All good things come from above

Why do people on vacation do things they would never do at home? Such as getting on a rickety ferry, bungy jumping or scantily dressed on the back of a scooter, with a driver you know for only an hour. We can talk about it now. In the holiday flow, one thing comes the other. The 'safety' aspect falls unnoticed from the checklist. Colleagues of Onno should not read this blog. The credibility of Onno, formerly Corporate Health, Safety and Environmental Manager, may come under some pressure.

Airplane or Helicopter?
In the Netherlands, the Okavango Delta we will also admire from the air. From a plane. In Maun, the city from which the flights depart, we saw a brochure in which helicopter trips are recommended. With the additional selling point that the doors have been removed for more beautiful photos. The advantage of the aircraft is that you have a better overview of a larger part of Delta. You see more wildlife in a helicopter, because closer to the ground and the speed is lower. A heli is available around sunset that same afternoon. Not a second doubt, rented immediately.

Safety at stake?
At the airport we are taken by bus to the Robinson R44. The pilot, a Botswane hipster, is waiting for us. Type of rough husk, white kernel. His safety instruction is limited to: "Do not walk behind the machine because of the rotating rotor blades." He takes a seat in the cockpit and we save ourselves. Onno grants me the place in the front, next to the pilot. After some struggling I get the safety belts on. The pilot is already sending the helicopter into the air. Only then does it strike me how small the cockpit is. Where the side of my chair ends, the sky in the gaping hole starts immediately. The shock strikes my heart. The fear of heights is playing. No door, suddenly a major drawback. Did I close the safety belt properly? I can't hold on to anything, for some extra security. The only thing sticking out is the control stick barely 5 cm away from my right hand. Grabbing hold of this grip during an unexpected maneuver is irrevocably fatal. I don't trust my fright reflexes and sit on my hand to be sure.

Unforgettable
Fortunately the animals distract on the ground. How unique to fly high over elephants and giraffes. They hardly bother us. Dozens of hippos float together in a small lake. A new dimension of the Delta unfolds before our eyes. Riding on land along rivers, it did not stand out; there is a lot of sand and hardly any water in the sky. "It has not been so dry in 30 years," the pilot explains. Many animals come to one of the remaining rivers. A group of hundreds of buffalo is already standing in the river while the other members are on their way to drinking water in a neat, long line. What an impressive overview we have of the nature reserve and its animals. The pilot skimmed over the ground at barely 10 meters, rising again as the trees approached. Sharp and very sloping when he has spotted Wildlife. He clearly enjoys it, my stomach a little less.

Share
Halfway through the trip the battery of my camera is empty. It is true, you enjoy more when you do not look through the camera. However, then no photos to share with others and sharpen your own memories. Onno photographs with one eye through the reflex lens to focus the animals. That's a little too much to ask, he feels seasick when his feet are back on the ground.

All's well that ends well
That this type of helicopter records many fatal accidents every year does not make any impression on us afterwards. The spotted animals and the overview of the Delta all the more. We enjoy the unique images that are recorded on our retina and on the photos for a long time to come.