Planes, Boats, and Buses

Today was a travel day. After breakfast, we said our good byes and loaded into the Land Rovers. We were surprised to find plane seats sitting on the compressed sand at the airstrip. When the planes arrived, the Load Master bolted them into the larger of the two. The plane had been used to haul cargo.

We flew back to Kasane. While waiting for the bus, I used the Wi-Fi to fire off some dispatches. We drove to the Zambia border. There was a line of trucks about two miles long waiting to go through customs. Smuggling is big business here. The wait to get a truck out of the country can be four days. We needed to get our passports stamped as we left Botswana, then we drove down to the river.

This is where the Chobe and Zambezi rivers meet. There is no bridge. We were ferried across by boat.

In Zambia, we had a snack while our driver took our passports into immigration. My Lovely Wife bought a few of the locals' crafts. Then it was time to head for Livingston airport.

The town of Livingston was named after Dr. Livingston of African explorer fame. I'm not sure why. The famous words, "Doctor Livingston, I presume?" were said by Stanley in Tanzania.

I've mentioned that our group needs two planes when we fly. I've been wanting to try the smaller, and I've been wanting to take a flight in the co-pilot's position. On the flight I got both wishes.

The Cessna was a four seater. I, as co-pilot, had only one duty. I was to keep my hands away from the controls, and my feet flat on the floor. No playing with the rudder pedals.

We flew between weather cells. There was hard rain coming down in many areas. On final approach to the airstrip, the pilot called off the first attempt when the ride got bumpy. He hit the throttle and pulled out about 50 feet from the ground.

Once at a safe altitude, he pulled off his head set and told us he didn't like the wind shear, and that he was going to circle for about three minutes to let the weather pass. I hope my mother won't worry too much as she reads this. The pilot did the right thing, and I would fly with him again. And, if you're reading this, we have survived.

We're in our new camp over-looking the Kafue river. Hippos can be heard nearby.

After dinner, we did a night game drive. But we only found three wild hare, and two bats. We were hoping to find leopards.