I arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport ("JRO" for airport code aficionados)
early in the morning to catch the Air Tanzania flight to Dar es Salaam.
As I sat waiting for the flight Jane Goodall walked in and sat down.
"Excellent" I thought, "I get to fly on the same plane as Jane
Goodall." Little did I know that I was destined to spend a lot more
time than a short flight with her.
Our plane was late. Then it was even later. Finally we were informed that our plane (one of three operated by Air Tanzania at the time) had taken off from Dar es Salaam and then engine problems forced it to quickly return where it had struggled to safely land. So we all adjourned to the larger waiting room where I sat on a couch with Jane who was busy reading "The Poisonwood Bible."
Every so often someone would approach Jane for an autograph or a picture. If an autograph she would borrow my pen (I was writing in my field book about sitting next to her) and if a picture she would hand me the camera while she stood up next to the person asking for the photo. After a few of these interruptions I asked her if she minded being asked for photos and autographs. She replied, "It seems to make them happy."
As the day wore on I was able to spend an hour or so eating lunch with Jane (provided by the airport). And she was very interested in my students that regularly came to Tanzania. During the previous ten years she had apparently spent no more than three weeks in any one place at a time as she tried to travel and speak about conservation as much as she could while she was still able.
Later in the day Jane sat outside under a tree reading. Along with those of us trying to fly to Dar es Salaam where several dozen passengers who had planned to fly to Harare. Their Air Tanzania flight had also been delayed in arriving from Dar es Salaam and when it finally arrived they departed out the door. We heard the jet engines roar into flight and then a few minutes later most of the passengers came walking back in the door and rejoined us. Apparently the pilot was concerned that too much fuel had been pumped into the plane and they were overweight so he flew off to Harare with a plane only half full of passengers. The passengers who were bumped by the fuel were not amused.
There was hope that the regularly scheduled Air Ethiopia flight from Addis Ababa to Dar es Salaam via Kilimanjaro Airport would be able to take us. But the authorities denied permission since this would technically be a "domestic" flight and Air Ethiopia was not licensed for domestic flights within Tanzania. The Air Ethiopia flight arrived, many passengers deplaned, and then the flight took off for Dar es Salaam with many empty seats but none of us. My collection of fellow passengers, who had all been at the airport for nearly twelve hours began to get much more agitated. Our only hope now was the daily KLM flight from Amsterdam, but it was operating under the same "domestic" flight restrictions as had Air Ethiopia.
As the airport manager worked the phones on our behalf the would-be passengers crowded into his office. Many of the people were frustrated and the room filled with the noise of angry voices. Suddenly the room fell quite and the manager looked up and asked "How can I help you momma Goodall." Jane had walked back into the building and was standing in the door to the office. She replied, "I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your efforts to help us." She then turned and walked back outside to finish her book. I have never felt anyone who had such a presence in my life. Even after she left, the crowd in the room remained calm and relatively quite for the rest of our sojourn.
We eventually were allowed on the evening KLM flight and later that night I settled into my hotel bed in Dar es Salaam and realized how lucky I had been that Air Tanzania could not find a plane that worked. I would be a day late arriving in Zanzibar, but it was a day with a woman I will never forget.
Our plane was late. Then it was even later. Finally we were informed that our plane (one of three operated by Air Tanzania at the time) had taken off from Dar es Salaam and then engine problems forced it to quickly return where it had struggled to safely land. So we all adjourned to the larger waiting room where I sat on a couch with Jane who was busy reading "The Poisonwood Bible."
Every so often someone would approach Jane for an autograph or a picture. If an autograph she would borrow my pen (I was writing in my field book about sitting next to her) and if a picture she would hand me the camera while she stood up next to the person asking for the photo. After a few of these interruptions I asked her if she minded being asked for photos and autographs. She replied, "It seems to make them happy."
As the day wore on I was able to spend an hour or so eating lunch with Jane (provided by the airport). And she was very interested in my students that regularly came to Tanzania. During the previous ten years she had apparently spent no more than three weeks in any one place at a time as she tried to travel and speak about conservation as much as she could while she was still able.
Later in the day Jane sat outside under a tree reading. Along with those of us trying to fly to Dar es Salaam where several dozen passengers who had planned to fly to Harare. Their Air Tanzania flight had also been delayed in arriving from Dar es Salaam and when it finally arrived they departed out the door. We heard the jet engines roar into flight and then a few minutes later most of the passengers came walking back in the door and rejoined us. Apparently the pilot was concerned that too much fuel had been pumped into the plane and they were overweight so he flew off to Harare with a plane only half full of passengers. The passengers who were bumped by the fuel were not amused.
There was hope that the regularly scheduled Air Ethiopia flight from Addis Ababa to Dar es Salaam via Kilimanjaro Airport would be able to take us. But the authorities denied permission since this would technically be a "domestic" flight and Air Ethiopia was not licensed for domestic flights within Tanzania. The Air Ethiopia flight arrived, many passengers deplaned, and then the flight took off for Dar es Salaam with many empty seats but none of us. My collection of fellow passengers, who had all been at the airport for nearly twelve hours began to get much more agitated. Our only hope now was the daily KLM flight from Amsterdam, but it was operating under the same "domestic" flight restrictions as had Air Ethiopia.
As the airport manager worked the phones on our behalf the would-be passengers crowded into his office. Many of the people were frustrated and the room filled with the noise of angry voices. Suddenly the room fell quite and the manager looked up and asked "How can I help you momma Goodall." Jane had walked back into the building and was standing in the door to the office. She replied, "I just want to let you know how much I appreciate your efforts to help us." She then turned and walked back outside to finish her book. I have never felt anyone who had such a presence in my life. Even after she left, the crowd in the room remained calm and relatively quite for the rest of our sojourn.
We eventually were allowed on the evening KLM flight and later that night I settled into my hotel bed in Dar es Salaam and realized how lucky I had been that Air Tanzania could not find a plane that worked. I would be a day late arriving in Zanzibar, but it was a day with a woman I will never forget.
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