First Jumps in Australia

Finally manged to get two jumps in yesterday, Mon 26th. They were both from 10,000 feet. I was a solo slot between 2 tandems. The plane is only a Cessna 182 but is surprisingly fast as it has a supercharger fitted. The scenery is quite something, Pinjarra is not very far from the sea, so you have the Indian Ocean, then a belt of very green fertile area and then the bush for as far as you can see. The first thing to hit me after I exited the plane was the difference in the air, it is difficult to describe but it felt as though there was a real quality to it. It may be the contrast to South Africa where I was jumping at quite a high altitude. whatever it was it was nice. I had the sky all to myself, as the tandems were way above me(I went out first). Two nice safe uneventful landings, just where I wanted them to be.

The icing on the cake was that Rob O'Neill who owns the Centre gave me the jumps for free. We eventually agreed that a case of beer was suitable payment (for you skydivers out there. it was a first !!!).

I have attached a couple of pictures taken by one of the tandem masters Kim Brooks (Brooks'y), the other guys in the shot are Jim Whitfield -the pilot (white T shirt RHS), The other guy is the other tandem master on the lift Doug Harvey. May get some more jumps in here in the next day or so but on Friday I am going to move onto another DZ at York, called Skydive Express, this way I get another DZ in.

That's all for now. john/27/5

Australia

Journey from Jo Berg was a marathon, it eventually took about 26 hours. Over the next couple of days I genuinely lost a day and eventually asked someone what day it was.

The route initially took me from Jo Berg to Sydney - for those of you who know their geography its a long way past Perth. I had to change flights at Sydney to board yet another 747 to fly back to Perth - trouble was the connecting flight was running so late they put me onto another flight. Things just went from bad to worse as that plane was eventually delayed by about 2 hours. Its about a 5 hr flight from Sydney to Perth. Long storey cut short after various telephone calls to the hotel and car hire people to tell them I was running late I eventually got to the hotel just after 3 am, needless to say I had no trouble getting to sleep, unfortunately it was not for long as I had to check out at 11 am.

Woke up to a beautiful morning and not a cloud in the sky. The hotel I was staying in was in the centre of Perth. Perth is very modern with sky scrapers and many shops and stores. Lots of hustle and bustle - a nice vibe. I will attach a couple of pictures to show you what I mean.

However all good things must come to an end - I needed to head south to a place called Pinjarra, which is a small town about 70 miles away, the parachute centre is located on the outskirts of the town.

I am staying in a cabin in a caravan park and for most of the time I have been here its been raining. However come Sunday when I am drafting this it has eventually stopped and the forecast is better for the next few days. So no skydiving yet, but I have been out to the DZ, picture attached.

There is not much in Pinjarra but there is a city about 12 miles away on the coast called Mandurah. Mandurah is right on the edge of the Indian Ocean, its very much a boating community, with some very smart houses and nice waterfront with cafe's and restaurants. A series of canals have been constructed in recent years and this is where you will see the most expensive housing and posh boats.

As I have said I have not got any jumping in yet and I am looking at the possibility of trying another couple of DZ's, one of them interestingly enough is called Hillman Farm Skydiving.

Finally for now the obvious contrast between South Africa and Australia is the vegetation. Where Johannesburg and to a lesser extent Cape Town are quite arid, Australia is (or this part) is very green, hopefully will get some pictures on this later. Even though its winter here, its not particularly cold. When the sun does get out its nicely warm - even hot. John 26/5

Well done the two Sarah's +Rachael

I got a text message from Sarah Hewitson to say she had done the tandem jump, I am assuming Sarah Close was also on board. Well done girls I am proud of you, and of Rachael who did the jump earlier. Thanks for all of your combined fundraising efforts and the courage to do the jump. john 23/5

Goodbye South Africa

I am now in Mandurah a city south of Perth in Australia and I am using the Wi Fi Internet service at the local library. But before I start on Australia I thought I would put some of the pictures from Cape Town and Johannesburg on the blog. The pictures are: Birds Eye view of Table Mountain, JSC Parachute place a PAC, View of the main Street in Simon's Town, Penguins at Boulder Bay and finally a picture of me in my Kwik Fit T shirt (thanks Dave), at JSC parachute centre Jo Berg.

Will give a separate post on my journey to Perth, it took 26 hours, and my body clock does not know what day it is yet !!. john 22/5

Good Bye Cape Town

To start off on a bad note, I did not get to jump to-day. Woke up to a grey sky, it had been raining during the night. However went into Cape Town (I know my way there now) and amongst other things visited the aquarium. Its quite big, with two big show pools with sharks, rays and all kinds of large fish. There are smaller displays also, all interesting with some fish with vivid colouring.
One thing I have learned over this first week, is I need to make the most of the place I am in. I have concentrated all of my efforts over the past 4 months into planning the skydive side of things. There really is a lot to see in Cape Town and I have only touched the edges. What I have learned is it is a place of contrasts. You pass some of the Townships on the way in from the airport, they are slowly improving the housing and you can see that also, but its going to take I don't know how many years to get the standard of living up to what we would consider reasonable. For all that I have found everyone friendly, courteous and helpful. You also see the wealthy side of Cape Town with smart cars and offices and buildings, shopping malls to match anything we have at home.
There is also a contrast in the places you go to. When I went down to Simon's Town, the feel of the place is like another country again, more like going back a 100 years. The buildings are brightly coloured and well kept. On speaking to Esther the lady who runs Elements where I am staying, she says this is typical of the area, lots of different experiences in the places you visit. I did not get to the wine region, mainly because I was hoping the weather would change. But if I do come back here and I would like to, I will certainly make the effort.
I am going to sign off now, need to finish packing and I have half a bottle of SA wine to address !!. Hopefully will post a few more pictures from my stay here when I can.
Johannesburg in the morning, not sure when I will be able to log on next, but will manage it somehow. Finally Cape Town is a wonderful place and if you want somewhere to stay, check out the Elements web site http://www.elements-capetown.com/ john 15/5

