Ben Wilhelmi

bush flying, Tanzania

 

a Flying Medical Service mobile clinic in the Rift valley. Trees are rare in this place so either the nurse hangs the scale on the hut either on the wing hook like here.

 

the sun is quite harsh on lake Natron. So umbrellas made in China became popular as soon as they appeared some years ago.

 

Stunning vista covering most of lake Natron. There are about early 10 airstrips around and none of them is registered so no commercial flight brings tourists here.

 

a crazy sloped airstrip located on a ridge.

 

same place in he Ngorongoro area, different season.

 

after a violent downpour the airstrip gets flooded. The take off was interesting

 

yup the airstrip lies in there, picture shot just after take off.

 

or here, that is the thin shiny strip. We didn’t land that day. We know this soil here is really soft. We learnt it the hard way: 2 of our aeroplanes sank in on landing and hit the propeller.

bush flying in Tanzania

 

A propeller seriously damaged. That was a prop strike with engine running at high speed. Tip: the 3 blades are equally twisted. One blade damaged means the engine was off and the propeller had no inertia. Some pilots have been caught lying...

 

Facing an active volcano, Lengai. Flying Medical Service has about 30 various airstrips to provide mobile clinics. Here is Monik on lake Natron.

 

Pilots will appreciate this sloped airstrip, Engoveroni, at 6500 feet, 400 meter long, 170 ft difference between the ends. Our C206's have a normally aspirated engine

 

Somewhere in the Ngorongoro area, Olbalbal0

 

Landing with a strong crosswind at Ngaresero, the volcano Lengai lies in the distance.

 

yes this is an airstrip.

 

This one is located in the middle of Sengerema village, with houses on each side. Congratulations to the decision makers…

 

Funny little white flowers during the rain season, Olbalbal.

 

Another airstrip but of much better quality than it looks like. The Masai ladies are sheltering from the rain.

 

stormy weather, always lovely to watch and sometimes not so when flying through.

Tanzania, various people

 

 

inconvenient of shooting on the spot, candid pictures is the background that sucks once in a while, well more often than once in a while. But just making people pose limits the scope somehow. Of course I could erase the blue guy out but I’m not too keen of altering pictures to that extent…

Cessna 206 at work in the bush, Tanzania

 just  a quick break from the Kenyan road trip...I just came back from some clinics in the beautiful tanzanian bush, and I'm gone again for 2 days. I just can't have enough of that bush and the interesting job I help being performed. I'm just an 'ambulance' flying so to speak, don't call me a saint. Just in case one had the idea...  ;-)

 

above and below, taking off at Pininyi, western shore of lake Natron, Rift valley.

Olorbelin, northern lake natron.

 

Engoveroni, Rift valley. Kerimasi in the background is one of the numerous extinct volcanoes in the area.

a dust devil is a thing to avoid on take off or landing. Trust me. OK to cross when you get speed though, just like having a huge kick in the ass.

 

Sengerema, near Mwanza. Somebody with some sense of humor put an airstrip in the middle of a village. People are not always aware of the dangers of an aircraft. But somebody with common sense had an hospital built just on the edge of the airstrip. So all is well.

 

Olbalbal airstrip  in the rain season, Ngorongoro area.

market day, Tanzania, B/W film photography

Olbalbal, a village in the Ngorongoro area. Market days are twice a month and the people activity is greatly increased.

And Maasai women want to look good so these ones here wash in a puddle.

 

except selling cows guys are rather busy chatting up.

 

but women seem to combine too funny stories while selling stuff.

 

 

a Leica M6 was on the prowl.

Kid portraits, Tanzania

 

Kids tend to be initially shy but the attraction of a camera is strong, and after a while, the tough one of the bunch will come closer and pose more openly. Digital technology helps with the camera back screen. The instant image is magic and irresistible. Nikon D300s.

after a while the naughty children will experiment funny faces, they never fail to.

 

this photo shoot was done in Olbalbal nearby Ngorongoro crater during a Flying Medical Service tour of clinics.

market day in a village, maize selling, Tanzania

while flying on a medical clinic, the market was happening in Olbalbal village nearby Ngorongoro Crater. The doctor didn’t need any help so I went for a photographic stroll.

 

maize was sold from the back of that truck, spread on the blue tarpaulin and bagged again with the help of the bucket.

 

quite often potential Masai client would grab some grains, roll them in the hand, squeeze or even smell them. One is never too careful.

 

10.000 Tanzanian shillings, the highest denomination unfortunately, are worth about 5 euros. Imagine buying a car hand to hand with such a banknote when you need a few dozens millions …

 

2 kids helping…

 

here filling a goat skin bags which look really sturdy.

 

the bucket is used as a reference for payment and then used to refill customers’ bags.

market day in the bush, Tanzania

 

my Flying Medical Service duties bring me to nice remote places, I land on airstrips that would take hours to reach by jeep. Just before landing in Olbalbal in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (thus not a national park), I noticed the village was busy. So I left the staff to perform the medical duties and I walked to the village. Market day, that is lucky day for any curious mind.

heavy sacks of corn are offloaded from the truck.

that yellow bucket serves as a reference container.

I had crawled under the truck for a different angle.

a customer bag is being filled up. 5 $ a bucket or 8500 Tanzanian shillings.

this woman bought a lot of bags apparently. She must have come with various helpers.

aerial photography in Tanzania, market day and animals

I just came back yesterday from Ngorongoro large area. I spent a few days there with Flying Medical Service airplane to perform mobile clinics. The area is awfully dried out already and there are still a few months to come before the next rains.

these herders below my wing are scratching for the last grass and moisture on Olbalbal swamp which was still wet not too long ago.

the herd is here moving on the shore. The dry flat bed is clear and distinct on this picture.

 

 

Endulen village, market day. Very colorful event, mostly red and purple from the Masai togas (or “shukas”) and blue for tarpaulins.

a lower fly by to show details.

market day, Olbalbal, Tanzania

I just came back from clinics with Flying Medical Service aircraft. Once in a while our calendar falls together with market days here and there. This time it was Olbalbal village being in a frenzy, located on the outside western rim of the Ngorongoro crater.

I wish this photogenic Masai man didn’t wear such a lousy hat but other than that what a striking face isn’t it? I wish I could have him for a proper photo shoot.

 

there was that truck in the village loaded with sacks of maize. The crowd arrived in no time.

 

A tarpaulin is spread out then the grains are thrown out.

 

then a bucket is used as a measuring cup to refill clients’ bags. About 5$ a bucket. I was told the prices were down a bit since the government just forbade grain export to prevent starvation within Tanzania.

 

some helpers are quite young…

and another bag went down…

and more buckets were transferred… I realised the workers were in such a hurry when a second truck also arrived on the scene with grain. This truck had arrived first, after speeding on the bush rough tracks I bet, and the workers knew the second one would here soon too, so they tried to serve as many clients as possible.

money talks.