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| Baobab tree next to the Caravan at Lugenda |
In the span of a few weeks, Dave flew about
80 hours doing an elephant survey. This
consisted of flying transects at low-level (about 300 ft above the ground) following
the terrain over the wildlife reserve areas.
Dave had to maintain his altitude and stay on course for the survey (in
order for it to meet scientific standards) while spotters counted and
identified the wildlife seen. It
usually entailed a five hour flight in the morning followed by a two hour
flight in the afternoon for six days straight and then a day of rest. The purpose of the survey was to help
Mozambique get an idea of the elephant population and the effects poaching have
had on the population. While it is a fun
experience, the long days of flying can be intense, hot, and exhausting.
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| A look at the transects from our tracking software |
Shortly after he got back, one of the
families on our program left for their furlough leaving just two pilots to
manage all of the flights. November is
always one of our busiest months so Dave was busy flying many different organizations
all over the place. One interesting
flight was for some Norwegian missionaries who work primarily in southern
Mozambique. Dave flew a long day getting
them from Chimoio, in the southern part
of Mozambique, to Cuamba, in the north.
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| Caravan taking off at Lugenda |
Thanksgiving is not a holiday
celebrated in Mozambique, but we had a group of 22 Americans (kids and adults)
that got together to give thanks. The
group represented 4 different organizations serving Mozambique in very different
ways. We were able to eat most of our
beloved traditional foods (even turkey), play games, and enjoy multiple types
of pie… yum!
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| Jill's apple pie |
Our most recent medical flights to
Niassa included an eye doctor. Like the
dentist on previous trips, this was most certainly the first eye doctor to
visit these villages ever. Various
reading glasses were taken and it was a blessing to help give the gift of improved
vision to patients. It makes me realize
how much I take for granted my ability to pop in my contact lenses for 20/20
vision without any thought.
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| Getting an eye exam |
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| First pair of glasses |
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| Pulling a tooth |
Because of our busy flight schedule
and being short-staffed, a couple from our headquarters was willing to come to
Mozambique for several weeks to help with a major inspection on our Cessna 206. Larry has spent most of his time in the
hangar, while his wife, Linda, has continued to do her work for headquarters
remotely. What a huge blessing to have
the help during such a busy time!
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| Larry and Nelson working on the landing gear |
One of the things we love about living
in Mozambique is the sense of community and how everyone helps everyone
out. Northern Mozambique is a difficult
place to get things as we are far from major
cities where parts and services are more readily available. Since aviation is quite a technical field
requiring very specialized skills and parts, this can often pose a problem. Two different small aircraft operated by
conservation groups in the Niassa Reserve had mechanical issues that our MAF
mechanics were able to assist with. I
was able to tag along on a flight in our Caravan on a trip where Dave, Dave,
and Larry were putting their mechanic skills to good use.
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| Someone had to squish down the lid on the box! |
And of course, wildlife pictures... courtesy of my walk along
the Lugenda River while the mechanics were busy doing their thing! It has been so hot here lately (over 100
degrees) that it didn’t take long to get a sunburn on that walk!
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| Little Bee-Eater |
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| White-Fronted Bee-Eater |
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| Baboons |
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| Bush buck |
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| African Jacana |
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| Monitor Lizard |
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| Crocodile |
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| Starling |
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| Yellow-Billed Stork | | |
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|
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| Hamerkop |
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| Family of hamerkops living on our property |
