Week 1

Well, here we are beginning another blog, this time from Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, which you probably know is a landlocked country of 2 ½ million people surrounded by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.  We arrived on June 25th via Nairobi, and were once more amazed that all our luggage (6 pieces this time) arrived intact, though among the very last items on the carousel after all but 2 other passengers had left the airport. We are here for a job very similar to that in Tanzania, with similar numbers of expat and locally employed staff, plus a similar fleet of small and slightly larger aircraft.  The main difference at the moment is the weather, as  we have arrived right in the middle of a southern African winter with temperatures plunging uncomfortably low from evening to mid morning.   Central heating is a rare thing here because 'the cold only lasts for 2 months' we're told!  So it is encouraging to hear that later on the summer temperatures will shoot up to 40 deg C.

Marg: We seem to be settling in reasonably well, though being in temporary accommodation (house of a family on leave) means that we shall have to do all that again later. Quite a bit of stress and time wasting has been caused by the electric gate whose remote controls don't work reliably, raising doubts as to ones chances of re-entering after leaving.  Climbing over the wall isn't an option either due to the electrified fence! To complete the security array we negotiate an outer grill door with padlock and ordinary front door with dead-lock.  Not a place to exit in a hurry and I'm not sure what it says about the gentle people of Botswana to be so heavily fortified.  However, unlike Tanzania, nightguards are not normally engaged for private residences.

Another domestic highlight featured the washing machine, which turned out to be broken the first time I tried to use it to spin some hand-washed laundry (which came out wetter than it went in).  A reliable handyman duly pronounced the machine completely dead - bits of locking wire and screws from the pockets of an aircraft engineer living here before we arrived had disabled the pump and due to its age parts are no longer available.  It helpfully and enthusiastically rinsed the floors of two rooms during the damage assessment, all adding to the excitement. Never having had a washing machine in Africa before it's not a problem for us but will be for the returning family who have 3 small children plus a new baby.

Andy: Work has had it's moments of excitement and stress, much like the MAF Tz experience, and since Tuesday evening I have been left in charge as the previous (interim) Manager departed for leave in USA. Maintenance issues seem to cause more delays here than I am accustomed to, partly because the lack of stock and finance means that parts are only ordered when we can afford it, and then there is often a long wait for parts to arrive, mainly from USA.