B.A.S.E adventure's

so there i was.....standing statue-like in the middle of a cold quiet Durban street,the feint hue of the video camera illuminating my face. Looking up into the milky black city sky,i waited like an expectant father for my 3 friend's,waiting for what you may ask? well at 2am in the cool morning as the city slept,my friends stood precariously on one of the city's highest building's,ready for the jump,cold and calm in confidence,their face's solemn,introvert and focused. The 112metre's between them and the un-forgiving tarmac,igniting inside them a passion very few people enjoy,the passion to base jump,to jump from thing's no other's would,to jump from place's no one has jumped from before and to leave their very rare signature on landmark's all over the world. Hero's to no one and without any drive for recognition they jump one after the other...my heart in my mouth,the freefall is brief and the crack of the high-performance parachute, like a gunshot, echoe's down the street. Why do they do what they do? why take such risk's?

Having never tried base jumping,simply because of financial reason's at present,i have no idea truely what it is like but having been with these people and helped them break into bulding's and push them through fire exit's in rooftop's,i began to understand the concept and why so few people do base jumping. People who base jump are not looking for recognition or the cool-factor,they don't want highfive's or epic facebook picture's. They are in search of much more than that,they are searching for themselve's. Base jumper's are looking for the intense joy inside that normal people feel when they conquer a great feat in their own live's,for example achieving a goal academically or making the first team rubgy in school,it is that warm content that you feel when you really do know exactly what you are doing and you have supreme confidence in yourself. You don't shout about it or make a scene but it is that feeling that keep's a smile alway's on your face. To a base jumper, real world goal's are not enough,they need more,they want to explore their deepest darkest weaknesse's and fault's and what better way to do it then flirting so intimately with death. When you are standing with your toe's over the edge of the cliff,antenna,building or skyscraper,you will truly figure out who you are inside,fear will show you who you really are,height and the risk's will iron out all your crease's. In that moment of absolute danger,is where a base jumper's mind can make calculated decision's and in milli-second's understand all the risk's, everchanging factor's such as wind and this is where they get there greatest pleasure. Along with that come's a sport un-regulated,un-tainted and un-controlled,free from politic's,money chasers and pencil pusher's and you get the most pure sport on earth.Think about it.....it is the most pure sport on earth.

'Fear paralyse's the majority but give's clarity to some'-Travis Pastrana

I understand why they do it....do you?

 

First post and some Background info.

HELLO people:)

This is my first post on the new blog flap's 40degree's:) i just wanted to give you all an idea of what i am doing with my life and where it all began:)

so i there i was, sitting in the back of the harvard,idling away as it's big rotary warmed it's many gallon's of oil through the round bank of cylinder's. The smell of burnt oil and avgas mixing in the rear passenger cockpit,my smile as wide as ever. On a private farm in the Free State my dad had bestowed a harvard flip on me for my birthday and this is how i found myself tightly wrapped in the 4 point harness like so many SAAF student's and instructor's did when this aircraft was still in formal service.After taxi and takeoff check's the next thing i knew i was airborne and climbing out toward's the maluti mountain's,wide eyed like a kid in a candy store and after many loop's,roll's,half cuban's,lazy eight's and an awesome low pass,we were back on final approach with the canopy open,i held my hand's into the fast moving air,hung my head out the window and quickly realised without any shadow of a doubt,that i needed to fly,no matter how or what,i needed it.....i had to fly:)

That was 5 year's ago and now i fly fat american hunter's around mozambique and more specifically the zambeze delta for a large hunting operation as a commercial pilot. I have seen and done what many will only ever dream of,i have flown Mozambique from south to north and i have learnt many hard life lesson's along the way.6 month's of a yearly hunting season doe's wonderful thing's for the mind,especially with no cell signal,internet or any meaningful way to contact reality,it change's you as a person and for me it has smoothed alot of rough corner's in my life. I absolutely love my job and the people and place's i have met and seen. Some picture's will follow to give you an idea of what it's all about.

My passion for flying is un-relenting and i am alway's trying to better myself, i am pushing hard for the next job,i have dreambt big and toward's the end of 2013,it will be 2 and a quarter year's with my present company and time to move from the 206,so we will see how my dream's plan out,some will say i have dreambt too big....but i don't care,you have to risk it to get the biscuit. Follow me over the next year and i will try to keep you entertained with a bit of adventure,comedy,a dash of philosophy and an interesting story or two. Sit back and enjoy....

A few pic's of life and time's in Mozambique;)