Deciding on a career is like one of those choose-your-own-adventure books: Each small decision you make impacts on what you end up doing with your life. Delport Botma (28) went for the “out-there” option and became a helicopter pilot.
Delport Botma’s wide smile often pops up in his photos on Instagram, whether he’s releasing a puff adder, perched on a bakkie tailgate with his Jack Russell, or sitting behind the controls of a helicopter somewhere in Africa. He visits places where few other people go, like the Zambezi Delta in Mozambique, and he also lives close to nature – on a farm outside Thabazimbi in Limpopo. That’s where I track him down during the national lockdown, when he had no choice but to stay home.
“The pandemic has messed up my plans,” he says. “I was supposed to be in Kenya right now. Usually I spend more time away than at home.”
