Exploring Uganda from the skies

(L)Jean-Michel Hausman on one of his expeditions. (R) Hausman’s para-motor machine which he uses for flying. Left are buffaloes at Kidepo Valley National Park, one of the places Hausman has visted. photos.by Edgar R. Batte

What you need to know:

He came as a diplomat, but the beauty of the country made Jean-Michel Hausman a national and tourism advocate.

When Jean-Michel Hausman was sent to Uganda as a secretary to the defence attaché of the Belgian embassy, he thought it would only be about his work and precisely the job description he had signed. He was wrong.

As he went about his work, he fell in love with Uganda and did not keep the love in the heart. He started going out to show it, exploring the beauty of Uganda.

As he embarked on the adventure sojourn, he wanted to use the opportunity to document different tourism destinations around the country as a way of demystifying the notion that Ebola, that severe and often fatal viral disease, is everywhere in Africa.

“The idea is to make a video for free, to show the beauty of Uganda. I have been flying over the nicest places in Uganda. I have a friend from Brussels Airlines, and together, we went to Maria Mutagamba, the Minister of Tourism and discussed how we can tour all these places - national parks, lodges, and other tourism activities. She got interested and offered us clearance from the Media Centre to be able to film, Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), as well as from the Chief of Military Intelligence,” Hausman explains.

With the clearances, he was ready to start moving. He laid out a plan and was tracked by the ministry to know where he was travelling to and when. He made a timetable and a flight plan which would take 22 days.

The ex-soldier treated the documentation process as his holiday experience. He was doing all this on his budget and resources that had been extended to him by Brussels Airlines, which paid for fuel used in the propeller and the car. He would fly and drive.

UWA extended clearance to his driver as well and together, they set out for the skies. His driver doubled as his assistant, carrying for him the flying machine and camera.

Challenges
Along the way, it proved not entirely ideal as the pilot had to deal with bad weather conditions, especially in Kidepo Valley National Park where the wind was unpredictable yet very important for the propulsion of the flight machine. Whenever he had a chance to fly, Hausman made good of his time in space, filming schools of buffaloes from an eagle’s view.

When he travelled to Jinja, he was faced with the challenge of bad roads and weather. He had to proceed to Sipi Falls in Kapchorwa, in eastern Uganda, and postpone expeditions in Jinja, which meant changes in his timetable.

He went to Sironko on a market day, which attracted a crowd of about 2,000 people around him because locals in this remote part of the country had never seen the kind of machine he was using to fly. “There were so many people that it became impossible to switch on the machine. So we decided not to do that anymore. We decided to fly from a little village and crossed over to Karamoja. We made the transition by car because of the time table,” Hausman adds.

Visiting parks
From Karamoja, he spent another three days in Murchison Falls National Park, before proceeding to Fort Portal where he visited Queen Elizabeth National Park. “I had to do a road trip because it is difficult to fly over a forest. I stayed at Kyaninga Lodge, then filmed Lake Bunyonyi for two days, before proceeding to Lake Mburo National Park,” he adds. All the footage will be shown on the flight of Brussels Airlines all over the world.

The 63-year-old says every Ugandan ought to be proud of being a national of this beautiful country because it has possibilities not only for tourism but also other avenues. Hausman has only had two accidents in his career as a military personnel. Along the way, he fell in love with Ugandan cuisines too. He adds, “We have our own culture but I like Ugandan food.”

And whereas Hausman thinks that the ministry has no intentions to use much of the beautiful data collected, he suspects this footage will showcase Uganda in good, positive light.

Who is Hausman?
Hausman is a Belgian national and an ex-serviceman working at the embassy. In his private life, he is a pilot. He has been flying since he was 16. He has recently been out and about in the air using a para-motor, which looks like a big parachute. He is married, with three children.