Appearances can be deceiving

The hills of Karamoja, the most north-easterly region of the Pearl of Africa - Uganda, they look so beautiful in the bright morning light, as I bank steeply over the delightfully named airstrip called Kaabong 5180ft up in the highlands. I can see a Landcruiser acting as a useful marker parked on a clearing on the side of the airstrip.  My two passengers and their driver gaze up at me, as I zip overhead, usually there is a flag fluttering in the breeze from the large aerials these vehicles usually sport, always a useful aid as to the winds strength and and direction but today nothing but it is not difficult to work out today! The sun glitters on the quartz covered runway and all seems peaceful. Excepting it had been such a rough, slow ride as we pushed our way north at 114kts*, into exceptionally strong winds that tore across Karamoja, despite the tranquil scene that lay below me, as the aircraft bounced with enthusiasm from aerial pothole to pothole.

It's warm sunny day in Africa and you wonder what events this airstrip has seen as in it's heyday it was a lot longer! Lining up on finals I held the aircraft steady as the runway desperately tries to dance it's own rythmless quickstep, left, left, left, right, up, up, down, down and down. Somedays airstrips really do not behave and today it seems particularly eager to discourage a visit. It is a strong quartering headwind from the right but I soon get the airstrip to behave itself and come into line. Need to add lots of power descending through the last 200 feet, as a sudden rush of air** seems particularly keen to push one into the ground for an early 'arrival' but I out guess the downdraft and so cross the threshold in a firm, secure and very short-field landing. Definately a nine (my daughter always used to mark my landings out of 10), there is a certain pleasure in the challenge.  The runway has been shut for nearly 2 years and has only recently been re-opened after some remedial work but it is rather narrow now and turning on the runway needs caution as the slope of the drainage ditches is not ideal.

In the old days I used to always pull off the runway but now the drainage 'dip' need more of a 4x4 if one was to negotiate them, so wisdom says stay on the strip. I taxi to the end of the runway which has a convenient turning point, avoiding a rather hefty piece of quartz I park and hop out, quickly chock the wheels. I have decided I will take-off into the slight upslope with gently rising ground, as with todays strong headwinds and my light take-off weight this will be the way to go.  I've dropped off all my up country passengers en-route and just have a lone return passenger, who I picked up at Kotido, she  is very pleased to have some fresh air. The other two passengers walk down to me with their bags.

I do a quick walk around the aircraft to get ready for departure again, I find a couple of small nicks in the prop from a stone or two either kicked up on the brief burst of reverse thrust which helps slow the aircraft down on landing or on the turn, engineering will be able to file those out easily when I get back, props have quite a hard life!

The aircraft rocks gently in the breeze and I think about Karamoja over the years so many cattle raids, fights that have become battles. Almost unreported the tribal warfare has cost many a young man's life. The nomadic lifestyle paints a romantic freedom to the westerner tied up by rules and expectations but the good and bad rain cycle creates a hard hard life and the mobile life takes its toll on the women and children of the region. Interesting how some may say let them be but if you talk with a few of the mothers you find they want for their children exactly what we want for ours, to have health living beyond 5, they want peace and for their children to go to school.

 

Perhaps appearances can be deceiving...

as I look at the photo , I think what a lovely day, so peaceful but appearances can be so deceiving, in so many ways.

Full power and I am off in no time as I turn into wind and climb away. Next stop Soroti where I pick up 4 more people but we have an extended stay for 20 minutes whilst my 3 passengers change their complexions back from green to white. Actually in all my years I have had very few passengers who have been sick - honest.

 *we would expect a groundspeed generally around 140-160kts
** downdraft

If interested their is a video on youtube bigglesgsy you should be able to find a clip of landing at Kaabong a couple of years ago.

Rat traps, a US$145 T shirt and a slightly shortened runway. All in a days work?

A couple of days ago I bought a little clay charcoal stove from the lady above and I paid her her asking price, the sum of 46 pence ($0.80) This morning I was in our office in Kampala and the conversation revolved around the fall of Goma and overnight events in Bunia and our response to them. On monday the group of boys below were laughing with delight showing me how their rat traps worked, they were rather nifty little things not unlike mini bows and yet had the power to re-arrange the hairstyle or worse of any passing critter of the short and furry kind!

