Author Topic: And in the beginning . . .  (Read 2452 times)

Ann

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And in the beginning . . .
« on: June 20, 2021, 21:25:49 »
There was NG and all of their gear:

https://shelbourne-america.net/Internet-Posting/101_DSC3329-Otters_Den.jpg


Happy Anniversary and Thank you all!

It has been a great ride.

ThomasAdams

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2021, 23:24:27 »
Hello Ann and thank you for sharing! Perhaps one day I will make it on a real safari ;D

Regards,
Tom

Akira

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #2 on: June 21, 2021, 02:10:01 »
There was NG and all of their gear:

Happy Anniversary and Thank you all!

It has been a great ride.

Welcome back and thank you for the reminder, Ann!  I'd like to join them, too!
"The eye is blind if the mind is absent." - Confucius

"Limitation is inspiration." - Akira

Erik Lund

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #3 on: June 21, 2021, 08:19:26 »
Sizing up the big guns  ;D
Thank you for sharing Ann, what a great trip it was, happy memories  8)
Blyde River Canyon - The best lodge evner, and center for our epic balloon ride.
 
Erik Lund

ColinM

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2021, 21:55:27 »
Ahh, Blyde River Canyon you say?

So is that Mr DD in discussion with Bjorn?

Thanks for sharing this Ann.
It's still a pretty good journey to be a member of.

Fons Baerken

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2021, 22:20:11 »
13 ;) years ago i think 2008

Erik Lund

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2021, 10:04:22 »
Ahh, Blyde River Canyon you say?

So is that Mr DD in discussion with Bjorn?

Thanks for sharing this Ann.
It's still a pretty good journey to be a member of.

We had more or less the whole lodge, Otters Den on a small island in the river, we had a great time there I believe we where there two nights- Year was 2009 DD is not in the image,,,
In the picture: Mike, Pawel, myself, yes B and JA

Below B and Ann

Untitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr278 by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr
284 by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr287 by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr

And Ann planning ahead, while DD is in the background,,,Untitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr

 
Erik Lund

Ann

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2021, 17:27:18 »
Erik:

Thank you so much for adding those evocative images.

I remember that it was you who was the hero of the hour that crawled under the broken bus and found the damaged part?

Zang

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2021, 21:24:31 »
Good to see you guys...

I don't want to believe this was all the gear. There must be a few car trunks full of other gear out there :D

Thanks guys for sharing the photos!

Jakov Minić

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #9 on: June 23, 2021, 17:15:34 »
This is not Erik fixing the breaks.
Free your mind and your ass will follow. - George Clinton
Before I jump like monkey give me banana. - Fela Kuti
Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem. - Woody Allen

Jakov Minić

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #10 on: June 23, 2021, 17:17:58 »
And this was some of the gear, JA included.
Free your mind and your ass will follow. - George Clinton
Before I jump like monkey give me banana. - Fela Kuti
Confidence is what you have before you understand the problem. - Woody Allen

Ann

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #11 on: June 23, 2021, 17:46:49 »
Two terrific shots, Jakov!!

The incredibly resourceful guys at that service station in the middle of nowhere actually manufactured the part themselves which was needed to fix the dangerously faulty brakes on the KalahariFerrari!

I heard some years later, that the owner of the company which rented that vehicle to us, unfortunately died in an accident when that very vehicle crashed off the road.



Erik Lund

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #12 on: June 28, 2021, 12:18:12 »
Two terrific shots, Jakov!!

The incredibly resourceful guys at that service station in the middle of nowhere actually manufactured the part themselves which was needed to fix the dangerously faulty brakes on the KalahariFerrari!

I heard some years later, that the owner of the company which rented that vehicle to us, unfortunately died in an accident when that very vehicle crashed off the road.

Not surprising sadly - One of the worst vehicles I have ever seen/driven,,, We where on two days driving with me riding shotgun in the passenger seat operating the handbrake as only bake to slow the three axle Land Rover  :o :o :o
All sensors where disabled! So we where not even able to see the brake fluid had escaped the system because of appalling workmanship when mounting all the brake-lines  :o :o :o
The rear most axle was not connected through a driveshaft as a 6x6 as it should, it was only 4x4 so not pulling at all when we needed to go uphill off-road  :o :o :o
So yes we where very happy when we found a garage with a bit of tools,,,
They did not have enough fresh brake fluid so they drove very far to get new supplies,,, they refused to reuse some old brake fluid from an old car in their yard, they said it was not safe to use old fluids,,, 
I was stoked,,, and said to them that I appreciated their effort to get us going, but really, we where used to driving thith out any hydraulics so we could be just fine with some old leftovers  :o :o :o
More than unforgettable drive that Land Rover,,,
Erik Lund

Erik Lund

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #13 on: June 28, 2021, 12:26:57 »
Some impressions of the "Workshop,,,"  :o :o :o
They did car repairs and full bodywork incl paint-jobs  :o :o :o

 
First the manger overseeing the yard from his office
 
Untitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr

Inspection, on the ground,,,Untitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr
Paint-shop,,,
Untitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr
Spares,,,Untitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on FlickrUntitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on FlickrUntitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr
And Ann chatting with the workers as always  ;)
Untitled by Erik Gunst Lund, on Flickr
Erik Lund

Ann

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Re: And in the beginning . . .
« Reply #14 on: June 30, 2021, 22:50:18 »
Those shots really tell the story: or at least its happy ending which, without Erik, would have been very different.

Erik was riding in a different car ahead of us when the hydraulic rear brakes on the bus failed completely on a very steeply descending mountain road.

I was sitting beside Pepe and had tried to grab the handbrake for her but I simply had not the physical strength to hold it so Pepe managed to turn the bus into the bank and we radioed for Erik to come to our aid. We descended the mountain with smoking brakes and extraordinarily fortunately we came across this Auto Repairs operation when we reached the bottom of the mountain.

Pepe has become a very close friend of mine and we frequently chatter on the phone for hours (nearly two hours yesterday!).

We have had many further adventures together: mostly in southern Africa (where I have now been seven times and often for more than a month at a time) and where I think we have traversed every road and track (with a 4-wheel drive) and country between the Cape and the Zambezi!

We had planned on revisiting Botswana and Namibia this year but those plans are on hold because of Covid-19 and the almost total non-availability of any vaccines in southern Africa.