Lowveld Archives - Eksteen Jacobsz Photography

Lowveld Airshow 2016 | Day 1

Due to a wedding I had to shoot on the main show day I popped over to Nelspruit Airfield on the Friday to get some pics of the Kishugu Scholars’ day Airshow.

From the Kishugu website:

The 2016 Scholars’ Day was held on 20 May and attracted more than 2,400 eager learners from schools in the Lowveld. The day was hosted by Kishugu Lowveld Air Show, in collaboration with the Department of Transport and the Mpumalanga Department of Education.

Scholars’ Day is an annual event preceding the Kishugu Lowveld Airshow, and aims to introduce scholars to the various career opportunities within the South African transport industry, with a special focus on the exhilarating world of aviation.

Deputy Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, encouraged learners to excel in their studies, advance themselves beyond matric and to consider careers within the transport sector. Scholars were later treated to special flight displays arranged by the Kishugu Lowveld Air Show.

But first I needed a longer lens than what I owned and I made a quick stop at the Africa Photographic Services store in Riverside. I wanted a Nikon teleconverter but soon realised it wouldn’t fit on a Tamron for Nikon lens. So I opted to rent the Tamron for Nikon 150-600mm f/5-6.3 lens. It’s a long and heavy beast but I could hardly contain myself to get to the airport and try it out.

It was a cold and dreary overcast day and as I arrived even the odd drop of rain fell. Totally underdressed for the sniping breeze blowing from the east I made my way through the throng of school kids to the spectator line. It was weird to not have to compete for a spot next to the fence.

With the formalities and speeches completed the four hour long show started. It was a watered down version of what was to come the next day but there were still some spectacular moments. The skydivers had a scary moment when one of the team member’s parachute tangled when he opened it up. Within seconds he had cut himself away and deployed the reserve shoot which worked flawlessly.

Juba Joubert gave a world class performance in his Aerospatiale Gazelle helicopter. The SAPS’ PC-12 made an elegant entrance and left again soon thereafter. Kishugu’s Air Tractors are always impressive for their raw power. With the overcast and humid conditions they even created propeller vortexes on take-off.

The biggest bi-plane in the world, an AN2 Antonov called Little Annie showcased her extraordinary low speed capabilities. The Kishugu Huey helicopters, with their unmistakeable rotor sound, managed to deliver a solid punch to my gut.

Showstoppers like the jets and Nigel Hopkins were missing in action but the Silver Falcons gave a polished low level display to end off proceedings. To come back to that Tamron 150-600mm lens. It’s not only a beast in looks but in performance as well. It really does bring you closer to the action but panning technique is essential.

To capture propeller blur images generally have to be taken at slower shutter speeds than 1/250th of a second. When you’re zoomed in at say 400mm the reciprocal rule state that the chances for image blur is very good.

A big thank you to Kishugu for the media pass. Until next year.

Climbing Legogote

This past Sunday morning I had the pleasure of hiking up the iconic Legogote. “The Legogote mountain is an impressive landmark between Hazyview and White River. To the east stretches the Lowveld and to the west the escarpment foothills in the Peebles area. The pinnacle is huge granite rocks and stands at 1194 meters.” – Peakery.com

My squash buddy Roy volunteered to show me the way up to the summit. We started just after 8AM from the Petra College entrance off the Numbi road. The hike starts with a steep angle for the first hundred meters but becomes then much more tolerable from there onwards.

The path is well trodden and easy to follow. It winds through two forests and after forty five minutes we reached the last section before the summit. There are two tricky rock scrambles before you reach the top. A 360 degree view of the Lowveld greets you once at the top. The summit marker was infested with gnats and we only spent a short while there before moving down to the bottom tier.

There was a bit of haze which meant the view wasn’t crystal clear, but we could still see Crocodile Gorge to the South East, the Barberton mountains to the South, the Kaapschehoop mountains to the South West, Spioenkop close to Sabie and the Graskop escarpment to the North.

We also visited the Bushman paintings in the rock overhang just below the summit. This little cave would make the perfect overnight location for some stunning night photography. We hung around a bit longer to enjoy the views and then decided to make our way back as the humidity and temperature were notably rising. We arrived back at the car park before noon.

Words of caution though, don’t underestimate the climb by not taking enough water with you. The humidity of the Lowveld means you expend much more liquid than at the higher altitudes of for instance the Drakensberg. If you’re a Lowvelder this is a hike you absolutely have to do once in your lifetime.

