Oupa en Ouma gaan Plaas toe in KZN Natal

Last week I did something that I had been meaning to do for about five years, our very good friends, Vere and Tiki van Heerden, operate a Commercial Game Ranch in the Province of Kwa Zulu Natal near Winterton in South Africa.

They have often invited our family there and every time that I was on the farm I wished I could have my Parents there since they have such a great love for the bush - So last week I took the Cessna and picked them up in Bloemfontein and we had a great two days on the Van Heerden's Game Ranch

Die roete van Bloemfontein is oor die Oos Vrystaat en my Pa het die hele wereld baie goed herken en die vlug baie geniet, ons is oor Nooitgedacht die plaas waar hy gebore is 80 jaar gelede die buurplaas Brightside, die Koranna spruit en berge en later reg by Visierskerf verby naby Fouriesburg, toe verby Clarens, Golden Gate en oor die Sterkfontein Dam waar ons eers by n goeie vriendin Elsa Greyling op Haar plaas Clifford in die Harrismith Distrik gaan land het vir Tee en koekies en melktert.

Die boonste foto is n ouer foto van Visierskerf van die Fouriesburg kant af geneem en die onderste foto is laas week uit die vliegtuig geneem van die Rosendal, weste kant af.





Onder is Jan-Harm Greyling, Elsa se seun en Elsa besig om ons op Clifford te verwelkom.

So teen 12:00 uur het ons die laaste been van Elsa af oor die eskarpment af gevlieg tussen Van Reenens Pas en Oliviershoek Pas en in Natal geland waar Tiki ons by die landingstrook kom oplaai het. Op die foto hieronder is my Pa Johan Steyl, my Ma Rina en Tiki.

Op pad na die ruskamp het ons n groot hoeveelheid wild gesien waarvan die mees indrukwekkende n Trop van meer as n 100 Elande

By die Kamp aangekom het Tiki hulle na hulle bos chalet geneem waar Ouma heerlik gaan slaap het en later vir n uur na die vinke byna op die patio gesit en kyk het.















Die middag het ons op n "Gamedrive" gegaan tot sononder en die Renosters was die hoogtepunt, daarna drinks op die dek gevolg deur n lekker hoender braai.

Op die dek saam met Tami van Heerden vat die week graad kry op Stellenbosch

Die volgende oggend het n Parkeraad beampte, n' meneer Potter, op die plaas opgedaag om vir Vere "microchips" in n paar Renoster horings te sit wat van n Paar renosters af kom wat deur weerlig doodgeslaan is, daar was n paar oomblikke van paniek toe die horings vir n paar minute weggeraak het, maar dit was gelukkig van korte duur. Nadat die horings gesertifiseer is het Vere en Tiki ons weer by die Cessna gaan aflaai en het ons weer oor die Drakensberge terug gevlieg via Bethlehem vir brandstof na Bloemfontein.

Baie dankie vir n wonderlike aand in die bos saam met julle.

November 2006 Activities

Juanita, Johan Junior and myself all returned home to Kosmos - South Africa for a week and a bit before the end of November.

Johan Jr started ground school and then simulator work and finally finished his Beechcraft King Air 1900 conversion at Lanseria with Captain Andre White doing the ground school and Captain Robbie Robinson doing his flight training and tests. He completed this with flying colours on Wednesday 29th Nov and left for Windhoek again on the Fri 1st December to start flying the new aircraft on his licence.
The picture above is what a Beechcraft 1900 looks like as a passenger plane while the one below with all the windows blanked out is the freighter version of these workhorse aircraft.

Juanita came home after a hectic tour which included amongst others, India, China, Djibouti, Brussels and Dusseldorf. The day After she got back she had to spend the whole day doing Aviation Medicine and write the exam, (a requirement for her license) also passed well.

Last Saturday Louis' girlfriend Lerika Wessels left for Malawi to join Louis for December holidays and the have visited Club Makakolo on Lake Malawi this week Louis then had Malaria and is recovering now in Blantyre. He says Lerika is really enjoying Malawi.


In the photo from left to right is Kirsty Petty - Johan Jr's girlfriend, me and Lerika Wessels - Louis' girlfriend.





Juanita and myself then went a short break with some colleagues from Cranfield an aviation school where I lecture from time to time in Aviation CRM (Crew Resource Management) to a game farm in the Waterberg called Sambane. We took a slow cruise up north through the bushveld in her little Z3, (see photo below where she is on her way again in the Global Express) and had a great time in the bush with some great fellow aviation people.

Juanita left again on hopefully her last trip for the year on Wednesday night for Arusha Kilimanjaro Scotland and Jersey, and she will be back on the 8th or 12th December, She called an hour ago to say she is now safely in Scotland.

