October 25th – Day Thirty One
Much like the previous day we had a lot of relaxation today, the poolside playing a large part. A number of people went into town in the morning but we stayed behind as Keryn had a bit of a dodgy belly and she needed to rest to make sure she’d be ok for the booked afternoon event of a Tiger Moth flight over Victoria Falls. The day slowly passed and then it was time to head to the reception to catch our ride to the airport. It seems that the service at the Waterfront got worse every day, the previous day Bindi and Corey had nearly missed a Helicopter ride because the booking people had written the wrong time on their voucher and it was nearly the same for us. We turned up 30 minutes early to be told that the driver had been waiting for us since 3pm making us thirty minutes late! Again the booking staff were at fault. Luckily there were no other flights booked that afternoon and the driver was still waiting so we quickly got into the vehicle and were on our way to the Livingstone airport.
The drive passed without incident and we arrived, had our voucher checked and were then driven around the airport terminal and down a dirt road running parallel to the runway to pull up at a small hangar, outside of which was the Tiger Moth, pilot and an engineer. The pilot gave Keryn the rundown on the flight and the aircraft, it had been built in 1941 and used by the South African air force, before she climbed in and was strapped up and given her headgear for the flight. Formalities done the engine was started, a very manual process involving the pilot turning the engine while the engineer rotated the propeller, and then once alive it was a slow taxi down the cobbled path and onto the runway. Keryn was in the front of the two seats and as they departed she looked like the pilot controlling the plane.
Keryn kitted out for her flight
Down the runway for take-off
I was staying at the hangar and taking photos, the flight being for twenty minutes with the time starting from the moment the engine was going and the propeller engaged. So I took photos as the aircraft made it’s way onto the runway and then became airborne and then searched the skies for the return, actually missing the landing in the end. It was all over very quickly but Keryn was happy and came back with some good photos.
Keryn’s view of Victoria Falls from the Tiger Moth
Thank you to the pilot
Back at camp we were dismayed to find an couple of new trucks and the evening was terrible with drunk people (once again it seemed to be mainly antipodeans, more precisely Kiwis, that were the loud and leery ones) keeping us awake until the early hours. A group of middle aged Germans had pitched up within touching distance of our tent and spent the night talking loudly amongst themselves before encouraging those tented nearby to join them in wine drinking and loud conversation. No one had a good nights sleep that night.
Last evening view of the Waterfront campsite
