Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Seventh day: Saturday, July 2nd
Matt- As to provide the perfect contrast to being 1.25 miles underground, today we flew in gliders! Brian noticed a flier advertising glider rides for only R100 = $14. We figured, heck, TIA, lets do it! Half an hour away, we met Mark who was the glider pilot. Each one of us paid and signed our lives away for a second day in a row. I figured that if anything happened, I could at least put the glider down myself. Flying something without an engine has to be twice as easy as flying something with an engine right! This assumption may seem counterintuitive, but after going up I proved to be right. Jeff, a member of our team was leaving to fly home today. He went up first so he could hurry back to Joburg before the Big Engine Plane left. I was second. All gliders I’ve seen before are towed up into the air by another airplane; here, they used a winch to essentially slingshot the glider into the air. The initial climb attitude was absolutely crazy. Any normal prop would stall at such a pitch after liftoff. We were launched 400 meters into the air. Mark, the pilot, was quick to allow me to take over. I was flying with a joystick instead of a yoke and only 6 instruments instead of a dashboard full. Gliding revolves around finding thermals and using them to climb. When no thermals can be found, the flight is short and you gradually float back to the ground. This glider could fly for 30km and only drop 1… a much better glide slope than my Cessna back home. In the Cessna’s credit… these guys all talked about how gliding is for enjoyment and engines are just for transportation. I sure “enjoy” being able to climb whenever I want! Pa will appreciate this part. It was a perfectly blue, cloudless day with few thermals to be found. The highest I got was 450 meters. I put the glider into a few 60-degree banks to try and ride the thermals I thought I found. We put the glider into a 2G rollercoaster and he let me see what a stall in a glider is like. It was another great experience – soaring above South Africa in a perfectly noise-free glider. I may have to get my type rating some day!
Sixth day: Friday, July 1st
Matt- I woke up bright and early to a beautiful South African morning. There are lies in that last sentence. It was neither bright nor beautiful. I was still pitch black out and freezing cold. Those of us who opted to go to the mine this morning had to be ready to go at a quarter to six. This was the earliest I’ve been up in a while and it wasn’t exactly easy rolling out of bed. We were told to wear shorts because the depths of the mines were humid and hot – hard to believe when you’re standing outside in sub-freezing weather shivering (in shorts)! The plan for the day was to drive to a local South African gold mine where we would be allowed to explore its deepest depths… and maybe even find some of our own gold! We departed the village around 6:00am; when we arrived about 20 minutes later, it was still dark. We received a quick tutorial and introduction to the mines by one of Brian’s friends who managed there, and who was allowing us this great opportunity. We learned about the South African gold mining industry, the economics of the process, about revenue and profits, and how exactly gold is mined. The process begins along a “reef” which is essentially a line of gold underground. Small explosions slowly etch away at the reef and the rubble is taken out and processed. Gold is not visible before being processed, it is simply too small. Rich, black carbon deposits mark the presence of gold. These carbon deposits must be chemically treated to extract and purify the hidden gold specs. Often these deposits are marked my “fool’s gold,” a yellow, lustrous rock – you can guess how it got its name. The lesson only served to build up excitement. I wanted to get underground and get there quickly. Before jumping down the mine, however, we were instructed to fill out a little bit of paperwork. As usual, the paperwork was only there to verify that.., “if a giant rock lands on your head and you die, your family won’t sue us.” We signed our lives away in a hurry.
We were led to a changing room and outfitted with a variety of mining gear.Brian’s contact led us to William, who was to be our official tour guide. Soon I found myself being corralled into a massive elevator and dropping toward the center of the earth. We continued downward for about 5 minutes, and traveled 2 whole kilometers. This is about 1.25 miles. The elevator stopped, the doors opened, and immediately it resembled something off a movie. There was gray rock surrounding you from every direction. Bracing, chicken wire, and lights hanging on strings lined the tunnel. Trolleys were moving on the tracks, carrying tons of rubble away from the primary excavation sites.
