Chasing the light

[Kobus Myburgh]

17,000km through central and southern Namibia.

+-14,350 Man hours

All in search of the epic, the true adventure and the perfect shot.

"More than any other fundamental aspect of photography, light is at the heart of every image you take.  Without light, photography cannot exist; it is the foundation of every image, giving shape and meaning to each scene ..."
- Spencer Cox -

[youtube]https://youtu.be/xFs2Jd0rSVg[/youtube]

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for an epic adventure.

 

[Hardy de Kock]

Following with interest - if you will excuse the pun.. :imaposer:

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Roll the Rock...?... I mean Rock n Roll!

 

[woody1]

Gooi ek  :ricky: saam

 

[VaalBaas]

Following with interest - if you will excuse the pun.. :imaposer:

I can imagine  :lol8: :lol8:

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

This adventure had its humble beginnings during the Adventure Roads earlier this year.  If you need to refresh your memory, herewith the reference:

https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=234490.0

Through the professional ethics, problem solving ability and pure dedication that is now synonymous with the Specialised Adventure team, Hardy was approached and entered into negotiations with Honda Motor Europe Ltd to provide all planning, logistics and technical support for an international film production company.

Planning started immediately after the event. 

Vehicles had to be serviced and prepared, many specialised items had to be purchased and everything had to be packed to fit on the vehicles for the challenge that lay ahead.

This little ladder has a story of its own, which  caused much banter and a lot of laughter, but I’ll rather leave it at that.  :imaposer:

Many hours, days and weeks of logistical expertise saw a team that congregated at Kaleo Guest farm in the Koue Bokkeveld on 12 May 2019.

The team consisted of:

Hardy de Kock - [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member]
Gené de Kock - [member=25181]Guardian[/member]
Chantal Burger - [member=23230]Chantal Burger[/member]
Gary Webber - [member=21110]Skyafrica[/member]
Mark MacIntyre
Hennie Decker - [member=20511]Oubones[/member]
Andrew Johnston - [member=61]Kamanya[/member]
Myself

More team members and role players will be introduced as we go long.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TVB]

Mooi  :sip:

 

[Hardy de Kock]

This adventure had its humble beginnings during the Adventure Roads early this year.  If you need to refresh your memory, herewith the reference:

https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=234490.0

Through the professional ethics, problem solving ability and pure dedication that is now synonymous with the Specialised Adventure team, Hardy was approached and entered into negotiations with Honda Motor Europe Ltd to provide all planning, logistics and technical support for an international film production company.

Planning started immediately after the event. 

Vehicles had to be serviced and prepared, many specialised items had to be purchased and everything had to be packed that it fit on the vehicles for the challenge that lay ahead.

This little ladder has a story of its own, which  caused much banter and a lot of laughter, but I’ll rather leave it at that.  :imaposer:

Many hours, days and weeks of logistical expertise saw a team that congregated at Kaleo Guest farm in the Koue Bokkeveld on 12 May 2019.

The team consisted of:

Hardy de Kock - [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member]
Gené de Kock - [member=25181]Guardian[/member]
Chantal Burger - [member=23230]Chantal Burger[/member]
Gary Webber - [member=21110]Skyafrica[/member]
Mark MacIntyre
Hennie Decker - [member=20511]Oubones[/member]
Andrew Johnston - [member=61]Kamanya[/member]
Myself

More team members and role players will be introduced as we go long.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some background on the congregation of the team at Kaleo:

Kobus was the first person I called when we got the jobs. I have the utmost respect for this guy's work ethic and professionalism. Believe me if I say that this is a guy one could go to war with - always ready and always willing to make a positive difference.
Hennie aka Oubones joined us as a guest in April. During this trip I realised that Hennie was not happy with just being a guest, as he chipped in with all the work that the crew was responsible for. At this specific point in his life Hennie does have some spare time, and I offered him contract work, which he accepted.
Gary aka SkyAfrica and Mark McKintyre has been working with me for a long time. Both of them super reliable in everything they do.
Andrew Johnstone aka Kamanya. The one guy I call when I have serious problems. As ever, Kamanya answered and agreed to come and help me out.
Chantal and Gene' (Guardian) is the heartbeat of my team, and the two girls that keep me in check. Proud to call them my colleagues.

 

[Oubones]

Koel Kobus, been waiting for this!
Great working with Hardy and team!

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

For the record... I turned down this job offer as I had to plant my Azaleas so the dates classed, I mean clashed...

 

[VaalBaas]

So you also might go and post in the regret fred[emoji3][emoji3][emoji3]

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[Sprocketbek]

Andrew Johnstone aka Kamanya. The one guy I call when I have serious problems. As ever, Kamanya answered and agreed to come and help me out.

Jy het seker gesien hier sal baie Engels moet gepraat word  :imaposer:

Net 'n grappie, uitstekende span! :thumleft:

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

On 13 May, everyone apart from Chantal, Gené and Oubones, who were all assigned with other duties, left for Cape Town.  We had to collect two vehicles, un-crate and load the bikes and also pick up a trailer on our way back in Worcester. 

It would have been easy to trailer the bikes like we do with the Kaokoland trips, but these bikes were a little different.  Unseen to anyone but a few engineers and a couple of high ranked individuals within the Honda fraternity.  This meant that we had to transport the bikes in closed units, with no indicative branding and be invisible for the next couple of weeks.

Once at the warehouse in Cape Town, we met up with some old acquaintances from the Honda Adventure Roads event and some new members of the team that we will accompany over the next few weeks.  It was great meeting everyone, but all we wanted to do is open the crates.  Hardy was slightly less enthusiastic than us over eager bunch since he and Chantal already moved the first two units a week or so before.  Due to the Non Disclosure Agreement signed by all involved, he could not take any pictures, nor share anything pertaining to the bikes. 

