Stunning Lake Turkana – the lifeblood in this extreme landscape – where fresh waters support a diversity of life and livelihoods. ‘The lake is super high at the moment. Full of flamingo too…’ – Kieran Allen – H125 pilot for Tropic Air
Author: tropicair
WAJIR – a county of plentiful
Wajir is a remote town located in the far north eastern corner of Kenya, bordering Ethiopia and Somalia. Semi-desert with soaring day time temperatures and very little annual rainfall, yet the county supports vast herds of livestock with great market value, has abundance of underground aquifers and pockets of forests!
The town itself is rich in cultural history – and some original structures still stand including the old mosque, a courthouse, an abandoned fort, colonial buildings – and quiet interestingly the Royal Wajir Yacht Club – miles away from any ocean and no lake or river in sight!
Top Photo: Old Fort in Wajir
Bottom Photos: Royal Yacht Club
30 Years Old! Happy birthday Tropic Air!
The year 2020 marked 30 years in operation! Tropic Air was established in 1990 by Jamie Roberts (photo below) – a young 20-something year old, with a flying licence, an ambition and a dream. With no aircraft of his own, Jamie leased this de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver (photo above), from Anthony Dyer – and started offering scenic flights around Mount Kenya.
With thanks to the professionalism and commitment from the great many people that make Tropic Air what it is today, the company has grown and diversified profoundly since.
Despite the difficult past year that almost everyone we know has experienced, we are optimistic that the world will soon turn a corner.
Happy 2021 everyone – let it be good!
Private air charters Kenya, scenic flights Mount Kenya, helicopter adventures East Africa!
Abandoned Antonov
For the last 5 weeks we have been based in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia supporting efforts to control the devastating plagues of locusts that have invaded the Horn of Africa, threatening food security for millions.
Many long hours have been spent on the runway planning logistics, carrying out maintenance tasks (including a 100-hour check) and preparing our aircraft for flights. We sheltered from the midday sun under the wing, stored some of our equipment here and enjoyed time in this great old abandoned aircraft, that no doubt had a few stories of its own.
November 2020, Dira Dawa, Ethiopia
Wild Fires
Wild fires have decimated thousands of acres of savannah lands in the Chyulu Hills, Southern Kenya. Fire fighting efforts, driven by the Kenya Wildlife Service, Big Life Foundation and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, bought the situation under control, with people on the ground putting the leading edges out, and aerial support from Tropic Air mobilising teams to hot spot areas and dropping water onto the flames using a bambi bucket.
Photo credit to Neville Sheldrick, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. September 2020
Desert Locust Control
Northern Kenya is experiencing its worst locust invasion for 70 years, and second-generation breeding is underway with uncountable hopper bands forming. Food security is threating 20 million people, along with their livestock, which for the majority is their only form of livelihood. The situation is extremely worrying!
UN Food and Agriculture Organization along with other organisations are working hard to get the situation under control. Tropic Air’s caravan is one of the many aircraft helping with the efforts. Daily surveillance operations are underway, which include hours of flying in transects, to identify and confirm the location and movements of the vast swarms, before deploying spray planes carrying pesticide.
