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Good day
During the last months and during 2009 some exciting things happened and we would like to share these experiences with all our clients.
During June 2009, we got an enquiry for flying the entire Orange River with a helicopter for filming. We started working on this quotation and the cost was high as you can imagine. The plan was to start in Lesotho, at the source of the Orange, which is known as the Senku River. The altitude was a problem in Lesotho as some areas are 10 000 ft above sea level. It would be very difficult to operate a R44 with a naturally aspirated engine in these conditions. We quoted from one of our satellite branches for a Bell Jetranger, but this was too costly because they basically had to fly around Lesotho to enter at Maseru airport.
........................R44 helicopter near the RSA Namibia border – Filming the Orange River
In the end, the film crew tried the Lesotho air force and they gladly assisted. We also worked on another quotation to film the main features of the Orange River. The plan was to fly to Gariep dam, the largest lake in South Africa, then the confluence of the Vaal and Orange at Douglas, proceed to Upington and overnight there. The next day we were to fly to Augrabies Falls National Park for aerial filming and proceed to Alexander Bay, the mouth of the mighty Orange. We would then use Alexander Bay as our refuelling stop to film the Richtersveld Park and mountains with the Orange River.
The quotation was accepted and we went ahead with the flight planning and clearances. We met the camera man at Kimberley airport for the first leg to Gariep dam. The luggage was way too bulky for the chopper, so we decide to send Dr. Kriek to Upington with a ground support vehicle. We then met him in Upington that evening.
We got clearance from Kimberley tower and headed straight for Gariep dam, but on the way we saw dense fog. We proceeded with caution and descended, but eventually we had to land due to poor visibility. We were on the ground for approximately 10 minutes, when it cleared up. We got airborne and continued only to be blocked by the fog for another 30 minutes. We waited in frustration for about an hour on a hill, eventually the fog cleared and we had clear skies. We arrived at Gariep and filmed the dam, the surrounding areas and landed for fuel at Gariep airport with staggering landing fees, R50 per landing. (Usually about R12).
......R44 grounded due to mist in the Free State .. Overhead the upper part of Gariep dam
The camera man was happy with the shots and we departed for the confluence at Douglas. We were met by a second vehicle with our avgas bowzer to refuel and we did the filming at the confluence. Now it was time to fly to Upington and I was really looking forward to the filming of Augrabies and the Richtersveld. (Although we have flown over Augrabies with film crews many times it’s always exciting)!
The next day was the longest leg. We had to fly to Augrabies Falls, Alexander Bay, Richtersveld Park & return to Upington in the same day. The first leg was to be flown by Dr. Kriek. We had to split the hours to avoid going over the daily duty time limit, of 8 hours per pilot. We flew to Augrabies where we filmed at 1500 ft above ground and we also managed to get clearance to fly over the Richtersveld Park, at a fee of course.
Augrabies Falls ..................Start-up at Augrabies airstrip
We completed the filming at Augrabies, refuelled and continued to Alexander Bay. We had to fly a dogleg to avoid flying over Namibia and this took us over beautiful scenery and mountainous terrain. We flew for over two hours before we reached the “Klein Pella” mountains, quite ironic as they are anything but small. During this phase of the flight, we encountered high winds which made the flight very bumpy and uncomfortable over the mountains.
......View from the top – RSA & Namibia border .... Over flying the “Klein Pella” mountains
We finally saw the blue ocean when we reached the other end of the mountain range. The mountains were replaced by sand dunes. We reached Alexander Bay where the wind was gusting at this time. Dr. Kriek taxied and manoeuvred the chopper to the fuelling point with precision despite the windy conditions. We reached the furthest point now and had to film the Richtersveld Park. The Richersveld Park is a beautiful place with desert moonlike landscapes, cliffs and treacherous mountains. We got ready, removed all the unnecessary stuff and stored it at the apron office. It didn’t seem like the wind was going to calm down anytime soon, so we proceeded to the park. We cruised at 600 feet clear of all the mountains to avoid the turbulence and everything was quite smooth until we reached the second mountain. We experienced moderate turbulence and maintained altitude to keep it within safe limits. We proceeded to the Fish river mouth had the best seats in the house. It is truly a beautiful place, but you don’t want to carry out an emergency landing in this area. The area is covered by steep, high mountains and sharp rocks with occasional narrow riverbeds.
The treacherous but beautiful mountains of the Richtersveld
We completed the filming flight and returned to Alexander Bay for the Grande finale. We had to film the mouth of this mighty river.
The Orange River, near the end of its path during the flight to the mouth.
We reached Alexander Bay and followed the river right to the mouth. We felt a feeling of accomplishment when reaching the mouth of this great river. It was an unforgettable experience and we saw some of the most beautiful terrain in Southern Africa.
... The mouth of the Orange River ............. Johann Kriek flying along the beach
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