Best flying in 450 hours

[old no 7]

Awesome trip, I have it on the cards for next year if all goes well. You don't perhaps a easyplan route plan for this? Would appreciate it. Will save me lots of planning time.
Regards
Stefan

INFO @ SAPLANES . CO. ZA

Have emailed easyplan routes to you. Herewith a google map view of the 9 days. If you need more infgo on accomodation or fuel, please let me know.

[t-bird]

Hi Glen

Nice photos.
Why don’t we keep the thread and do a weekly update of one days flying per week?
You are one day ahead at the moment. I am still at Shakawe

Regards

Callie

[KFA]

Thanks for the route mail Glen. Any info you can supply will be greatly appreciated.
Regards
Stefan

[t-bird]

The weekly update

Day 3 of our trip
We spend the previous night at Drosky’s cabins near Shakawe, our camp was a 30 minute boat ride from the main camp.
The photo of the Bee eater that Glen posted was on our way to the camp.
We saw Crocodiles, Fish eagles and King fisher’s.
They had most rain in 80 years and parts of the camp were flooded.

Customs came to us at the runway and we were off to Rundu.
On our way to Rundu we passed the old 32 battalion base
We also flew over Poppa falls , this could only be called a waterfall through the eye of the BEERHOLDER.
We were following the river and enjoyed the flight in the crisp morning air.
None of us realized that there was quite a strong wind blowing until we have joined overhead Rundu.
The landing was interesting with huge downdrafts over the runway.

The custom officials was nowhere to be found.
The police was at the airfield and we jumped over the fence and went with him looking for the customs guy in town.

We had one interesting take off at Rundu but that is another story.
We routed towards Tsumeb around the Namibia Grootfontein Military area
We had dodge 2 Thunderstorms on our way, but they were very localized.

Namibia is very flat with mountains near Tsumeb.
We refueled at Tsumeb and were off to Mushare lodge on the Border of the Etosha.

Till next week. I hope that Glen can post more photos of day 3.

The flooded Kavango river



Old no 7


Customs in Namibia

[t-bird]

Day 4
We stayed at Mushara lodge on the edge of the Etosha. They have a runway a few kilometers away and transported us to the lodge.
Our routing was directly over Etosha towards the “vinger klip”. We could only see Girfafes and Big game due to the height we had to maintain over the game reserve.
The autumn colour of the bush between Etosha and the “vinger klip” was amazing. We all circled the the “vinger klip” and it must have been a site from the ground with a swarm of gyros flying around the rock. We landed at the runway next to it refueled and off to the Petrified Forest. We had the coordinates for the forest but we could not find it from the air. The next point was the Welwithcia, we saw al lot of these prehistoric plants but again could not find the “BIG ONE”
The “vinger klip”



We landed at Twyfel fontein, they have a nice long runway and you can taxi to the fuel pumps with 95 unleaded.
Our routing after lunch was the burned mountain,Doros crater,Ugab river,Brandberg mountains, Spitzkoppe and Swakopriver.
The burned mountain was not that impressive from the air, but wow the Doros crater. This is an old extinct volcano and you can clearly see the rings of the volcano with the lava flows.

Burned Mountain


Doros Crater


After that it was the Ugab canyon. The rock formations were unbelievable and we were flying the canyon on the deck.
After the Brandberg mountains we routed to the Spitzkoppe

Spitzkoppe


We finally landed at the Swakopriver . Our camp for the night was in the river bed between
Granite outcrops.

[grahame]

Hi T-bird - I'm a real newbie to this kind of flying, so please ignore the question if you think its stupid

Where is the luggage for such a trip?

I ask this because your trip is indeed one of my unfulfilled dreams, and getting into gyro flying is my next TO-DO - but I battle to understand some of the logistics! My fixed wing takes 100 pounds of baggage, but I cannot figure out your arrangements!

[t-bird]

Hi Grahame

You can pack your luggage underneath your seat.

My luggage consisted of
1 Bag - Small day rucksack with clothes
1 loose bag with toiletries
1 medium cooler bag with snacks
2 – six pack cooler bags with snacks and cool drinks
1 headsetbag

Additional petrol
2 x 25 liter Jerry cans with petrol
1 x 15 liter Jerry can with petrol
1 x 10 liter can with petrol

Spares were pack in the cubbyhole behind the seat
Spare tubes
Oil
Water
Cable ties
Spanners
Tyre pressure gauges
Radiator coolant
Emergency equipment
Gyro covers

We did not need sleeping bags as we stayed in lodges.

My dad did a similar trip in 2009 and they were two people in each gyro.

The fuel logistic is then becoming a nightmare

Where are you based at the moment

[grahame]

So THAT'S why you have a spare seat! Fuel!

Based at Wonderboom. Am going through to Kitty Hawk tomorrow morning to met MAK! He's very kindly agreed to show me his Xenon. Can't wait.

[t-bird]

Day 5

We had a wonderful breakfast at our tented camp in the Swakop river. The breakfast table was underneath huge granite rocks.
After breakfast a short drive back to the Gyro’s. What was interesting was the mist in the canyon pushing in from the ocean which is 40 km away.

Warm up and preflight and we were ready to go. Our routing was over the moon landscapes to Solitaire.

The contrast in Namibia was again amazing. The first 10 minutes was over the Swakop river canyon and then over the moon landscapes.

Moon landscape



After the moon landscapes it was grass planes to the Kuiseb canyon.
We saw lots of Oryx ,Zebra, and Springbok on these planes

After that it was the Kuiseb Canyon
We were debating while flying over it on how they will rescue you if you have to go down in this place.
A chopper would not be able to land and the canyon walls are too steep to climb. Only way would be a ground rescue which could take a few days.
I have read an interesting book before the trip of two Germans who stayed in the Canyon during World war II.
They hide away for 2 years in this canyon.
I can definitely recommend the Henno Martin's book “The Sheltering Desert”

Kuiseb Canyon


The rocks of the canyon is pitch black and then you have the red dunes meeting the canyon with red “water”falls into the canyon. Okay the water should be sandfalls.

Flying over a red sea of dunes was something special.
Then we encountered something unexpected “Fairy circles “
Thousands of these circles in the sand with grass around them.

Fairy circles.


We landed at Solitaire and taxied to the fuel pumps to refuel


Our original plan was to fly from Solitaire directly to Sosssusvlei and then to Hammerstein lodge.
We decided to change our route directly to Hammerstein en then to Sossusvlei in the afternoon.

Day 5 to be continued

[old no 7]

Hi Callimaatjie,
Sorry, that I haven't been keeping up with posting pics.
I've just got back from a week in the low-veld. Mainly for CC's Bush-Pilots fly-in. Knackered from fighting a 30mph head-wind. Will post soon.