Ben Wilhelmi

Flying Medical Service in the bush, photography

 

Flying Medical Service operates about 30 airstrips in northern Tanzania. We fly there to provide medical care and vaccination, occasionally a emergency flight happens with in case the patient is too serious ill to be treated under the village tree.

The traditional way to carry kids is still the norm.

 

not all of the attendees are sick or in need of vaccinations, some are just curious. These places are usually in the very remote bush and our airplanes going there are the only unusual thing happening twice a month.

 

A Masai woman and a typical gourd made of the sausage tree fruit. The recipe to prepare and clean those gourds includes ashes and urine…

 

A new airstrip, which has decayed big time since then.

One pilot is here seen repairing a patch of that airstrip. Notice the 2 Masai dudes just watching and no more. This is a big challenge with Masai men: to get them to work…they consider it is a woman’s job and not in touch with their male status. In this case it was easier t fox it ourselves instead of organizing a bloody meeting and facing endless sterile talking.

 

 

Though there are various clans and little differences in the Masai tribe, this kind of bead work is quite common.

 

some areas are quite dry so if wind gets funny, one feels in a sand storm.

 

another pride visitor, a Masai warrior. This one has been nominated quite recently so he is proud to show off his full regalia for a while. After some years, he will be more sober and comfortable.

 

this is an example of a village tree being put to good use: it provide shade and so the nurses can go on vaccinating and weighing the babies. See the scale hanging on the branch.

 

In the meantime our doctor usually works under the aircraft wing. One would be amazed by the amount of medical conditions that can be treated with 2 or 3 suitcases full of medicines.

Arusha, Tanzania, street photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sepia portraits, Tanzanian bush

 

Striking features, isn’t it?

 

 

 

Tanzania, aerial photography

 

Once in a while in flight, I open my window and get a picture. Tanzania is an incredible beautiful country.

Mount Monduli and mount Meru further.

 

A common rainshower over the Serengeti.

 

Colored salts on lake Natron.

 

Long shadows, early morning.

 

The top of Mount Meru at about 15.000 feet.

 

volcan Lengai and lake Natron

 

lake Natron, the only breeding place for flamingoes in the whole Africa. And there are salt extraction projects to trash the place…

 

A Masai village, one early morning.

 

Those holes are boreholes. No idea why in this case they are so close to each other.

 

A bit of the Rift valley, lake Natron.

strong colors, lake Natron, aerial photography

 

a salt lake with an artistic touch...not the only one but I still feel privileged to fly over.

 

 

 

flamingoes breeding on the crust surface. Yes those little pink dots. It is very obvious on a large print.

 

Flamingoes nesting. Lake Natron is the only breeding place in Africa and one of the very few in the world. And they don't even breed every year. If conditions are not right, like salinity, water level...they won't breed, just patiently wait. So when those bloody plans to a open a soda factory there, one doesn't need to be a rocket scentist to foresee disaster looming.

Ok I cheated a bit, this a serious enlargement and cropped picture. I couldn't decently fly low and scare them off.

Amboseli nat'l park, photography

 

Amboseli is a lovely little park at the foot of Kilimanjaro (which is in Tanzania by the way, not in Kenya as claimed by some crooks). The wildlife out there is made of the usual suspects but on a good day the view of nearby Kili is breathtaking. These minibuses are numerous and some of these drivers are totally clueless: they leave the engine running while watching wildlife a few meters away!! You’d never see that in Tanzania.

6 am, time to leave camp and enjoy the early light in the mist.

 

That’s what I mean with a nearby Kilimanjaro. The atmospheric veil helped to catch the orange light on the peak and the clouds.

 

This is a close up view of the secondary peak

 

These guys, grey-headed kingfishers, were quite easy to spot and come close, like 5 meters away.

 

the area is made of swamps and it is quite easy to include animals in line with Kili. Providing the conditions are good of course.

 

 

Cattle egrets and elephants live in good company.

old cars, route 66

 

Florida, photography

 

Crystal River near Tampa, I spent a few weeks there for a flying upgrade.

This bar was a bit…special. I heard there used to be anti French mottos on the walls, and French people were just plainly not welcome. Maybe there is a new management and new patrons because I didn’t meet any morons to challenge my French accent (though I’m Belgian).

The front place was interesting enough: A Harley next to a Japanese bike and a carriage, an elephant, a 9/11 memorial. Funny enough the American bald eagle looks very much like the Africa fish eagle. Latin names are respectively haliaeetus leucocephalus and haliaeetus vocifer. Quite a long way to fly apart for these cousins.

