Guys and Gals,
It's that time of the year again! Coming up to hiring season in Maun, so I thought I would start off a thread for the 2008-2009 period. I just wanted to ask a couple of questions (and yes I have done many searches on this site looking at some posts even dating back to the previous millenium, Google, Youtube (by the looks of things the god squad and indeed the scientologists have a keen presence out there), numerous blogs, trip advisor and even my granny's Botswana photo album from last year so please don't tell me to do a search, I cannot find the answers to these questions). I know it isn't really part of the adventure spirit meticulously getting every grain of information I possibly can before I go, but it is a big decision for me and I want to know what I might be getting myself into!
I am getting sick of this credit crunch, and just want to get flying, so am thinking about heading off to Maun to try my luck out there. If some of you that have done the whole Maun thing could just answer a few questions I haven't seen asked anywhere else, I would be most incredibly grateful. The questions are at the bottom of the post.
First of all a summary of the info I have collected so far about Maun for those of you who are thinking of making the leap over, to save you some research time.
The Operators:
Sefofane: Caravan/ 206/172/Airvan (
www.sefofane.com)
Moremi Air: Caravan/Islander/210/206/172 (
www.moremiair.com)
Kavango Air: Caravan/206/172 (
www.kavangoair.com)
Delta Air: Islander/210/206 (
www.okavango.bw/air.html)
Mack Air: Caravan/Airvan/210/206 (
www.mackair.co.bw)
Safari Air: Babyvan/Caravan/Islander/Airvan/206 (
not their website but gives details)
Edit: Thankyou Dupre for keeping me up to date!
How to get a job:
Go to Maun primarily between October and February! You can send off CV's to the aforementioned companies, but they won't hire you unless you are on their doorstep, looking imploringly into their chief pilot's eyes (this is very important).
Fly to Johannesburg, then either Air Botswana it to Maun for about $250 or get a bus to Gaborone and then onwards to Maun for a cheaper, but many more times sweaty, excursion. (
www.seabelo.bw &
tjmotlogelwa.com)
Audi camp (
www.okavangocamp.com) seems to be the place to stay for pilots, bring a tent, mention you are a pilot looking for a job, and apparently they give you a discount! (35 Pula per night for Mr/Mrs the mere mortal pleb holidaymakers so even cheaper for us demi-god aviators! 35 Pula = £3 and £5 extra if you want power). It is 12km North of Maun, so I am not quite sure how you actually get there, but I suggest walking would be a decision left severely lacking.
A C206 rating with at least five hours on type, and an instrument rating are both bonus's but not required. Age is not really an issue.
Visa & license conversion:
You can go to Botswana for a job hunt based on your passport, so no special visa is required. In order to get your license converted to the Botswana equivalent, you will need five hours in the C206, then you will need to pass a flight test, and also an air law exam. Apparently this is easy. The company will also sort out the work permit visa papers that you will need once and if you get a job, and this will take a couple of months.
Life in Maun:
Pay is around about £500-£1000 per month, some operators offer housing/allowances. The facebook group 'Maun Pilots' gives an insight into the pilot life in Maun and brings to mind two words: 1) shenanigans, and 2) nudism. Maun has many bars with paved roads in the centre and a smallish airport (which is always a bonus when you are trying to find a pilot job). A modern hospital has just been built, but I don't know if this is open yet. The low season for pilots is the Summer and is the wet season in Botswana, and is the hiring season as well, so you will need to take a good waterproof tent and be prepared to get a little moist. It gets cold at night so bring warm things you can layer yourself up with in the evenings and shed them like some sort of onion in the mornings.
That I think pretty much sums up what I have found out so far. Please let me know if I have got the wrong end of the stick with any of that. I still don't know whether I will be going, but based on the assumption that I do here are my questions that I pose to you current and ex-Maun pilots!
Questions:
1. What do I need to bring with me in terms of official documents? I'm guessing my logbooks, licenses, and passport - are these enough or will I need to take my original birth certificate, and stuff as well?
2. What do I need to bring with me in terms of equipment and clothing? I'm guessing sturdy shoes, lots of shorts, boxers (I don't suppose you want to 'cramp your style' in 40 degree heat), many layers for the cold nights, sleeping bag, good tent, torch blah blah blah. Any particularly handy items people usually forget?
3. Leccy. What kind of plugs do they use out there - I see it is a mixture of both modern UK (handy!) and pre war UK plugs (I knew I shouldn't have thrown out my 1918 mp3 player last week) - is there a predominant one?
4. Internet. I know the Sedia hotel has an internet cafe, but if and when you get a job are the houses connected up too? Can't live without the beloved pprune, plus I have a website to maintain!
5. Money. There is a western union, and visa seems widely accepted, so of course my bank have just switched my card to Mastercard 'for my convenience' - but how much do you reckon I need to live on whilst waiting for a job and then waiting for the visa (as in work permit not credit card) papers to come through? How many more months of waitering do I have to endure to save enough (a hypothetical question as you probably won't know how much I get paid. I can assure you it is excrement.)
6. Insurance. Know any good deals for insurance I can get and where to get it from? I am sure that going to Botswana with it's diseases while flying the public at 150mph at the age of 20 the premiums will be tiny - but best check.
And finally
7. Anyone else thinking of heading to Maun this season?
If anybody can answer any of these questions for me I would be a happy man.
Thankyou very much for your time and your answers in advance!
WP
