In Memory of Ole Friede

Ole Friede

In Memory of Ole Friede

Most of you already know by now that Ole Friede, co-owner and chief aviator of African Profile Safaris, died in a tragic air accident on January 29^th in Namibia. Ole was one of three experienced pilots undertaking a training flight between Eros Airport and Hosea Kutako International Airport in a Cessna 425 when something went dreadfully wrong. All three men perished in the crash, a huge loss to Namibian aviation. http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?page=read&id=36560

Ole was many things to many people – devoted husband and loving father, astute businessman and dedicated conservationist, amazing guide and extraordinary pilot, and one of the premier advocates for Namibian nature and tourism. 

 As a fourth generation Namibian on his mother’s side, Ole had a deep love for his mother country. His father was a Lutheran minister expelled from Namibia (then a South African-ruled territory called Southwest Africa) for preaching against apartheid. Banished from their homeland, the Friede family roamed between Germany, Tanzania and Zimbabwe before Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990 and they were able to return.

After earning a degree in wildlife and nature conservation at the University of Namibia, Ole snagged a job as the head of the Namibian Game Capture Unit, charged with trapping and relocating animals in national parks and game reserves. So much of Ole‘s time was spent flying from place to place – and scouting Namibia from above – he decided to get a pilot’s license and his own aircraft.

“My husband taught us respect, love for others and nature,” his widow Marie Friede remarked during his memorial service in Windhoek earlier this month. “He had a deep-rooted love for nature, conservation and gave attention to every detail,” added his brother Jan, another APS pilot.

Ole will be dearly missed by all of us.