Chapter 22.
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1998.
David hadn’t heard from Kim for about 18 months when he suddenly got a call got a call one evening. She was crying and told him that Robbie had fired her and that he had stolen Marianna’s money. She wanted to know if he could help her. He was so happy and excited to hear her voice he could hardly speak. He said to her. “I’m going to book a flight as soon as we get off this line and will let you know the details, okay.”
“Dave I appreciate it if you can help.”
“Okay, I’ll phone you back in a few minutes.”
Dave put the phone down and immediately phoned SAA who were still flying in and out of Zambia. “Good afternoon I want to book a flight to Cape Town. I need to get down there urgently. When can you get me on a flight?”
“Please hang on sir I’ll check to see what I can do for you.” She said…. “I can get you on a flight at 10.00 am tomorrow from Lusaka to Oliver Thambo, Johannesburg and to connect at 5.00 pm to Cape Town. Would you like me to make the booking for you sir?”
“Yes please.” I said not knowing how I’m going to get there.
“Sir you need to be here at 8.30am to collect your tickets and be on time for the flight. Okay.”
He phoned Kim’s number and she answered on the second ring. “David?” She asked.
“Hi Kim, I can get a flight at 10.00am and be in Cape Town at 7.30pm tomorrow night.”
“Oh, thank you Dave. It’s so good to hear your voice.”
“Look as much as I want to talk to you I need to rush. I’ve got to find some-one to get me to Lusaka. It’s already 10.00am. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye Dave…..I…” Then the phone went dead.
He phoned a chap in Ngomo and arranged for him to fly me to Lusaka the following morning at 6.00am. David was lucky that he could do that for him. It just so happened that he wasn’t flying any- body else. Then he went to Simon and asked him if he could handle the place without him for two weeks.
“What a stupid question Dave. Who has been holding the fort when you’ve been away before?”“
“I owe you lots. Someday I’ll make it up to you.” David said.
Next morning he woke up and the first thing he did was look out my window to see what the weather was like. The sun was rising and the sky was filled with mighty colours of red and gold and there was not a cloud in the sky. Today was like any March day in Zambia. No rain and blistering hot. It’s a lovely day to fly to Cape Town he thought.
He put his bag in the Land Rover. Andy was going to drive him to Ngomo air strip. He looked at his watch it was 05.00 o’clock and in total he would need 13.30 hours so he could be in Cape Town by 19.30 o’clock. On the way they spoke about the lodge and what Andy had to do while he was away. He said his first priority is to go out and check the electric fencing and service some of the vehicles. The gravel road we were travelling on had stretches of corrugations that caused us to bounce up and down on our seats and occasionally. Andy would swerve to avoid a pot hole or break hard so he didn’t hit an animal that was crossing the road. As the Land Rover went along it left a trail of dust for whoever was at the back of us to follow.
When we got to the airstrip a lot of baboons had invaded it…dozens of them were walking around with their babies in tow as if they owned the place. Andy took me to where the plane was standing and then drove off to frighten the baboons. John had it idling. It was a four seated, single prop Piper Cherokee 180. David had two suitcases of clothing which he put in the hold and then climbed inside.
John did his necessary checks, increased the throttle to 200 rpm and let the plane run forward until it reached 80 knots. Dave felt the nose rise up and then it gently lifted off the ground. He flew over the lodge and saw Simon standing outside with the staff waving me off. We made our way to the cruise altitude of 5,000 feet and then he pulled back the mixture just enough for a smooth running engine and maximum range.
It was now 06.00clock. He contacted air traffic control in Lusaka and filed his flight plan. He gave his call sign: ZA 234, type of aircraft: Piper Cherokee, Planned speed: Cruise speed of 220 KPH
The controller gave him his flight plan code no.678 and he set his transponder to transmit code: this beacon code transmission is picked up by radar so the computer knows exactly where the aircraft is.
On the way we saw a few commercial airliners flying in the distance leaving condensation trails. John explained to me what they were. “They’re formed when water in the jet exhausts mixes with wet cold air and condenses and freezes into ice crystals. Contrails are actually a type of cirrus cloud. When the air is wet and cold enough, the trails can stay around for a long time and spread out.”
He was 20 feet off the ground when he closed the throttle and allowed the plane to sink into the runway and then he taxied to the parking. David had done that trip so often and watched what the pilots did he thought he could fly the plane on my own.
They had made good time and he was able to book in right away. He went through passport control and customs and then he heard the call for all passengers on the 09.00 o’clock flight to Johannesburg to board immediately.
It was only then that he phoned Kim. He gave her the flight number and expected time of arrival plus, minus 19.00 o’clock. He could sense the excitement in her voice but was not sure of what to expect…
He arrived at Oliver Tambo Airport with enough time to buy Kim a bottle of Pure Poison, au de perfume, by DIOR at duty free. Walking to board for the flight to Cape Town he saw that the tail had been repainted. Instead of the Springbok it now had the colours of the “Rainbow Nation” and SAL was replaced by SAA. The stewardesses wore bright blue uniforms and their scarfs were the same colour of the flag. He thought both the plane and crew looked good in the new colours and design.
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