MM 2012 Cape-to-Cape Golden Age Lockheed 12 G-AGTL

Quick refueling and departure a half-hour ago (SOH server was being persnickety). Lure of the Rwenzori and Victoria...
 
Add a few photos...

Slipping into Simi-Simi; the jungle of the Congo is immense; Lake Edward and the historic Virunga National Park; clouds enshroud the peaks of the Rwenzori, the "Mountains of the Moon"; stormy skies and turbulence over Lake Victoria; and finally the tires squeak to signal a clean arrival at Kisumu's aerodrome.
 
After a day boating on Lake Victoria, an early morning departure for Nairobi.
 
Beautiful flight over the Kenyan highlands, threading between Lake Naivasha and Mount Suswa, to fly over Nairobi into Nairobi Aerodrome (Wilson). Watching the young boys running along the highland lanes makes one wonder if they must develop special athletic abilities to perform long distance work at altitude. (Cough, cough....of course in the 1930s we Euro-centrics don't believe that Africans have "the stuff" to be world-class athletes...ouch! Perhaps the 1936 Berlin Olympics gives one reason to wonder...)

http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=rbXhdozLBSTxAIDWBCEgMaxiQ5I
 
A few snapshots on the way. First, the clear beauty of a bright morning over Kisumu; then encountering the ubiquitous Equatorial thunderstorms; country lanes in the highlands; a Great Rift Valley vista; and Mount Suswa with its double crater.

Access to the shield volcano Mount Suswa means negotiating with local Massai tribes who have established barricades to collect fees--it is advised to comply with local customs and hire a Massai guide! When crossing through the many Massai homesteads and grasslands, contacting the head of the family is highly recommended.
 
An then the gold rush town of Mbeya in Tanganyika Territory. There must be "business opportunities" there.
 
Entertaining flight over the "Big Sky" portion of Tanganyika. Big lakes, tall volcanoes, vast savannahs. Could almost see the lions and elephants and giraffes on the plain below. All a mile above sea level.

My only worry is that the instrument gauges indicated that the Lockheed had a tailwind for some of the journey. That just is not consistent with past experience...something must be wrong.

Some photos of Massai Country; Mt Maru and Mt Kilimanjaro in the distance; passing Mt Hanang; and then the short finals and softly landing on Mbeya's grass strip. Lovely flight.


http://fs-duenna.com/flights/ShowFlight.php?detail=flight&value=Qhh35QwODlYx998mYdQM2X6ZigE
 
Thanks Gunter. Looking out the window and learning about the sights is one of the main lures of these trips. Tough, though, having to carry an Encyclopedia Britannica on the trip. (It would be a boon to have some sort of special radio-like reference system that would have oodles, even googles, of entries available to the radio operator.) :cool:
 
Now southward toward South Africa. Would like to get to Rand but, with the expected headwinds and the Lockheed's limited range, will likely have to settle for Nylstroom.
 
Popping down to Germiston's Rand airfield...the modern home of South African Airways and the Joburg terminal of Imperial Airways.
 
The distance to Cape Town is marginal for the Lockheed at speed. So studied the weather map but might as well have not...I can learn the wind direction by looking at my route planner and assume that the winds will be on the nose. ;)

Today a short hop to Kimberley. Maybe they are giving away free samples...
 
The final leg into Maitland Aerodrome at Cape Town. Estimated time is 2:26.
 
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