Friday, 20 April 2015
Today was
one of those early ones. I was up at 0515 and at work by 0615. For a 0800
take-off – a freight run to Nxabega. They always tend to bring the freight
while you’re in the middle of your pre-flight, so I like to get there extra
early to make sure I get all of my things done undisturbed.
At the last
minute, one of the guys from the office asked if he could come with on the
flight so that he could see how far the water was.
It’s quite
amazing to see rivers flowing where, just last month, there were only dry
riverbeds. While we didn’t get a lot of rain this season, the water from Angola
has transformed the Delta. I’ve spent over 300hrs looking at the Okavango
Delta, and it still takes me breath away every time I see it.
After
touching down at Nxabega I looked to the right and saw a game vehicle. Curious
as to why they were there, I slowed down as I rolled past them, and saw that
they were looking at two huge male lions lying in the grass about 10m from the
runway.
After
shutting the aircraft down, I left the offloading of freight to my “loadmaster”
and one of the camp staff, and asked the other staff member to drive me over to
where the lions were. I had never seen a
fully grown male lion before. Typical cats, shortly after we got there, the one
flopped over and fell asleep. The other one, a couple of metres away, was a bit
more alert, so we drove closer to him. I was quite surprised to find myself not
2m from him (I wasn’t expecting the guy to drive so close). So there I was, looking at this lion, and he
was looking right back at me.
I read somewhere that when a lion looks at you, it can see into your soul. That is how I felt. I
was mesmerized. This massive creature could easily leap up and take a swipe at
me. But he didn’t. He got up in a bit of a huff, wandered over to another spot
of shade, and settled down. It was a humbling experience.
That
afternoon I tied my aircraft down in Motswiri, finally done with a long day of
flying (11 stops, and just under 5hrs of flying). RAW Motswiri offers walking
and riding safari’s, along with the usual game drives, and when the Selinda
Spillway is flowing, boat trips. A very friendly, relaxed, and slightly more
rustic camp.
The last
time I stayed there, the spillway was as dry as a bone. But now it is flowing
freely, completely transforming the area. This meant the guests could go on a
boat trip instead of an evening game drive, and lucky for me, there was an open
seat!
We chugged
along the river, and while there wasn’t a lot of game to be seen, we were
treated to an amazing sunset, with drinks and snacks laid out at the bow of the
boat. Game drives are always good and fun, but the boat just adds a new
perspective, and is so much more peaceful and serene.
 |
| Female kudu in the foreground, with a male in the background |
-- I find
myself reflecting on life a lot lately --
That evening
we had a braai and gazed at the stars. I was asleep by 2230, only to be woken
up an hour later by the calls of lion. My first time hearing them (I normally
sleep through everything), I listened for a while before rolling over and
passing out with a grin on my face. They woke me up again around 0100.
 |
| A fish eagle takes flight |
Saturday, 25 April 2015
Normally I
like to sleep in on night-stops, but today I was at breakfast by 0630. A hot
cup of coffee in hand, we sat around the fire and ate porridge. Such a simple
affair, it felt perfect. The guests were going to go on a riding safari, and I
walked with them to the stables to see the horses.
I’m not
really a horse-y person, so I was a bit unsure about walking amongst a stable
full of horses. But after about 20 minutes of walking around and greeting all
of the horses, I relaxed and felt comfortable that I could judge their mood,
and took a liking to two of them; the aptly-named “Amigo”, who was very
patient. And Blitz, who decided to try and eat my jacket, but only succeeded in
gobbing all over it.
I could have
spent all day with them. The sounds they make, looking into their big brown
eyes, feeling their muscles quiver as you rub their neck or shoulder, it’s
calming. I think every day should begin with spending time with an animal.
One of the
stable hands eventually managed to tear me away with the promise of finding
some lion tracks. And there they were, not much more than 30m from the stable.
Spectacular.
With the
guests out and the staff busying themselves with setting up brunch, I had the
lounge to myself. Hornbills calling, and starlings were flitting around, a cool
breeze came off of the river, a mug of coffee in one hand, pen in the other.
Today will be a good day...
And it was.
Good flying, finished off with a scenic flight for 6 Australians. There were a
lot of zebra grazing alongside wildebeest on the floodplains, and the Gomoti
River was teeming was lechwe and waterbuck. As we turned back to Maun, I just
happened to look down and spot a lion. Some of the guests snapped some decent
photos. What a great way to end the day!
