Flying around the Okavango Delta

My neglected painting which is sitting on my easel

Flying around the Okavango Delta is what I have been doing,during the last few weeks. As a service provider my work sometimes involves me flying out to different camps situated in the Okavango Delta .The drawback is that many things back home in Maun get neglected ,such as my unfinished paintings. I can't complain though, as this does take me out of town and into the wilderness. After the work is completed I am sometimes able to enjoy, a game drive or a boat cruise.These rare opportunities provide me with the time to sketch and take photos ,which form the foundation of my future paintings.

Since the Okavango Delta has become a popular tourist destination there are many lodges and Camps scattered across an area of about 17,000 square km. Today I got back from a Lodge in Kasane called Chobe Chilwero , which is situated on the edge of the Chobe River. The trip there and back was taken in a 6 seater  Cessna plane, and took an hour and a half. I have lost count of how many times I have flown in these small planes, but nevertheless each trip is different and unique, 

Since northern Botswana is so flat there is no fear of crashing into a mountain, however there are risks ,which require the pilots to learn a repertoire of other skills .Pilots will have to cultivate skills such as, dodging vultures and other large birds, flying through violent storms or landing on a bush airstrip that is either flooded or really corrugated. This trip was fine, although the pilot did make some sudden manoeuvres to avoid hitting a vulture and later on a fish eagle. It was only two months ago  a vulture hit one of these small planes and made a hole through the tail,fortunately the pilot was able to land the plane safely .

I was at Chobe Chilwero for three days , and it was at times a little frustrating to be working ,while in the distance I could see vast herds of buffalo, and elephants .I was therefore excited that on my last day I was invited to join a boat cruise on the Chobe river, and managed to take some great photos of buffalo which were part of a large herd of 150 animals.I hope that soon I will have enough time to develop these into some exciting paintings .

The Okavango Delta can be breathtakingly beautiful.

Most of the camps are in isolated areas surrounded by floodplains,which means the only way to get to these places is by small planes.Maun airport is one of the busiest airports in the world due to this fact.

Sunset on the Chobe river, Botswana.

Below is my Social Media contacts. 

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Donate via PayPal