I am sitting across from the Emporio Armani Shop at Dubai International, heading back to the UK for a family funeral. Dubai shops are so so busy, even at 2 in the morning, folk are shopping like there is no tomorrow and I do wonder how all those overhead baggage bins are going to contain their purchases! Just thinking 300 mad shoppers on a 777 that could be another couple of tons of stuff - wonder if they include it in the weight and balance! Even with 327, 000 commercial aircraft movements last year this is still only the 11th busiest passenger airport (6th Cargo) in the world according to Wikapedia. Still however nicely made Armani clothing is US$145 for a t-shirt does seem a tad on the steep side, though in fairness it does have a beautifully made name tag?

Had a great choice of shoes at the friday market on Makindye Hill I think if I so wished I could have bought all 40 pairs for about 40 US$

Kotido probably gets 3 flights a week when busy and as a result it lacks a little TLC. The airstrip was moved from the centre of the small town to it's present position perhaps 7 years ago and whilst it has a nice set of fence posts concreted into the red soil,  the wire that joins them has long since gone, in  actual fact I think it went AWOL a few weeks after installation.  Well the 1500m dirt strip is now more like 1000m as a rather nasty hole has appeared on the runway, it seems to have been part filled in but it would even now be more than happy to re-arrange the nose wheel or prop given half a chance. It is on top of a culvert which runs across the width and under the airstrip, so we are not so sure what is happening there yet! So the culvert marks the end of the runway now.

A young woman travelling business class was asked to leave our flight before we could take off, I have no idea what it was about but matoke (Ugandan's favourite food- see right), drink, pride, bad temper and the confiscation of something special may or may not have been involved but either way the consequence of a good protracted rant was expensive!

The world is so full of contrasts, and values and things of importance change with ones Geography. It can be difficult to make sense of it all and I guess that is where faith can give balance to life's dilema's

ROSS - A visit to the newest nation in the world.

The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” 

Don Williams, Jr. (American Novelist and Poet, b.1968)

Well I agree really BUT I love going somewhere new and so I kinda' like getting to the destination and if one is honest, there are times the journey can be a real pain!

Bursting out of the rain covered hills it was a delight to find a huge amphitheatre of space before me and it only took a minute or so before I spotted my destination, a thin brown strip amongst bush, huts, fields and houses. 

Banking hard over the end of the airstrip, I looked down below me and it was hard to believe that somebody really had built a concrete house, shop or whatever it was to become, right at the end of the airstrip. Not a problem landing but it sure shortens the strip for take-off. Figured a little rudder at the end of the take-off run would get one round the obstruction but the two lorries parked up nearby would have to move.

The undercarriage clunk clunked as it hammered over the rough surface, kicking up a cloud of dust & sand into the warm Sudanese air, one felt the straps pull firmly on ones shoulders, as one stomped on the brakes along with a 'burst' of reverse thrust. In seconds the aircraft had slowed to a walking pace in less than half the 800m available and I parked up in a relatively scrub free area off the runways side. People seemed to tumble out of the bush, with a real festive air, as everyone and I think I mean everyone, came out to see the machine that had newly arrived. Does seem there are only a couple of arrivals - on a busy month!
I love this photo of the busyness of a typical bush strip!
I was picking up a delightful young couple working with AIM (African Inland Mission) who were off to the coast for a well deserved 3rd Wedding Anniversary break, they had been in Ikotos learning the language and getting to know the people for some 18 months  - I wondered could I do that? I also had two chaps on board - wearing their chaplaincy T shirts - they had been training godly soldiers to become Chaplains/Pastors in the army in Nimule.  Amazingly Bosco one of the first such graduates from this programme just happened to turn up at the field - wearing his somewhat older much but equally much loved Chaplaincy T-shirt!

Well taking off ... with a few interesting obstructions at the end of the runway, I thought it best they moved the trucks, easy, ummm well it would have been if the engine had still been in it. Still a bit of maths and with my weight (aircrafts, not mine personally!) and a few knots of breeze down the runway, taking off towards the obstruction was still best and it should be no problem - with an obstacle clearance departure. So it was full power, rattle bump judder as we hurtled over the ruts and despite the heat the Caravan left planet earth as per the book, much to the delight of the several hundred spectators, goats and dogs lining the strip. Banking left we head low over the countryside before we commence our climb and 250nm south.

Evidence that I was there ... golly love this job.