The Two River's Odyssey

[mulderpm]

Phew Bundy jy raak nou filosoophies!

Very true words. I also love the unexplored...the road less traveled.

You may know this or you may have these books already. I use Airfields Directory for Southern Africa for info on all airfields with runways longer than 600meters and Microlight Airfields in South Africa for info on the short runway airfields. In these books you also get contact details and applicable requirements for these airfields. I have found many listed in the Microlight book that is not visible in Google Earth. Therefore, if you are planning to use them you must check if they still exist and their condition. I have build all these airfields and the other aeronautical information (FAP's, FAD's, FAR's etc) into a map that I have loaded as an overlay (transparent) into my Garmin 276C GPS.

[Bundy]

Phew Bundy jy raak nou filosoophies!

Wait till I've slukked a bottle of Rum!

Perhaps I can pop round your place for a beer one evening and have a page through that book of yours?

Ek is platsak en kan nie al hierdie boeke gaan koop nie...moet nog n paar rand spaar vir petrol en two stroke.

[Tailspin]

Phew Bundy jy raak nou filosoophies!

Wait till I've slukked a bottle of Rum!

Perhaps I can pop round your place for a beer one evening and have a page through that book of yours?

Bundy

If you promise to return it i can loan you my book. Could help a bit with some of the info in there.

let me know.

[mulderpm]

Perhaps I can pop round your place for a beer one evening and have a page through that book of yours?

No problem chom. The first has a wealth of info and is well worth the investment. You could call it is a reference book for trip planning. It even has the names and tel no's of the persons in neighbouring countries you must contact for clearance's (and they are correct). The second is more basic but it has addendum's with important info about flying like, FAD'S, FAP'S, FAR'S, VFR rules, Semi-Circle rule, SRA'S, TAF'S, radio frequencies used in RSA, CTR radio procedures & RSA CTR aiport contact details. Important stuff you learnt during your training but may have forgotten.

I sound like a salesman for thes books.

Oh..& ...the first even shows you how to fill in a flight plan. That was a saviour when I departed from Inhambane airport and the officials only speak Portugues or Tswana.

[ZS-NEL]

Going to be a GREAT adventure! Gee hom wind!

[Bundy]

Thanks to both of you Paul and Gav.

Paul, I graciously accept. Will give you a shout and we can pop in next week some time after work?

Very kind of you Gav, will give you a shout if I dont get sorted. (PS did you get the helmet? I have asked Hans at ML to get me another aerial so I can return your's dude.)Still planning to get a V rabbit again...but have my eye on an HD camera first Be pretty stupid to fly 2000 miles without "evidence"

Yet again I'm filled with pride to be a part of such a helpful and friendly group of aviators. The same topic elsewhere was a dead duck. I've been inundated with PM's, e mails and telephone calls from okes I dont even know wishing us well and offering assistance...I'm gonna fly trikes for the rest of my days for sure!

Microlighters Rock!!

[ZS-NEL]

...but have my eye on an HD camera first Be pretty stupid to fly 2000 miles without "evidence"

Bundy don't stress too much about this. Infozone TV will rig the trikes with all the cameras and sound you will need for the trip to cover every angle.

[Tailspin]

(PS did you get the helmet? I have asked Hans at ML to get me another aerial so I can return your's dude.)Microlighters Rock!!

Hey Bundy

Yebo Yess got the Helmet - Tryin to save the visor, if i can get the scratches out then it will only cost you a beer for the Fix.
I was going to offer you a V-Rabbit for your trip and when your cash is available you can pay me for it.
You really need good Comms on a long trip like that.
I am just in the middle of buying a new house but will get all your goodies sorted ASAP.

Gavin.

[Bundy]

Excellent news guys, thanks for all the help. We must all get together soon around a braai. Bundy will bring the beer

"I love it when a plan comes together"

No rush Gav, sheesh I did not think that visor was salvageble! You sure you working on the right one?

[Bundy]

....and then there were 3.

I happenned to meet Mr Louis Cole at Misasa's AGM last week. As I'm sure you know, Louis has been planning a similar trip as our next year. With the high costs associated with a 3 week triking safari, it was suggested that we collaborate the two so that we could share the costs of the ground crew. We also both believe that there is safety in numbers, and it's always good to have a reassuring voice flying on your wing helping you through those tough times. I drove through to Louis's little piece of heaven in Broederstroom yesterday so we could have a good chat about things.... and I am pleased to say that Louis will be joining us on the Two Rivers Odyssey.