We began following William down the main tunnel. The ceiling was at least 12 feet high and there would have been enough room for our at least 5 people to walk side by side if the pathway wasn’t constantly being cut in half by moving trolleys. The lights were spaced further and further apart and it began looking more and more like a mine. The ventilation blew a constant breeze on our faces, shielding us from the inescapable heat that would soon follow. It was very welcome, and later sorely missed. In no time, we arrived at a large door that was the entrance to the unventilated part of the mine we were to soon explore…
After opening the door, a wall of heat and humidity hit us. The reason it was closed off was so that the ventilation in the main tunnels wasn’t diluted by flowing into all of these smaller excavation tunnels. It was immediately a single file tunnel. We could still walk standing straight up, but it began getting more and more cramped. The floor began becoming less defined. We were soon walking not on flat, carved out ground, but on a mess of large rocks. The floor moved beneath our feet as the rocks settled into the ground as we stepped on them. The ceiling began creeping lower and lower until we were reduced to a crawl. It was at this point anyone who was even mildly claustrophobic would have died. Support structures stood in our way and hung low, blocking progression ever few yards. I alternated between an all out crawl and three-limbed semi-shuffle. If it weren’t for the knee pads and the hard hat, all that would be left of my knees and head would be bloody pulps, I’m sure they literally saved my life multiple times.We reached a small area where we could sit down as a group and rest. We learned our final destination, the explosion site, was only forty meters away and we headed off. We reached the final destination and everyone was happy again to be able to sit down This was where the raw mining was done, this was the heart of the operation. A crew of about 5 was performing various duties, hard at work. Some were putting up new bracing and some were bringing bracing. One man was operating what looked like a hammer drill on steroids. It was hooked up to a water hose that we’d followed all the way down. The drill had a 6-foot bit on it and a pneumatic arm. Using water pressure, the miner would blast a 6 foot hole in the wall, about an inch in diameter, with the super hammer drill. The pneumatic arm was wedged against the ground and used to move the drill up and down while in use so as to prevent wedging the bit inside 6 feet of rock. These holes that were being drilled were stuffed with dynamite, or magnum as it is called here, and used to advance these underground tunnels. Mondays are for blasting, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for grouping the rubble into accessible piles, and Thursdays and Fridays for getting the rubble to the trolleys. Bracing is extremely important at every point.
.
Each of us stuffed our pockets with chunks of fool’s gold and black carbon deposits we drilled out of the wall. The walk back was treacherous. Most of the energy we’d saved up for the voyage down was gone. Going back seemed to go quicker, however, as each of us was ready to breath crisp, oxygen-rich air. We scurried back out as quickly as we could. Just as we began believing the tour was complete, William surprised us with another adventure… we got to go to the top of the mining shaft. We rode an elevator 1000 feet into the air, and climbed a flight of stairs to reach the top. It seemed like we could see all of South Africa from the top of the shaft. It was quite the experience… one I will remember for the rest of my life.
We were led to a changing room and outfitted with a variety of mining gear.Brian’s contact led us to William, who was to be our official tour guide. Soon I found myself being corralled into a massive elevator and dropping toward the center of the earth. We continued downward for about 5 minutes, and traveled 2 whole kilometers. This is about 1.25 miles. The elevator stopped, the doors opened, and immediately it resembled something off a movie. There was gray rock surrounding you from every direction. Bracing, chicken wire, and lights hanging on strings lined the tunnel. Trolleys were moving on the tracks, carrying tons of rubble away from the primary excavation sites.