I have leave for most of December and during the last week they really worked me hard, I flew every day, or rather night, Monday to Friday to Cape Town and back and this was aggravated by the fact that on Tuesday evening shortly after departing from Cape Town we had an emergency situation when we had a complete "A" system hydraulic failure. This meant that we had to return to Cape Town - wind the gear down manually land with limited flaps an no nose wheel steering. The net result was no sleep until 10:00 Wednesday morning.

This is an older photo after a particularly difficult approach into a very foggy Cape Town

The rest of the week went OK and I finished yesterday afternoon and went straight from the airport to Wanderers Cricket grounds to watch the Super 20 match between SA and India which India won with the 2nd last ball. Today I took the Suzuki Intruder for a run over to Sun City to watch the 3rd day of the Nedbank Million Dollar Golf - great day in the sun.

The beauty of going to the Golf at Sun City by motorbike, is that they allow you to drive all the way up to the Cascades Hotel entrance, park you in the shade, and from there it is no more than 50 meters to the entrance to the golf. I did the normal thing that Juanita and myself have been doing for years - went to the 1st Tee and watched them tee off, then wandered down to the 9th Green, and watched them all come through, then had a lovely lunch and swim at Santorini restaurant, and watched them all finish at the 18th. A very pleasant guy that sat next to me on the 9th asked me which pair am I going to follow for the 2nd nine, and he could not stop chuckling when I told him that "I dont follow them around, they follow me around, - I'll wait on the 18th and they are all going to follow me there!"
Quite a few thunderstorms developed in the afternoon but just acted as a dramatic backdrop for a lovely the drive home.

My November 2006 tour of duty:- In West Africa

The Farmington River at Roberts Field (The runway is 500m West of the River)

As a Pilot for a Johannesburg based Airline - Safair this is what we do from time to time (every 2 months) Right now I am on a 18 day tour to Monrovia - Liberia, flying a Boeing 727-200 (ZS-NZV) on a United Nations contract, mainly between Roberts Field near Monrovia in Liberia and Kotoka International Airport In Accra Ghana.

During this tour we had plenty of free time to go to the beach, play squash etc. The squash courts are in the middle of town behind a filling station. Two concrete floors and one painted wood , the lights and fans work off a diesel generator . Pretty Primitive but very sociable.
We are 8 crew members and should be back in South Africa on the 21st of November, we are leaving for Accra on Sunday and laying over at the Labadi Beach Hotel until Monday evening.

Working with us here are some huge helicopters and the well known Russian freighters

The crew members with me on this tour is Chris Rothman (First Officer) Hans Terblanche (Flight Engineer) Bishen Badal (Loadmaster) Lucia Spinola (In Charge Flight Attendant) Melany Cooper, Carmen Giliomee and Lee-Anne Moss (Cabin Crew)

These guys are not my crewmembers, just curious onlookers they dont see grey hair like this often in these parts of Africa

Rhino Rally in Harrismith 27 Oct 2006 and pics of other Bike trips

On Friday 27 Oct we travelled down to Harrismith from Kosmos 370 km on the Suzuki Intruder 800 to the Rhino on the banks of the Wilge River in the Orange Free State Province

Here we are refuelling at a town called Villiers - halfway.

We met up with Alta Wessel Danny Kobus Frans Anneri en ...
















Redge Jelliman and a few friends



We have travelled extensively in various parts of South Africa on the Suziki Intruder motorbike and the following is a few places we have been to before:-

On Chapmans peak Drive near Cape Town the road from Houtbay to Kommetjie



Knysna Waterfront on the Garden Route from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.

In Front of the Lord Milner Hotel in Matjiesfontein, a small Railway Station in the Karoo on the Main Road from Cape Town to Johannesburg

On the old bridge over the Orange River on way to Colesburg for a Bike Rally (Ulysees) in May o6

Johan Jr is with me, he accompanied me on this trip.

My Immediate Family

jsteyl@gmail.com

Juanita is an Air Hostess

on a Global Express Aircraft based in Lanseria
we have been married for 26 years








steyljr@gmail.com


Johan Junior Is a Commercial Pilot with Bay Air
in Windhoek - Namibia and will soon be flying a
Beechcraft King Air 1900 as a Co- Pilot






louis.steyl@gmail.com

Louis, above is a Commercial Pilot working for
Nyassa Air Taxi in Blantyre Malawi and most
his flying is to game lodges in Zambia Tanzania
Mozambique and Likoma island on Lake Malawi.

He flies mainly a Beechcraft Baron but also a
Cherokee Six and a Piper Seneca.

Louis is at the moment in discussions with a company that is operating a Jetstream 31 in Zimbabwe as a flying Ambulance, if these are succesful he might start flying there in December