Mist and maternity

 

The last blog ended with a nasty thunderstorm brewing. That very day was followed by four days of almost continuous rain and storms. I think we’ve hit the rainy season.

Cold lunch on a hot day	Steaming hot rolls from the fire

This news did not impress Cathy, who has shown more interest in our daily production than the project manager! Every day I am asked how many lines I flew and therefore which day I predict to arrive back in South Africa. She is even less impressed with my reply, “Its weather dependent”. This, in her mind, is not an acceptable answer and implies that I am not focused on finishing the project and getting back to Durban. The sick truth is that with only one week of high clouds and cooler temperatures we would finish everything. But it’s weather dependent.

Chateau Grant that I’ve been living in since Andrew left	Much more room to, uh, sleep

I’m starting to see the end in sight, particularly with so little left of the whole project, that a rainy day (or four) can be very frustrating. But we keep on going…

Dawn broke, eerily	Can anyone see the windsock?

One morning, for the first time since I’ve been here, we woke up to thick fog and sat on the ground for a couple of hours before it started to burn off and we could get flying. We got some decent flying that day, but around midday the clouds start to build (as its around 30-32°C) into big thunderstorms which sweep over the flat survey area, and we were actually cut off from our fuel cache landing spot by a monster storm. Since I didn’t have a lot of fuel left on board I found a soccer field in a small village and landed the loop and chopper to wait out the rain and lightning.

Halloween came a little late this year	I rocked his world about an hour later…

The locals came streaming out of their huts to crowd around, and since many of them speak English they could chat with us about what we were up to. They had heard we were doing survey work in the area and wanted to know if we had found anything because they were all praying that the area would be mined because of the jobs they could then get. Shame, they are such decent people – not demanding anything, not whining about what the government hasn’t done for them or given them, just praying that mining will come to their area and with it, an opportunity to work.

They took photos of us as if we were rock stars!	They also said we’re welcome anytime we want to land there

Anyway, when we made it back to our fuel cache an hour later we were told that the rain was so heavy they couldn’t see across the clearing we land in and our data processor said it was the strongest wind he had ever seen. Glad I didn’t try to sneak back in just ahead of the storm with a massive loop of cables suspended below me…

Maternity ward – clean and new wing of the clinic	Much older male wing – less utilised, but due for a refurb.

Today we have rain (surprise surprise) so taking it easy from the hectic relaxing we were doing during the last rainy patch, and the American pastor who runs the clinic next door came round to give us a tour. They must have tons of donation money because its an impressive clinic all round. Various doctors from ophthalmologists to paediatricians to general surgeons come at different times and have an operating theatre available should it be necessary.

The delivery room with three beds – no stirrups ??	No government funding, all foreign donations

Obviously all drugs dispensed are free, and he mentioned that if we needed any medical assistance at any stage, that that would also be provided for nothing. A very impressive set up. He took us down to his house and showed us all the flowers, trees, fruit, vegetables etc. that he’s growing, including a hole in the ground where a local “plank maker” comes and saws by hand, logs into planks for building. One guy holds the saw from inside the hole underneath the log and the other holds the saw above. Hopefully I will get a pic of them in action when they’re next out.

Out-patients wait to see the doctor	Husbands can wait for their wives while they give birth

The two pics above show the American chap who showed us around. (In typical Grant fashion I have no idea what his name is – forgotten in about 30secs…)