13th May - Sarah's Birthday

Happy Birthday Sarah Hope you have had good day. The weather was not expected to be good to-day and at first it was not great and consequently the parachute centre was not operating. At least this left me free to do other things. I was given strict instructions before I left home to get some pictures of Penguins, and this I have now done. Just down from where I am staying is a refuge that looks after penguins and seabirds. I was given a tour of the premises this morning and then went to see them in their natural habitat near to Simon's Town at a place called Boulder's Beach. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. There is also a picture of Table Mountain. I took this on my way back this afternoon at just after 5.30 pm. Its only been to-day that I have actually been able to see Table Mountain - it is stunning. Hope you like the pictures, let me know what you think. Finally I am to contact the DZ first thing in the morning, so keep your fingers crossed. john 13/5

Cape Town

The weather is still no good for skydiving so have spent some more time in Cape Town. I have taken quite a few pictures which rather than me witter on you might like to see. Most of them are taken around the Victoria Quay area, as you will see its very smart and modern, there is one of a sailing ship which is under restoration, I think its called the Europa. The navy was in town so there are some pictures of some ships (I know boy's stuff - but my Dad will like them). Chow for now. john 12/5

11May Cape Town

The weather as expected has not been good so have spent some time in the harbour area of Cape Town. Its very modern, lots of classy shops and places to eat and its cheaper than home.

For now will just attach a couple of photo's taken from Friday, have only just worked out how to work the re sizing program for the pictures - will see if it works. john 11/5

South Africa

Arrived in Cape Town just before 8 am yesterday -the aircraft I flew in was a Boeing 747 I have never been in one of these before - have got to say I am pleased I don't have long legs.
Discovered one of my cases had been very badly damaged somewhere between Newcastle and arriving in Cape Town - ironically the case was marked as fragile for me when it was checked in as it had my parachute in it. However the staff at BA in Cape Town airport were very helpful and gave me a brand new case to replace the one that was damaged.
I am staying at a place called Elements Lodge in a town called Blaauwberg just outside of Cape Town. Elements is run by a young couple called Esther and Remo. Remo comes from Switzerland and he collected me from the Airport, Esther comes from Liechtenstein and they set up the business 4 years ago. They are a smashing couple and are really looking after me well.
Now to the parachuting, the weather here is not great at the moment and the forecast for the rest of the weekend is not good. However I contacted Mark Bellingham the Chief Instructor at Skydive Cape Town. In view of the forecast I decided to go out to the DZ yesterday afternoon. Its about 15 miles from where I am staying - Esther had previously organised a hire car for me so transport was not a problem. I went to the DZ mid afternoon.
The DZ is about 2 miles off the highway along a dirt road, so I had to drive slowly and take it careful with the car. Mark checked all of my documents, the Parachute Association of South Africa had given me free membership for 90 days. Thanks to Neeve at PASA my membership card was waiting for me at the DZ.
Well I did get to jump, I joined two tandems and Sean the cameraman in a Cessna 206 and went up to 9,000 feet. The weather was a bit grey so I could not see table mountain but I did get a good view of the countryside and more importantly for this first jump I could see the DZ (there is almost nothing worse than not being able to see where you are and not having a clue where to land). However all went well and I had a good landing in the place I wanted to land. The icing on the cake was the jump was free in view of the cause - thank Mark.
It looks doubtful that I will get any jumping in this weekend because of the weather, wind and rain are forecast, but the DZ is open all week, hopefully the weather will break and I will get in some jumps during the week.
I had hoped it is the people I meet that will in a very big way make the trip for me - I have not been disappointed - everyone has been very helpful and friendly and have all wanted to know more about the trip.
That's all for now john 10/5

Heading off to South Africa

Now completing last minute packing and various other things. The BBC came good and I had my first interview last night by Rhod Sharp, it was being broadcast between 1.00 am and 2.00 this morning on the Up All Night Program on Radio 5 Live. It seemed to go OK, I had the chance to give NACC a good mention. Rhod was easy to speak to and put me at ease. They are going to broadcast further interviews as I travel round. I don't know the dates yet. Will keep you posted. I have finally decided to get a laptop, largely thanks to the saving I made with National Car Rental - thanks also to Falcon Computers for the discount. So I should be able keep the blog updated now and have no worries about how I am going to get pictures on.
Must dash now - have a plane or two to catch !!!. John 8/5/08

The Night Before the Night Before

Only one more full day then I am off on the big one. There has been still so much to do, accommodation car hire, the jobs I must get done at home, as well as sorting various horse issues out ( Sarah - my daughter, keeps me busy with something to do with the horse).

One of my biggest head aches by far has been transport from the various international airports to the DZ's (Drop Zones). They invariably are in the middle of nowhere and public transport is either a challenge or non existent. However my friends at National Car Rental have really helped me out big time. Sarah Philp has been a real star no doubt assisted by many others and arranged hire cars in every location that I needed them, I am even called a VIP - (I can live with that). They have even covered the cost of two of the hires for me, in view of the cause (NACC) for which I am truly grateful.

I am hoping BBC 5 Live will be contacting me to-morrow - will have to wait and see.

One final thing before I go, Empuriabrava is a great melting pot for meeting skydivers. I met Claudia who works on the manifest in Empuria. Claudia is from Brazil, as soon as I mentioned I was going to Sao Paulo she was elated, she has since contacted her friends out there to tell them I am going out there on my trip, so I feel very sure I will have a great welcome there.

Will try and get one more update in before I go

Adeos j 6/5