The moment of truth arrived and we pried open the crates to reveal the new ................................. (Sorry, more on the model a lot later)  :sip:

Everything was unpacked and checked against the commercial invoices for completeness prior to loading the two vehicles according to the predetermined packing lists.  The bikes was secured and off we went back to Kaleo.  With the 3 bikes loaded, we now had 5 units in total.

In Worcester it was a quick stop to pick up the trailer and get some spare bulbs etc. for the truck.

Back at Kaleo and Gené, Chantal and Oubones have already sorted out all the stuff that must be split between all the vehicles.  It was already late in the afternoon and we decided to sort out all the packing in the morning.  We spent the evening catching up around the fire, discussing the bikes and enjoying each others company.

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

This adventure had its humble beginnings during the Adventure Roads early this year.  If you need to refresh your memory, herewith the reference:

https://wilddog.net.za/forum/index.php?topic=234490.0

Through the professional ethics, problem solving ability and pure dedication that is now synonymous with the Specialised Adventure team, Hardy was approached and entered into negotiations with Honda Motor Europe Ltd to provide all planning, logistics and technical support for an international film production company.

Planning started immediately after the event. 

Vehicles had to be serviced and prepared, many specialised items had to be purchased and everything had to be packed that it fit on the vehicles for the challenge that lay ahead.

This little ladder has a story of its own, which  caused much banter and a lot of laughter, but I’ll rather leave it at that.  :imaposer:

Many hours, days and weeks of logistical expertise saw a team that congregated at Kaleo Guest farm in the Koue Bokkeveld on 12 May 2019.

The team consisted of:

Hardy de Kock - [member=19649]Hardy de Kock[/member]
Gené de Kock - [member=25181]Guardian[/member]
Chantal Burger - [member=23230]Chantal Burger[/member]
Gary Webber - [member=21110]Skyafrica[/member]
Mark MacIntyre
Hennie Decker - [member=20511]Oubones[/member]
Andrew Johnston - [member=61]Kamanya[/member]
Myself

More team members and role players will be introduced as we go long.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some background on the congregation of the team at Kaleo:

Kobus was the first person I called when we got the jobs. I have the utmost respect for this guy's work ethic and professionalism. Believe me if I say that this is a guy one could go to war with - always ready and always willing to make a positive difference.
Hennie aka Oubones joined us as a guest in April. During this trip I realised that Hennie was not happy with just being a guest, as he chipped in with all the work that the crew was responsible for. At this specific point in his life Hennie does have some spare time, and I offered him contract work, which he accepted.
Gary aka SkyAfrica and Mark McKintyre has been working with me for a long time. Both of them super reliable in everything they do.
Andrew Johnstone aka Kamanya. The one guy I call when I have serious problems. As ever, Kamanya answered and agreed to come and help me out.
Chantal and Gene' (Guardian) is the heartbeat of my team, and the two girls that keep me in check. Proud to call them my colleagues.

True to the mans nature, he makes his troops out to be the heroes.  :3some:

Hardy is the chief in charge, the brain behind these events and the logistical expert.  His vast experience in this field have put him in good stead to make a crisis look as if it was all part of the initial planning.  A born leader with a ferocious appetite for perfection - hard, but always fair. 

I have seen him at his angriest witnessing cruelty to animals (Quest recce) and unfair treatment, at his happiest when other people flourish.  But more so, a true friend and the brother I never had.  :thumleft:

 

[chopperpilot]

Top Secret Mission with Honda Europe in Namibia....

Pretty sure it wasn't the next Fire Blade that arrived in those crates! eepwall:

Might we be selling our KTM 500s soon? ot:

Looking forward to this read [member=2095]Kobus[/member]!

 

[Noneking]

:sip: :sip:

 

[Ian in Great Brak River]

Ai bliksem ...I should have said yes ...

 

[Kobus Myburgh]

Ai bliksem ...I should have said yes ...

:lol8: :thumleft:

 

[Hardy de Kock]

Mark and Hennie flew to George airport from Durban and Johannesburg respectively where Kobus waited for them. The Iveco was with Kobus, and it had to get to Cape Town. As mentioned previously, Hennie does have a code 14 licence, and he was the designated driver of the Iveco.
Kobus recently bought himself a Cruiser double cab, and he was bringing it with on the trip. Gary(also code 14) was going to drive the Hino and finally, Kamanya (code 14 too) was in charge of the VW Crafter. Both the Hino and the Crafter was going to transport the bikes.
Kamanya left his car at the airport in Cape Town and took a taxi to the warehouse where we were busy un-crating the bikes.
After I introduced our team to the Honda Europe officials, we got stuck in.

Honda is particularly cautious when it comes to new bikes, as they suffered severe losses in 2002 with spy images of the (then) new Africa Twin, which caused a major drop in sales on the current AT model available at that stage.

Even the warehouse camera's had to be shut off in my presence, and no warehouse staff was allowed in the warehouse during this whole operation.
It is amazing to see the pull a big corporate has in cases like this.
At this point I got a call from Honda Japan and I was informed that Kobus and myself had to re-format the software on the bikes.

 

[Hardy de Kock]

This process of upgrading the software was not as easy as we thought, but luckily I had a few computer experts to assist and after a while we re-configured the software of the first five bikes of a new model of the biggest motorcycle company in the world successfully.  eepwall:
We confirmed this with the guy who designed this bike in Japan, and he seemed happy with the work :imaposer: