National Geographic: Flight Over Africa Page #4

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It's a bluff charge.

It's to get you to go.

Just call his bluff.

Stay put.

May 22nd.

I have just been charged

by a wild elephant.

Lloyd laughs lightly,

like he's seen it

a thousand times.

Neither one of

us says much.

There's really not much

to say after an elephant charge.

After a while

a large group emerges from the bush.

Its an extraordinary thing

to be so close to

these magnificent creatures.

It's so easy to feel small

in the face of such splendid power.

Thanks to bush

pilot grapevine,

Claytor has secured a job

in an international park

in Zimbabwe.

the two pilots part company

in the Botswana sky

Claytor's headed for

Hwange National Park

in Western Zimbabwe,

but first he'll make

a slight detour to one

of Africa's most

spectacular natural wonders:

Victoria Falls.

I'm now flying low

over the Zambezi River

approaching Victoria Falls

and as you look ahead at the trees

you just see this mist

this towering mist rising

our of the trees

that are above the water.

And the Africans call it

"Mosi-oa-Tunya."

Which means the

smoke that thunders.

The Zambezi River

drops up to a million

gallons of water a second

over the 350-foot falls.

Even before it

comes into sight,

the roar of the plummeting

water is deafening.

The rainbow everywhere.

You see the mist

sailing the screen.

Look at that chasm,

and there's a rainbow

coming across it.

Wow, look at that

right below the falls

you can see there're gorges

that just zig back

and forth about five times.

And in these gorges

it also drops down

to this boiling

black water below.

It's spectacular.

May 26th. I can't resist

flying down into the gorge

even though it's risky.

Not only could I be killed

I could probably get arrested.

As I corner

the water explodes into

a torrent if frothing white waves.

Sometimes flying is

just a fast way to travel.

And sometimes

it's the greatest thing in the world.

Leaving the falls behind

Claytor reaches

Hwange National Park.

Before he can land

in a remote area

Claytor has to

clear the runway.

Collisions with animals are

one of the greatest

dangers bush pilots

face in Africa.

Okay, are you feeling

strong this morning.

On the ground,

Claytor gets some help

refueling and prepares

for his next

assignment in the air.

Conservationist and

researcher Janet Rachlow

has hired Claytor to

help track an injured

rhinoceros in the park.

Rachlow is part of

a controversial program

designed to protect

severely endangered rhinos.

Park officials in Zimbabwe

have been removing

the horns from dozens of

rhinos in a desperate

attempt to deter poachers.

Claytor was there during one

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