Louis brings a great knowledge of the Namaqualand area to the table, and his input will be extremelly valuble to the planning. Louis is taking part and dedicating his efforts to the Reach for a Dream Foundation. We have wholeheartedly agreed to support each other's causes.

Next step is to org a Weekend at Jakkaldans, myself, James and Louis. We can then get a little more structure to our planning and with all 3 around the same table we will be able to iron out all the little details.

Welcome on board the Two Rivers Odyssey Louis

[Louis Cole]

Thanks Alan I feel honoured to join The Team and hope I can add some value.As you know I agonised about the Namibia leg which I really wanted to do but the logistics of co-ordinating our various legs if we share a support vehicle would have been difficult especially if you have time constraints,maar more is nog 'n dag.

The planning for the Namaqualand leg is going to be less daunting.I have spoken to two of the three trike pilots so far and Dries Mostert(0730273725),Di Ellis(0832773368 and E-mail dianne@weskusfilters.co.za). They have a wealth of info on most of our destinations and will E-mail me some contact no's and co-ords.The third pilot is Jannie de Kok who has extensive flying experience of the region including the Richtersveld leg.Will speak to him tomorrow.They live up to their reputation as the most hospitable people around.Springbok is sorted and we can camp at the airport that has toilets and a bar.They will arrange hangar space for us as well.I suggested that they meet and socialise with us that evening.My father knows the local newspaper journalist and I will arrange for him to be there as well.Dianne has contact details of the owners of Dundee Lodge at Augrabies where they overnight enroute to Aggeneys.I've asked her to follow the Two Rivers Odysesy on the Forum and assist us with alternatives or just with general info.I also left a message with Rodney Williams at Kleinzee wrt permission to land.Apparently you don't need a permit as such but they want to be informed.The Namaqua flyers land on the road outside Kleinzee to avoid the redtape.Apparently not recommended to overnight there.There are overnight facilities south of Kleinzee at Noup where one can also land on the road.

[Louis Cole]

Rodney Williams will send me the indemnity and Authority to land documentation by E-mail as well as contact details of overnight facilities at Kleinzee by E-mail.He says that Alexanderbay airfield is outside the restricted area and no permits are required.

The Namaqua trikers have suggested they tag along from Springbok for a while.Their work commitments would detrmine that I suppose depending on what day of the week we depart Springbok.No problem I'm sure.

[Bundy]

Great work Mr Cole, a gold star for you

Earth to James.....are you getting your mails???

I'm really looking forward to spending a whole day or two with the both of you to finalise the intended route. I am making progress with some options for tracking. Hopefully interested persons will be able to log on and see where we are... I have a spare handheld for the ground vehicle too. Renting a Sat phone is a rediculous option....an emergency call will prob cost more than the recovery. Not an option at this stage, but with 3 planes I think we are within safety limits as far as comms are concerned. I'm told that cell signal is not bad throughout the region/route. SMS will go through at least?

Other topics to start thinking about are:

1: Camping/essential equipment on board each plane. (Water, fuel, med kit, tent, tie downs, food rations etc etc)
2: How to pack this all onto the trike. (James will give great input here)
3: Spare parts for Rotax 582/618 (filters, jets, plugs etc)
4: Turnaround point (this will be a date rather than a destination)

So much still to do.

[Bugwar]

1: Camping/essential equipment on board each plane. (Water, fuel, med kit, tent, tie downs, food rations etc etc)
2: How to pack this all onto the trike. (James will give great input here)
3: Spare parts for Rotax 582/618 (filters, jets, plugs etc)
4: Turnaround point (this will be a date rather than a destination)

So much still to do.

1. You are flying over the larger RS of A and have a ground crew. I will rather worry about additional fuel than camping gear on board each plane. I have flown longer because of head winds and then had plenty place to land if only I had some spare fuel to put in the tank. Chances of you having to land and sleep in the "gopse" and your crew not reaching you is really close to zero.
2. We played with removing the back seat and replacing it with a luggage / fuel "box". You get the best use of space that way on top of a belly bag.
5. Tracking is important. Have a look at a little free app called Glympse for your phone.

Watch this space for a Raptor late entry....

[Louis Cole]

Paul I followed your advice when I flew to Secunda recently and downloaded the Glymps app.I Glympsed Flo at Aero 57 as well as a friend in Secunda and it worked brilliantly.My cellphone battery died enroute which caused a bit of a concern as they couldn't track me further but it is an impressive app.