Well, 2018 did not turn out exactly as we had planned; in fact, quite the opposite! Bottom line is that we saw less of each other and Roger spent more days away from home than ever before in the past 23 years.
It took a while, and a lot of money, for Roger to do his PC12 conversion and build up the prescribed 50 hours of experience on type to be considered for employment by a charter company. At least he had several opportunities to fly a Cessna Caravan at the same time. For that he just had to become current again.
Neither of us realised how tough the charter world is. After a few freelance flights Roger joined a charter company on a trial basis for three months. Each aircraft is normally/regularly flown by a dedicated pilot. Once you’ve signed up with a company you are on permanent standby. Off days are taken as the days that you are at your destination, waiting for the passengers to finish their safari. This of course means that you cannot have any form of social life back home because you never know when you are going to be called out again. This works for young, unattached people who are trying to build enough hours to get into an airline, but not for the inverse of that. The idea of me going along never even got off the ground. It just doesn’t work that way.
Even though Roger got to see many beautiful, exclusive places, many of them places he has always wanted to go to, it was not ideal. He ended up alone in his accommodation and at meal times, while I was at home, continuing with everyday life. By the time we got to December he had had enough and informed the chief pilot that he will not be staying on beyond his already allocated flights that would take him to the first week in January. Be that as it may, he would be flying over Christmas and New Year.
My December schedule was roughly as follows: Roger was flying/away for most of the days. His niece from Australia was visiting South Africa, so we had an early Ford family Christmas lunch on the 17th. Then a friend and neighbour invited us to lunch on Christmas day. Roger had a very early flight and would be back home by 11h00, so that worked perfectly; we had a really fun day. At the same time a friend of mine invited me to go camping with her in the Pilanesberg from the 26th, while Francois and Adri invited me to spend the New Year period with them. That was December, sorted!
I wanted to take the rooftop tent for my camping trip to Pilanesberg. It would work well because I would spend each day game viewing with Wendy in her car which is a lot higher than mine. That meant that I would not have the daily effort of folding and unfolding the tent; it could stay pitched. Roger installed it on Suzi in the driveway of our complex and after a quick lesson I was ready to go.
I felt very sad when I said goodbye to Roger after we had breakfast together on the 26th. It just didn’t feel right to be doing this on my own; but I also did not want to spend the entire holiday season alone at home.
Wendy had already set up camp when I got to Pilanesberg at around 3 in the afternoon. She was out on a drive, so I got right down to setting up my section of camp. It took some doing I might tell you. The top of the tent is a lot higher than one estimates so I had to abort my first effort and move the car to where the branches were higher. What I did not take note of was that the tree was a Buffalo Thorn. I spent a considerable amount of time cutting away small twigs with my kitchen scissors and untangling them from the flysheet! It was eventually done, with blisters on my right hand to show for my effort.
It was extremely hot and dry. I was exhausted after the effort of pitching the tent so when Wendy returned and offered to drive out again, I declined. I was quite happy to just sit in the shade with a glass of wine and watch the sun set.
We were out early the next day. We wanted to catch as much of the morning coolness as possible and just as well; the temperature climbed to 42⁰C by the afternoon. We had wonderful sightings though. Wendy is a very considerate companion when positioning at sightings; she makes sure we both have a good view and does not stay too long, giving others an opportunity as well.
It is the season for birthing; there were babies everywhere. So cute one can just sit and watch them forever.
We had the most amazing lion sighting. It was mid to late afternoon; we were the only car around. I initially spotted two females; then more and more heads popped up until the male showed himself. Eventually they crossed the road in front of us, continuously making quiet contact calls. Only then did we realise that there was a creche of youngsters on the other side of the road. I think we counted 13 in all. By then there were plenty of cars of course.
Word got out quickly and game drive vehicles started arriving at the site, so we decided to leave them to it and left the scene. Driving away I was slack-jawed at the number and the speed of the vehicles we passed. One could hardly see for the red dust clouds kicked up by the endless line of approaching vehicles…
Back at camp we had a lovely braai and went to bed reasonably early. The temperature had not dropped much.
The next morning saw us out early again. We decided to drive up to the Lenong lookout point and while we were there Wendy caught wind of some information being exchanged between two game drive guides. She wasted no time in approaching them to ask about it. They reluctantly shared where they had seen two cheetahs on a kill. So, that was where we headed next.
We found them, not exactly where we were told they would be, but that did not bother Wendy. She simply stopped oncoming cars and enquired until we found them.
We had a lot of laughs while watching a herd of Wildebeest that were heading down to the water. To get to the water that they had to pass said cheetahs. Every time the breeze brought a whiff of the predators they got spooked, milled around, ran away some distance, looked confused, regrouped, bravely set out again, just to get spooked all over again! We left before they made it to the water, if they ever did!
The evening brought much needed rain and a very welcome relief from the heat. The earth felt fresh and new the next morning. The temperature was 18⁰C, a whopping 20+⁰C drop from the previous day.
Back in camp at the end of the day I told Wendy that I would be moving on the next morning. The weather forecast promised more rain; lots of it. Folding up the tent in pouring rain was not exactly my idea of having fun. She would stay on for another 2 days. However, during the night she changed her mind, and also packed up the next day. Just as well. The following days brought the floods that saw road closures and damage beyond expectation.
I thoroughly enjoyed those few days in the Park. It was my first extended visit and I was amazed at what it had to offer. Thanks Wendy for being such a loyal, wonderful friend.
On the first night at Francois and Adri we chatted until about midnight. We hadn’t seen each other for a while and the time just slipped by unnoticed.
It was still raining the next morning, with no signs of letting up. I spent the day lying low; reading and dosing off intermittently, resting up for the evening’s party.
Their visitors had no sooner arrived and everyone was sitting around with a drink in hand when a near disaster struck. Francois noticed that the rotisserie’s flame had died. As he opened the cover, ready to light it again, there was an explosion that threw him backwards, stumbling over a chair behind him. His face and hand were burnt; eyebrows, eye lashes and hair singed. What a shock. After treating him, first with egg yolk (yes, it is a home remedy), and later with burn ointment, the party continued. Somehow the festivity was slightly dampened…
It picked up soon enough though, and midnight saw us playing ’30 Seconds’. It was rowdy and lots of fun.
After breakfast on the 1st I packed my car and took a leisurely drive home. It was still raining. Roger would be home on the 4th.
I was happy to see the end of 2018.