Daily Photo – Schoonspruit Survey

August 6, 2012
Landscape

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This photo, looking to the west from the eastern end of the survey area shows the grid of lines we left across this area. When you look at the Google Earth satellite view you can't see any tracks so no lasting damage, apparently. Also, no new mine shaft so it looks as though our client didn't find what they were looking for.

Daily Photo – The Alfalfa Field

August 5, 2012
Travel

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Alfalfa usually has the highest feeding value of all the common hay crops and is most often used as feed for dairy cows because of its mix of high protein and highly digestible fiber. This alfalfa field cost our client more than the maize fields even though it was less than an eighth of the survey area where the corn fields were about three quarters of the survey area.

Daily Photo – Vibs at one o’clock!

August 4, 2012
Travel

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On this survey we were using four Failing Y1100 vibrators mounted on International 6x6 trucks as our energy source. In this photo you can see the four vibrators shaking the ground and carving their way through the maize. In the foreground a spare fifth vibrator sits idle, ready to go to work if one of the other four breaks down. In the background are the Schoonspruit/Skoonspruit grain silos.

Daily Photo – Maize Field

August 3, 2012
Landscape

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As I mentioned yesterday, one advantage of flying in a helicopter that has no doors is that your can get shots like this one, looking straight down onto the field of maize (corn) we were flying over. I recall I had to lean out quite some way to avoid getting the skids in the shot.

Daily Photo – Where’d the door go?

August 2, 2012
Travel

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Since our pilot had been a pilot in the SADF, he preferred to fly his helicopter with the doors off! I thought this was brilliant! Although I had my set belt on to keep me attached to this quivering craft, I had the flexibility to lean out and take photos without having to worry about reflections from or scratches on the plexiglass windows.

Daily Photo – Schoonspruit from the air

August 1, 2012
Landscape

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In this image we'd taken off from behind his red-roofed house and I was able to take this shot looking to the north, towards Bothaville. Our camp is in the triangle made by the rail-road, the highway and the road that runs in front of the grain silo's. The settlement in the left mid-ground is the farm workers settlement.