We began following William down the main tunnel. The ceiling was at least 12 feet high and there would have been enough room for our at least 5 people to walk side by side if the pathway wasn’t constantly being cut in half by moving trolleys. The lights were spaced further and further apart and it began looking more and more like a mine. The ventilation blew a constant breeze on our faces, shielding us from the inescapable heat that would soon follow. It was very welcome, and later sorely missed. In no time, we arrived at a large door that was the entrance to the unventilated part of the mine we were to soon explore…
After opening the door, a wall of heat and humidity hit us. The reason it was closed off was so that the ventilation in the main tunnels wasn’t diluted by flowing into all of these smaller excavation tunnels. It was immediately a single file tunnel. We could still walk standing straight up, but it began getting more and more cramped. The floor began becoming less defined. We were soon walking not on flat, carved out ground, but on a mess of large rocks. The floor moved beneath our feet as the rocks settled into the ground as we stepped on them. The ceiling began creeping lower and lower until we were reduced to a crawl. It was at this point anyone who was even mildly claustrophobic would have died. Support structures stood in our way and hung low, blocking progression ever few yards. I alternated between an all out crawl and three-limbed semi-shuffle. If it weren’t for the knee pads and the hard hat, all that would be left of my knees and head would be bloody pulps, I’m sure they literally saved my life multiple times.We reached a small area where we could sit down as a group and rest. We learned our final destination, the explosion site, was only forty meters away and we headed off. We reached the final destination and everyone was happy again to be able to sit down This was where the raw mining was done, this was the heart of the operation. A crew of about 5 was performing various duties, hard at work. Some were putting up new bracing and some were bringing bracing. One man was operating what looked like a hammer drill on steroids. It was hooked up to a water hose that we’d followed all the way down. The drill had a 6-foot bit on it and a pneumatic arm. Using water pressure, the miner would blast a 6 foot hole in the wall, about an inch in diameter, with the super hammer drill. The pneumatic arm was wedged against the ground and used to move the drill up and down while in use so as to prevent wedging the bit inside 6 feet of rock. These holes that were being drilled were stuffed with dynamite, or magnum as it is called here, and used to advance these underground tunnels. Mondays are for blasting, Tuesdays and Wednesdays for grouping the rubble into accessible piles, and Thursdays and Fridays for getting the rubble to the trolleys. Bracing is extremely important at every point.
.
Each of us stuffed our pockets with chunks of fool’s gold and black carbon deposits we drilled out of the wall. The walk back was treacherous. Most of the energy we’d saved up for the voyage down was gone. Going back seemed to go quicker, however, as each of us was ready to breath crisp, oxygen-rich air. We scurried back out as quickly as we could. Just as we began believing the tour was complete, William surprised us with another adventure… we got to go to the top of the mining shaft. We rode an elevator 1000 feet into the air, and climbed a flight of stairs to reach the top. It seemed like we could see all of South Africa from the top of the shaft. It was quite the experience… one I will remember for the rest of my life.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Fifth Day: Thursday, June 29th
Cassie -The day began at the usual time- 7(ish) am. Each of us sat down at the table for our varied breakfast of cereal, fruit, and most importantly (to me, anyway)- coffee.
We all stumbled out into the brisk temperatures, geared up in our long-sleeved shabby sweaters ready for paint and mortar, and hour by hour chipped away at the task before us. Only what I had personally considered to be maybe a few days away from putting the finishing touches on house two at Restoring Hope, our daily and even hourly progress was clearly visible. Each tile laid, each wall painted, each hole puttied... you could just feel us getting closer to being to let six new people move in to this beautiful house.
So... that's exactly what we did. Mortared, painted, puttied, and repeat. It seemed like we worked for only a few short hours when the day had come to its close.
That night we were treated to the Ocean Basket, a local seafood restaurant. And while the Ocean Basket was quite the marvelous treat, I think we can all agree that nothing anywhere here in SA holds a candle to Lois's cooking.
One more day down here in this divine place they call South Africa.
We all stumbled out into the brisk temperatures, geared up in our long-sleeved shabby sweaters ready for paint and mortar, and hour by hour chipped away at the task before us. Only what I had personally considered to be maybe a few days away from putting the finishing touches on house two at Restoring Hope, our daily and even hourly progress was clearly visible. Each tile laid, each wall painted, each hole puttied... you could just feel us getting closer to being to let six new people move in to this beautiful house.
So... that's exactly what we did. Mortared, painted, puttied, and repeat. It seemed like we worked for only a few short hours when the day had come to its close.
That night we were treated to the Ocean Basket, a local seafood restaurant. And while the Ocean Basket was quite the marvelous treat, I think we can all agree that nothing anywhere here in SA holds a candle to Lois's cooking.
One more day down here in this divine place they call South Africa.
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