It's very early...05h00...the fire is already going and you can just see the tail end of the moon in the sky. We've been in Zambia over the waxing moon and the night landscape bathed in a silvery light is just beautiful & so bright that it is almost like day...no wonder it is called a hunter's moon...
But I digress....the reason we're up so early is that at 05h30 I'll be ticking another 'first' off my list....a flight on a microlight.....so excited....I love flying in case I haven't told you that already....After a hot drink, Carol & I walk down to the airstrip where she explains everything and we wait for John to land. John has a commercial pilot's licence as well as a licence for a microlight so I'm in very good hands. I would always check the credentials of any small aircraft pilot as there are a few cowboys out there and rather be safe than sorry...I've timed my take off to roughly coincide with the sunrise so hoping for a spectacular flight....as John rolls to a stop and turns the microlight, I pop on the helmet (with microphone so John & I can communicate during the flight) and hop on the co-pilot's seat behind & a little above John...and off we go....
Words fail me.....& I have to forget about all photographic rules & just take pictures....slightly difficult with the helmet and the cramped space...but here they are...the small brown dots are buffalo & the river is the Luangwa River..
Hippo trails to & from the river - they use the same pathways without fail & over the course of time form definite trails that all the animals use...aren't the patterns from the air amazing?
We take a low fly past to see the animals drinking....they don't take a blind bit of notice of the giant noisy mosquito...they've obviously come know John and his dawn patrols well...Another thing I didn't expect are the layers of warm & cold air that are noticeable as we descend (much cooler) and then warmer as we ascend again..
And sunrise over the Luangwa River as I'd hoped....More buffalo's - John tells me that this is a massive herd - over a thousand strong...
Below is a collage of pictures taken by various people...Priscilla Macy, Karin Bloem & Katie Dalrymple-Hamilton - many thanks for sharing, ladies! During her time in the air Katie saw 2 lionesses killing a baby warthog (or wartlets as they were renamed on this trip)...talk about lucky...(obviously not for the wartlet..may he rest in peace)!
All too soon it is over and my feet are back on terra firma...en route back to camp for breakfast we pass the camp vegetable garden. As Tafika is located just outside the park boundaries, they are able to grow most of their fresh fruit & vegetable requirements. The menu's here are really creative & Tafika Camp & Remote Africa in general gets our vote for 'Best Food on Tour'...delicious!
While the others are having breakfast, Alex & I jump in a vehicle & drive the short distance to catch a glimpse of something that I've always heard about but never actually seen...& now I am in the right place at the right time of year...the carmine bee-eater colony. Unfortunately it is not the right time of day for photographs here as the hide faces the wrong way so you need a setting sun to get the best colours but even so....they have gorgeous plumage and great to see them en masse like this nesting in the river banks....
And here's John trying to sneak up on us...pretending to be a carmine bee-eater...nice try, John but you do stick out a bit....
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