with two female friends from Colorado. At Savuti camp in Northern Botswana our paths crossed with four longstanding banking colleagues from London and South Africa on a long weekend getaway. A yearly event bringing a Swede, South African, and two Irish lads (who met in London 20 years ago) together for drinking, partying, drinking, game viewing, drinking, and more drinking. By the time we met up they had already finished off one cooler box of various alcoholic beverages, and were half way through the second one which was emergency airlifted to them in the bush. Our guide Ole decided that the combination of four happy visitors, a bag of Palm nuts, and a decaying tree was ideal for the 2008 Invitational Palm Nut Throwing contest. After measuring off the lady’s and men’s throwing line and throwing what little cash we all had, let the games begin. Bypassing the throw by throw excitement the winning trophy went to our American blonde, to which we all toasted until every drop was gone. So is it the year of the woman, or what? By the way it was some other camp guests who dubbed these four inebriated gents the “Four Tenors”, and we never heard them sing a note.

 

3.Bees and Mambas

 

The longest survey this year was a 26 hour affair in the North West corner of Botswana referred to as the pan handle, which is where the Okavango river enters Botswana, then fans out into the largest inland delta in the world. Although we were given pilot accommodations in a lovely chalet overlooking the river, the rest of the crew pitched their tents at a camp site about 1 km along an inlet. Our proprietor, the Drotsky family, failed to mention two little features about the campsite… one was a giant bee hive high in the overhanging tree, and an extended family of black mambas who also called it home. The bee attack came without warning just as we returned from a very long morning of flying. Fortunately, we only arrived after the rest of the group was counting their wounds and pulling stingers out with a tweezers. By this time the angry bees had returned to their hive. Also watching the action was a large mamba (all snakes are large snakes) so we assumed that it had attacked the nest and caused the disturbance. Two ornithologists we met a few days later pointed out that since snakes don’t eat like normal folks, it was probably hanging around trying to pick off some unsuspecting hive raider. In any case a mamba in our midst was not an appealing thought, so we were happy to hear that a short time later Elliot our camp staffee managed to hit the snake with a rock while it was drinking from the river, finish it off with a very long stick, at which time a croc grabbed it and had a tasty little snack. Goodbye bees, Goodbye snake, all is well. Footnote: when we mentioned the incident to the proprietor he casually mentioned that that was the eleventh mamba killed in less than two weeks. Footnote: In spite of all the shortcomings we did get to see a Sitatunga for a brief moment on our last night. It is a solitary and elusive antelope which has evaded us for all these years. 

 

4.Happy Italians

Clearly, the best part of Africa is the landscape and the animals, but its hard to beat the variety of people we meet. At one camp, which escapes me at the moment, we linked up with a group of Italians traveling together. Their favorite pastime was toasting, so meals were a long and hilarious affair. They would toast to anything and everything… inhaling, Salute, exhaling, Salute, and so it went. Communications was a challenge since collectively some spoke Italian and no English, some English and no Italian (our group), a little English and a lot of Italian, a little Italian and a lot of English. So it was quite a sight to see thoughts and ideas propagate from one end of the table to the other, before the message was fully communicated. Once we perfected this game of verbal inchworm simple discussions about the weather and animal viewing degraded into which country had the most bizarre political system, and method of choosing its leaders. When the dust settled the Italians were the winners, but not by much. Viva Italiana!!!

 

5.Unreal Reality TV

Africa is often the convergence point for some weird forces. Our last safari with California friends Judy and Marshall took us back to Thornybush, in the Kruger area of South Africa. Our friends JB and Shara are back managing this camp so we were excited to see them again and their new baby girl. The day before departing Joburg we got a call from JB asking if we could bring a package with us. No problem as long as it was small. “Cupcakes” was his response and he would explain later, although he wanted to apologize in advance for the chaos we might experience our first night in camp. We rendezvoused with his boss on our way to the airport where we received the cherished package. Although the weather in Joburg was clear we started encountering a cloud layer below us as we passed the Lowveld boundary. With Marshall at the controls we descended through the solid layer (not quite kosher since we were on a VFR flight plan) but with his expert piloting skills we broke out just as we approached the air strip. Although the visibility was clear below the layer it seemed the wind was blowing from three directions at once. Marshall was new to handling our Cessna 206 so it took a bit of wild maneuvering to get us going in the right direction and at the right position for a safe landing. As we rolled to a stop we all noticed the camera crew recording our bit of excitement. Once parked the camera man thrust his camera into the open door to capture the official presentation of the cupcakes. Kim, our official loadmaster, grabbed our precious cargo and played to the camera for her short moment of fame, if that is what you would call it. Since we don’t receive the BBC, nor follow reality TV, and the sequence might have landed on the cutting room floor, it is unlikely we will ever see the film, but JB has promised that if the producers send him a copy he will get it us. There is a whole lot more to this story than space permits.

 

To be continued… some time!!!