 

The owner was pleased that I had stopped to take a few snaps and ask some specs about the car. He said people around were not nice to him, considered him a red neck and thus avoided him. Well true Florida is a nest of retired religious right wingers but then look at the car… seen from my European point of view, this car seems indeed to belong to the redneck pool.

 

Or this one.

 

Renting a discrete RV seems mission impossible in the USA…

 

But then why would you want to be discrete in the US?

 

Florida seems flatter than Holland. I wonder where this modified SUV needs such a high wheel clearance? To drive over gators?

 

This poor girl spent hours yelling, clapping, dancing in the sun. She still made an effort to pose for me.

 

Common scenery.

Cologne in the eighties, street photography

 

Capoeira dancers, pretty unusual in Europe by then.

photography on the Kenyan roads

 

After a venerable Peugeot 504, we spotted this hardly younger Datsun. Notice the thin spare wheel. Those cops are definitely not equipped for car chases…

 

Always keep your eyes open when crossing a village. There always details to spot, like bright fresh colors on shanty buildings.

 

Pupils on their way or away to school. It’s hard to say which sometimes as pupils can be spotted wandering any time of the day. Same situation in Tanzania.

 

Masai on the phone in front of a cellphone network advertisement.

 

Cows, donkeys, goats are numerous on the roads. Sometimes they’re just grazing and one can’t help wondering why they seem to choose the very edge of a highway to do so whereas the infinite grassy savannah is just there…

 

An alluring restaurant.

 

Another die-hard Peugeot 504. I’m always amazed that the French carmaker managed to lose its African market to Toyota when they had such great cars.

 

A discreet butchery, no sign but the meat is obviously hanging on a hook, in the sun attracting flies. A common scenery…

 

I can’t help wondering what can be so extreme while having a haircut in this hair salon.

 

A ‘mishkaki’, nickname for these overloaded motorbike taxis. Or bodaboda in local language.

As said before the African roads are rarely boring.

portraits in sepia, Tanzania

 

these portraits with a white background have been shot 'in situ', that is in the bush and not in a studio. I didn't use any flash nor reflector. I meet Masai people on a regular basis while on duty with Flying Medical Service.

 

Notice the serious ear extension.

 

pictures on the US roads

 

Some pictures on the long I 95, between Bullhead (Arizona on the edge with California) going north to Las Vegas.

Karine and the rental Ford. With all our bags and photo gear and shopping goodies, this car size was a minimum to hide everything in the boot.

 

Harleys…the myth goes on. Nowadays, Harley trips can be organised from abroad. Rent your Harley and ride! I try to imagine a French biker meeting a group of hard core indigenous bikers haha. Over the years on US TV shows, I’ve spotted a dozen remarks towards France, usually negative. It seems the smart finger the French gave over Iraq invasion still doesn’t go down well with some people. I’m not French by the way so any attack on my opinion should keep this in sight 

 

No there is no river there, just a funny casino on the border between Arizona and Nevada.

I must say I’m not always keen on the road signs system, a bit messy sometimes. Maybe I would just need time to get used to…

I have to fish for the close up picture of that contraption because this model is the “Serengeti” version!! I’d like to see that monster on the narrow and winding dirt roads to reach the real Serengeti through the Ngorongoro area….

 

many signs like this one were spread alongside highways, usually on the same theme.

around lake Natron in the rain, aerial photography

Unfortunately there are some picture thieves out there. I might have to readjust my web address across my pictures. Of course better have some pictures stolen than not sharing them...

Anyway let's not get depressed by scumbags, let's enjoy the beauty of Tanzanian landscapes in the rain season. This is lake Natron but for once I snapped around the lake, wawy from the colorful salt pans.

 

Remaining salts floating, usually covering 90% of the lake surface in the dry season has now mostly disappeared, swallowed by the water rise.

 

 

The delta near volcano Shombole on the Kenyan border.

Mud and salts mixing.

 

That brown hue is muddy water flowing from a Kenyan river.

 

 Orange mud pushing blue salt water.

 

and more mud floating amidst red salts.

wild animals in Tanzania, B/W photography

 

 

Tanzania, portraits in sepia

 

 

 

 

 

 

lake Natron in B/W, aerial photography

 

 

 

salt and water mixing, active volcano Lengai in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

street photography in Arusha, Tanzania

 

Those colorful coaches can be seen all across the continent I bet. Lunatic drivers for sure. One advice when traveling on those, go for luxury ones: that only means one seat one passenger without goats or chickens all over you. With some luck the seats will be comfy and reasonably roomy. A hint, the brighter the colors, the uglier the scheme are to be avoided.

 

 

 

The beggar and the bank.

 

on a Sunday, there is a lot less traffic, shops are closed so street sellers are on the prowl and invade pavements and bit of the main road.

