Before going into today's adventure (FLYING) I'd like to give a quick thanks to my incredible, supportive family. Not only have they been there for me emotionally but also financially! Their contributions have been extremely helpful and unforgotten but I would especially like to acknowledge my Uncle Doug and Aunt Leona. Their 'support' came with the advice to do something exciting and memorable which is how I found myself flying (even though momentarily) a Cesna 70!!!
The size of the Okavango Delta is so immense that the chance of spotting wildlife is minimal (a lesson we learned whilst camping in the Delta), unless that is you get a birds-eye-view. For the event, we grouped off into 4 planes and in mine were 'the girls': me, Karen, Kirstie, Jess, and Sarah and boy was our pilot in trouble! Apparently the girls selected him because they felt he was the most attractive, I was busy trying to earn myself a seat in the co-pilot's chair (and successful was I).
As we soared over the delta you could see miles and miles of endless greenery which was intertwined with waters from the Okavango River and immediately after take-off we began to see heaps of animals. Our favorite were the hippos, as we saw them bathing in the river and plomping through the grasses. After 15 minutes of animal spotting our pilot, Johannes, gave us a thrill ride which began with a steep climb upward, quickly followed by a rapid descent! Good thing we'd strapped in because not only were we close to hitting our heads on the roof but our passenger door popped open! Being typical girls there was lots of screaming and giggling which made us oblivious to the door being ajar. Johannes turned around and in a very calm and placid voice said, "Your door is open, you may want to close that" which of course led to more high-pitched screams and again followed by laughter. Poor Sarah was closest to the door and was partially petrified and unable to close the it. Eventually little Jess had to reach over her and attempted to shut and properly lock the door. Good thing Sarah had her belt on, not only from the door being ajar but because our next maneouver was circles. Johannes took us back up and began to do tight circles. So tight that we were all in our neighbors lap and those unfortunate to be on the inside we completely squashed! Again more laughter and squeals to the (I think) delight of our pilot. Johannes also had a very keen eye for animal spotting so when he saw our favorites he would circle around so we could take plenty of photos. You may be wondering how he knew which ones we liked but, poor guy, didn't have a choice. As soon as one of us saw a hippo she'd quickly say, "Oh!!!! Look a hippo!" and the rest of us would reply in unison a high shriek of "Yay...a hippo!" and again more laughter plus clapping. As we were flying, Johannes looked at me and with a grin on his face asked if I wanted to fly the plane! You see, prior to take-off I'd told him of my interest in obtaining my pilot's license and being a fellow flying enthusiast he satiated my curiosity by giving me control of the aircraft (slightly scary, I know). The offer seemed incredulous and as I grabbed hold of the yoke or 'wheel' I rapidly jerked the plane to the right...oops! You see I thought the plane was on autopilot and that my control of the aircraft would be minimal but apparently I was mistaken and had full control!! My crew (the girls) were very supportive and with cheers in the background I was free to explore with lefts, rights, ups, and downs. It was such an adrenaline rush. Eventually our airtime came to an end and we gently landed the plane (followed by more giggles and applause to Johannes) and puttered our way to the loading zone. For me and, probably, Johannes too (seriously 5 girls in a small plane)this was an unforgettable experience full of wonder, excitement, and appreciation of the magic within the Delta.
