Africa-7 Small Planes in Botswana

In a previous post I noted that we traveled on a small plane that held only 12 passengers. Well the planes got smaller in Botswana, and then smaller still.

We were supposed to fly from Chobe to the Okavango Delta, but the information from our tour company, unlike for everything else about the trip, was rather sparse.

Exactly when was this charter flight? Even more disconcerting, as we were packing for this two week trip, was the 44 lbs weight limit. Before our trip I had weighed our luggage and our day packs (mine was very heavy, with laptop and camera equipment) before our trip, and the total was close to 88 lbs. I also know Susan had added a bunch of items after my final weighing.

BTW, it turns out most of Moremi Air’s business is flying people to game camps in the Okavango Delta, and they decide on flight times only the day before and then let the camps know the schedule. The nearest city to the Okavango Delta is Maun, Botswana. Google Maps tells me that they are only 65 miles apart in a direct line.  Driving distance is 135 miles, but it takes 8 hours!! That is an average of 17 miles per hour. Clearly not good roads! So flying makes sense.

They took us to Kasane Airport, and we meet two women from Colorado going on the same flight. They were also stressed about the weight limit. Then we meet the guy from Moremi Air, and he asks for our bags. He lifts each one, and says “Okay.” The four of us were quite relieved! I was also happy that he did not ask about the pack on my back, which weighed more the than my soft-sided luggage!

This is our little plane.

Why soft-sided luggage? In this picture of the plane, you can see the pilot getting in through the front door. There is the large rear door, with steps on it, for the passengers. Those little doors at the bottom of the plane, with the brown panels, is for the luggage. So soft-sided luggage really is required.

See the guy with the neon yellow vest over the blue shirt? He was loading the luggage on the plane, and I figured he was the ground crew. The ground crew at all airports have those yellow vests.

Well, after he loads the luggage and gets us on the plane, he takes off the yellow vest and stows it. His blue shirt has epaulets on the shoulders. Here is our pilot giving us our safety briefing.

There were six passengers on the plane, including one lucky person who sat in the co-pilot’s seat. This was one of the women from Colorado, and her friend who was seated next to me was an amateur pilot, and she was shouting instruction to her friend. “Don’t touch anything. There are foot pedals – Make sure you don’t touch them.”

The flight was uneventful, except Susan forgot to take her Dramamine and was a little green. We landed at the dirt airstrip (visible on Google Maps) near Little Kwara Camp.

This is a minimal airport. No security stations, no restrooms, not much of anything. There was a fire extinguisher in the shed.

People from our camp picked us up, but before we left we had drive along the runway and make loud noises. (Susan liked that part!) The plane had not yet left, and there were baboons along the runway. If they crossed when the plane was approaching it would not be good, for either the plane or the animals.

Three days later, when we were leaving this camp, we were driven back to the airstrip, and this time the plane was even smaller! It carries a pilot and five passengers. I think it was a Cessna 206.

There were no passengers on the plane that landed; instead the pilot had brought supplies for the camps.

Only four seats in back. I volunteered for the co-pilot’s seat it and it was great.

Here is our pilot.

I enjoyed watching the pilot work and looking out the window. These planes only go 1000-1500 feet of the ground. I loved looking at the delta watershed.

Shadows from our plane. 

We landed at Maun. It was a 35 minute flight, but would have been eight hours by car! We then boarded a “regular flight” on South African Airlines from Maun, Botswana to Cape Town, South Africa. Throughout our time in Africa the people have been amazing, wonderfully friendly. At the Maun Airport we had to go through Passport Control. The guy there asked us when we arrived in Botswana. He then asked whether we enjoyed out time in Botswana, and we said “yes, definitely, it was wonderful.” He then asked when were going to return to Botswana. Susan said, “oh, I don’t know if we will be able to come back.” Wrong answer. He acted as if he would not be able to give us back our passports, so we said, “Yes, we will definitely come back to Botswana.” It was very amusing, and I am not sure I caught the flavor of it.

Next post will be on the Little Kwara Camp and the animals of the Okavango Delta.