On August 13 2016 we had an early rise in Windhoek and after a taxi 'late-show' tense delay we headed for the Eros Domestic Airport. With very strict instructions on max allowable luggage weight, my heavier camera equipment (tripod and 500 mm lens) sadly had to stay behind in store in our Palmquell hotel in Windhoek.

The airport departure hall didn't count many more passengers than the five of our safari group plus a japanese man in his thirties, who was added to our group to fill up passenger capacity (2x3). After some waiting our two pilots-cum-safari guides arrived. Henk Schoeman and his sister in law Helga Schoeman, the wife of Henk's oldest brother Bertus. Two members of the Schoeman family and co-owners of their private Schoeman 'Skeleton Coast Safaris' company which father Louw Schoeman had founded in 1977.

We walked up to our two airplanes, two vintage Cessnas 210 from the early 1970s, painted in the original orange, brown and cream.
With all luggage swiftly loaded we boarded and received brief passenger code-of-conduct and safety instructions. Engines fired and we rolled out a very short distance to the runway. Equiped with headsets we overheard take-off clearance communications and minutes later we were airborn with Windhoek gliding past and falling away from us in a slow-but-steady low angle climb. The two planes flying almost side-by-side.