Ortho4XP, sourced from Bing, ZL18. As we fly low and slow, I would not go below ZL17

The scenery can be downloaded from here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LqQZYQTOs6oKVCPO3HC1yaxBHpPJjjOD

It comes with a map and a pdf file that explains it and shows you, how to install it (which is easy)

  

This ain’t PNW and also no PNG. This is Africa, Maun in Botswana is the starting point, to be more precise. Flying above the watery wonderland of the Okavango Delta is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but for a lucky few it is a daily adventure. 

Being a bush pilot out here is never a dull moment. You are either looking out for birds or animals on runways – elephants, giraffes, impala, warthogs, whatever feels like adding spice to your day by running onto your runway. That is why go-around procedure is a very common practice out here and so are manoeuvers to avoid flying into large birds. 

Then, of course, there are seasons. Summer is hot, with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F), affecting aircraft performance out of short dirt airstrips. Rainy season can challenge you with massive isolated thunderstorms, which you have to navigate around. Wet, muddy runways and drenched shoes are other obstacles to overcome. Winter is great for game viewing and temperatures are then luckily more bearable.

 

The 208 Caravan is a beast of an aircraft and considered here to be one of the donkeys of the Delta (the 206 is another one)

 

 

One of the most amazing things about flying out here is that once the summer comes and brings the rain back, the world around you transforms from a brown dry barren landscape to this incredibly green and lush woodland. Then you can observe these vast numbers of animals migrate all over the place. You won’t see that many together again until the end of the next winter.

 

The patterns of the Delta from the air are made up of lagoons, floodplains and lush islands

 

My job is to ferry tourists around this beautiful area in our brand new Caravan.

 

First stop this morning is Nxabega Camp

 

 

Tourists are being picked up by jeeps and brought to the camp site, where they usually stay for two to three days max, before I come back and fly them to another site

 

But before we head to our next destination, let’s check out the site a bit closer. Thanks to solar power, those dreaded diesel powered, noisy generators are a thing of the past in ecolodges

 

Here one can see, that most of these lodges are so-called “tent camps”, although of course the word “tent” is a bit stretched, because inside it is vastly different from tents, we have slept in in our youth

 

And if you are lucky, as we are today, you can spot elephants, taking a bath in the nearby water hole

 

Approaching our next stop Xigera

 

We see our first giraffe for today, right close to the strip. Luckily she heard us coming and vacated the strip in time, so we didn’t have to chase her away and do a go-around

 

 

 

Being a bush pilot in the Delta tests you in ways you won’t understand until you are here, sweating it out six days a week, eleven months a year.

 

Now, this is one of the more unusual landing strips, because it is not maintained at all.

 

We quickly drop some supplies and leave again

 

Abu is going to be our last stop for today. The owner of the resort is very generous and lets me stay in one of the tents, in case he has a vacancy

 

 

But this time I decline politely. Because watching the African sunset over the floodplains of the Delta, while enjoying a sundowner with a Fish Eagle calling from high up or an elephant herd passing close by, is something you can’t just read about, but have to come experience for yourself. I couldn’t think of any better place to be a bush pilot.

 

I only hope, those big elephants don’t rub their shoulders on my wings and that that tiger will not be tempted to have me for dinner.

Edited July 6, 20205 yr by bernd1151

[Yeah, after been a wannabe "707/747/MD11" pilot, all, in less than a month, bush pilot sounds good...why not...🙂...]

Seriously, great dialog and pics, here...!

I am, somewhat, familiar with the Alaskan/Canadian Bush pilot legacy and stories, but, also aware of the Bush pilotage, of a different kind, that applies to Africa and Australia...

It feels almost as if you have done this yourself in Africa...🙂...(btw, the giraffe sighting was interesting...)

[I've been (lately) re-reading Beryl Markham's "WEST WITH THE NIGHT" adventures in Africa, so, your (this) story struck a chord with me...]