Flight over Gauteng with Captain Ogston!

Our friend Tim got his pilot's licence a few months ago so we put on our brave faces and headed for the sky (no... really Tim is an excellent pilot, landing was so smooth we didn't even notice it)!

We flew mainly around 1000-2000 feet above ground level with ground speeds ranging up to 130 knots.

Tim took it fairly easy on us with only 1 gut-retching banking turn. He's saving the free fall gravity drop for another time!

Our plane!

Sandton (new CBD) in the foreground and proper CBD in distance

A typical site from the sky- the majority of housing in the northern suburbs is clusters.

Captain Timmy & wingman Pete

Sandton

CBD- Vodacom tower in foreground & Hillbrow Tower

CBD

The constant haze from cooking/heating fires that hovers over Soweto (formal settlement)

Passenger Jen

Pete's office park (Terracotta roofs)

Magaliesberg Mountain range, north of Jozi

Hartebeesport Dam

The ever present divide of rich & poor... rich with large plots of land & trees in foreground, and poor in the background... mass of housing with no greenery.

The cockpit

Harrison James Chandler - born 9 June 2009

Harrison James Chandler arrived at 14:30, Tuesday, 9th June 2009. Weighing in at 3.86kg and 55cm long, he was delivered via c-section surgery. Both Mum and boy are in great health. Dad is besotted with them both even after changing the 1st nappie!! Amazing, Amazing, Amazing! Tipping the scales at 3.86kg (8,5lbs)

Luxury 'camping' at Toorfontein

The Little Karoo is a broad valley stretching east to west hemmed in by the Swartberg mountain range to the north and the Outeniqua mountains to the south. Whilst the environment appears very vast and arid, the windswept plains are broken by mountains with deep ravines and breathtaking passes. Jen put on her 'travel agent' hat and found stunning accommodation at Toorfontein tented camp which would offer a completely different African experience for Jackie & Stu. To break the drive we stayed at The Fernery on Friday night- the only hotel at the base of the Tsitsikamma Mountains which has views of the rugged coastline, deep gorges and surrounding forests. Our lodge was nestled against a small waterfall of the gorge which made for pleasant background noise as we braaied on our patio. On Saturday we meandered along the Garden Route, breaking for coffee at a French cafe in Plettenberg Bay and a picnic lunch in Knysna. We continued over the spectactular Outeniqua Pass from George...

Camping at Monks Cowl, hiking the 'Berg

Due to this weekend being a long weekend in SA (and also to celebrate our birthdays), Pete & I along with British expats Gareth & Sophie decided a weekend getaway trip was required and the Central Drakensberg Ranges was chosen as the destination. We camped at Monks Cowl which is nestled in the picturesque Champagne Valley at the base of the Central Drakensberg Ranges in Kwazulu-Natal. In training for the Mt Kilimanjaro hike that we all hope to hike whilst we are based in Africa, we ventured off on Sunday for a long and hilly hike. We first headed to Blindman's Corner, an 11km return route from the camp. This route takes you steeply up a berg to The Sphinx and then along a flat and meandering grassy plateau to the base of the summits. However, upon arriving there we felt like a further challenge so subsequently climbed 1/3 of the way up Sterkhorn Mt. And up we climbed... at times the hill we were climbing had a gradient of >55 degrees! We rested for lunch perched precari...

Chandler's Overseas

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