 

Motorbike taxis, they appeared some years ago and the accident rates have skyrocketed….

 

Less common is bicycle taxi, at least in Tanzania. My few trips in Uganda made me seen many of these.

 

Usually Pepsi or Coca Cola trucks run the show. Once in a while a competitor…

 

 

Street seller, a 'lucky' one: his goodies are few and light. Nothing back breaking.

wildlife, Tanzania

 

here is a selection of some wildlife pictures in Tanzania, including some aerials of zebras and wildebeests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a chimpanzee in Mahale NP, the unique and best place in the world to spot them.

Tanzania, flying the bush

 

Caravan landing in the hilly area around lake Manyara.

 

Twin Otter landing.

 

Big puncture obviously, on a replacement tyre. I was angry at the Dar es Salaam workshop who had given us that piece of crap which was worse than the previous punctured tyre…

 

Melted battery terminal resulting in 3 days in a hotel waiting for the new battery.

 

typical scene in a park: a Land Rover alongside an airstrip.

 

Sad view in Arusha airport, a lousy pilot trashed this F406 on take off. He could have killed dozens of people, not only his passengers but also the various people in other aircraft or on the airport. He had stopped a few meters short of a big plane being boarded and the fuel station…

 

A Cessna 206 dwarfed by a huge Mil 26.

 

Flying loosely formation with a Cessna 404.

 

Ndutu airstrip quite flooded and momentarily out of service. This strip is famous for being soft when wet. Rains can be intense and change the landscapes within minutes.

 

One of the Flying Medical Service 206’s and active volcano Lengai shot on infrared film

lake Natron, aerial pictures

 

some flamingoes seem to live there permanently. The others will anyway always come back to breed and only here in Africa. They visit many other lake including in Kenya but they favor lake Natron for breeding as they did this year. Not an every year occurrence by the way.

 

Believe it or not these pictures were taken on the same day on a double short flight, hopping from one airstrip to the next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt Gelai to the south east.

 

 

this place never ceases to amaze me.

Roadside photography, between Arusha and Nairobi

 

The road used to be awful but has just been resurfaced last year. So the trip is now smooth, for now as cracks on the surface already appear. Thanks to Chinese quality… The scenery is pleasant but the real show happens nearby villages and towns. I always check the names on shops, bars, hotels etc. Originality and the no fear no shame concept are common. I’m sure diplomats would love this place.

Karine loves to drive herself, so I just keep my camera handy and snaps away.

 

The Kenyan cops could be nicknamed Starsky and Hutch...for the age of their cars. This is a picture from last week but that venerable Peugeot 504, station-wagon, has been on the roads for much longer. Kenya used to manufacture various Peugeot models under license after Peugeot stopped the by-then current model. So this one must be from 1980?

 

How many 20 liter containers on this cart? This man doesn’t need a gym membership.

 

A mentally challenged woman, she was behaving strange on that main road.

 

Elections in Kenya are planned for the 4th March. Let’s hope we will not witness the same violence as in 2007.

 

 

Masai man in white sneakers watching life goes by.

 

At the border post, Namanga, that’s where the show is. Seriously I could spend hours there just watching. Various business places, various people like Somalis, a lot of activity, bright colors hardly cover the poverty. I’ll make a special post on Namanga soon.

More names: why beehive for this highly 'hygienic' butchery? Another common scenery: those carcasses hanging on a hook. We also were so sad to miss a chance to sip a cup of tea in that lovely tea room.

 

We spotted 2 of these cyclist within a week, on the same road. I was a bit drooling, remembering my own bicycle trip from Arusha to Cape Town some 10 years ago. My bike looked like this one but I was not sporting the same funny outfit. The face was entirely covered too, maybe a Japanese biker, but we think it was a she. And alone on the road.

The second biker was cycling on a dirt track towards Amboseli park, very isolated so we stopped for a chat, gave him water, a newer map of East Africa, some fruit. We were heading to a nice lodge, he was planning to camp under the starry night. We could give away our reserve.

aerial photography in Tanzania

 

of course it is impossible to summarize a country in 10 pictures, especially when that country is nearly twice as big as France, 30 times bigger than Belgium.

Tanzania is so rich in various landscapes or activities… here fishermen drying fish under the harsh sun.

the same men a bit further down the river fixing boats obviously.

 

there herders looking for greener pastures.

 

here are farmers.

 

 

early morning, goats and cows are still kept in the enclosure of this Masai ‘boma’.

 

this river is like many thousands only briefly washed with water after heavy rains.

 

 

a typical erosion pattern in a plain, some look like perfect tree leaves.

 

This river looks healthy but dries up too eventually.