Hiking Landscape photography Legogote Legogote Mountain Lowveld Summit

A walk to the edge of darkness | Part 2

In Part 1 we had spent two nights in Schoemanskloof at the secluded Falls Fish Farm. Our plan was originally to go back home on Sunday morning. As we sipped our coffee on the veranda it dawned upon on us to be in truth an exceptionally silly plan. Maybe a walk to the edge of darkness could light up our day.

Since moving to the Lowveld more than two years ago I hadn’t had the chance to visit Sudwala Caves. It was just around the corner from where we were so we packed up and made our way there. From the N4 it is situated about eight kilometers in on the R539.

I may or may not have been to Sudwala Caves before. No, substance abuse is not to blame for my failed memory. If I had been there I was simply too young to remember. Deja vu did occur once or twice during this visit but I can’t be sure. In any case, the steep walk up the stairs to the cave’s entrance did raise my heartbeat considerably.

Cards are accepted but due to weak signal the card machine is apparently often offline. It’s thus a good idea to arrive with cash. We didn’t. We were in luck though with the signal. Entrance fee is R90 per adult. Our tour started shortly thereafter.

The tours seems to operate at fixed times instead of full groups so we set off with only one other couple on our forty five minute tour. I wish I could recount the impressive facts and figures our guide mentioned but it is just too much to remember and besides, I was there to take photos. All the info is on the Sudwala Caves Wiki page.

Four personal highlights of the tour included the super impressive P.R. Owen Hall which is seventy metres in diameter and thirty seven metres high. It beggars belief the crushing weight that span of rock arch is able to carry.

Secondly, the amount of time it takes for a stalactite to form… one hundred years for one measly centimeter! Thirdly was the mind bending Fairy Room. It is accessed by walking hunched through a one metre diameter tunnel. Inside is a natural small pond with water. Lighting has been installed in the pond to showcase the perfect reflection. This is due to there not being a breath of wind in the cave. It’s so perfect that I had a hard time figuring out what I was looking at.

You see three levels. The bottom of the pond. A thin line that seems suspended in air and the upper surface. What you’re actually looking at is the reflection of the rock, suspended above the pond, at the bottom and the water’s surface in the middle. It’s truly magical.

Last but not least. In the P.R. Owen Hall our guide switched off the lights. You don’t understand darkness until you’ve experienced this. I wondered afterwards if human eyes could adjust to the pitch blackness if it kept staring long enough? Probably not as no plants grow in the cave apart from the few spots where artificial light is projected. I have newfound respect for all those bats not smashing constantly into rock. For the record, I do know about echolocation…

There is a curio shop and restaurant adjacent to the cave’s entrance and also a dinosaur park charging R70 per adult. Maybe management could look into doing a cave/dinosaur park combo with a reduced price? I can’t see many parents doing both at the current price structure. Either way, it deterred me from entering.

All in all it was a wonderful activity. This makes the Cango Caves a must do when I’m again in the vicinity of Oudtshoorn.

Adenture Bats Fun activity History Lowveld Sudwala Caves Things to do

Falls Fish Farm | Cottage | Destination

A friend recently asked me whether I’d be interested to barter. Her proposal was for me to take photos of a cottage at Falls Fish Farm (which she does the marketing for) in exchange for a weekend at the said cottage. I couldn’t find a problem with taking photos and traveling to a new destination and promptly agreed to it.

On my way back to the Lowveld from Johannesburg on 26 January I popped in at the farm situated in Schoemanskloof valley. The owner, Dee, introduced herself and took me up the mountain on a rugged dirt road with her little SUV to the hidden stone cottage she affectionately calls “The Mountain Pandokkie“.

Dee’s warm personality immediately made me comfortable in her company. She did most of the talking which I found informative and it also meant I could take in the scenery. The road winds up the mountain and is flanked by indigenous bush. A boulder in the road suddenly blocked our progress. Apparently the baboons regularly protest over dangerous living conditions. A leopard patrols the area although it’s not often been spotted by her. No pun intended.

She showed me the footpaths that they have cut open and lamented on the amount of hard work it cost her to keep them clear. After a five minute drive we arrived at the entrance. The Pandokkie is classified as a heritage building and is surrounded by ancient (and some believe) sacred stone circle ruins. The cottage is made out of stone and has a rustic feel to it. The rooms are spacious and from the wooden deck there is a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and the lower Schoemanskloof.

I’m glad to report that she is happy with the photos and that I will spend the next weekend there enjoying the fruits of my labour.