17-08-2012, 06:51 PM
Finally, in 6 weeks it is looking like I will complete my stint in South Africa with work. It was originally a 10 week period that never actually came to a close until now - i've been here just under 17 months in total with a couple of short breaks in there. Had I known, i'd have found another garage for the Rallye!! It's been parked up since I left as I was only halfway through boosting it. It only needs the IC sorting and a service now.
It started brewing in February last year, when a catastrophic event occurred at Eskom's D uvha power station when a unit test went badly wrong.(Clicky). It was the worst thing anyone in the field of turbines had come across prettymuch.
As I work for the company who made the turbines it was something I volunteered for, only to find out the management had pencilled me in for anyway! Come April, the call came and I was on my way to SA . When I got to the site it was quite extraordinary, seeing with my own eyes what i'd seen in pictures. I was responsible for a huge portion of the unit damage assessment, repair of the recoverable components in South Africa and have overseen a large portion of the build to date - almost like chief engineer despite there being an extremely knowledgeable engineer above me. Suffice to say i've learnt more from him at this station in 18 months than i'd have learned in a decade in the office! Plus i got paid for the privilege! Customer seems happy with me, that's the main thing.
I spent a large portion of my time last year in Johannesburg, repairing the major parts, travelling from Witbank, and was lucky enough to have several of my work colleagues come out for various jobs for Eskom in their maintenance workshop (where i was going) which helped pass huge chunks of time. I've also had chances to see some of the finer parts of SA, such as Pretoria, Cape Town, Kruger Park etc.
Witbank has its bad bits, like:
... and potholes that are big enough to take your suspension off, let alone bend a rim. They cause many accidents and are caused by a combination of heavy rain meeting poor road substrate, but exacerbated by 10000 coal trucks a day pounding the roads to the mines.
But it also has it's merits such as really lax policing of the roads! Many times when i've left JHB i've pushed the rentals to the top of the box when leaving late at night (you can get away with prettymuch anything). One particular day I got to go in this leviathan when at Eskom's transport HQ in the world famous (in truck circles anyway) Nicolas Tractomas 10x10:
That thing is 950BHP but has crazy crazy amounts of torque from its 27 litre Cat V12. To give you a clue i'm the same height as the tyre. It brought the replacement generator to site in formation like this:
An inspiring sight for any enthusiast of all things mechanical! Plus, Witbank had weekly street racing meetings on Sundays until a few months ago, with an actual 1/4 mile between lights that attracted some very nice motors!
TBH I love South Africa, I really do. The weather is mint for 90% of the year, there is an abundance and huge variance of fascinating wildlife (Springbok still catch the eye!) and the fact that the station has a pack of zebras which you can almost get close enough to touch add to the mix! The Highveld (where I am) is famous in the country for it's thunderstorms, and i'll testify they are amazing. Thunderclaps that'll rock your bed go on all night and the rain is indescribable!
To say i've been lucky to get sent here at all would be a complete understatement. All expenses paid (petrol, car, accommodation) for 18 months has saved (and made) me an absolute packet, especially given i travel 600 miles a week in the UK commuting to work in Mr HDi. Feels nice to pile the miles on someone elses car! Check out one of (many) rental beasts :laugh
Never thought i'd enjoy driving a Corsa but it's comfy on the shitty roads and it goes better than all the other cars in the class from Hertz. I've had to send 4 of them back as i finished their service intervals off lol. That odd shape is an Elephant on the license plate - it's from the Eastern Cape Province. Certainly the license plates are much more colourful than the UK, there is another than has a leopard on which is cool. Trying to get some to bring back for my toolbox in the garage. I had a blue Hyundai I20 for 3 months last year and it was absolutely fantastic (as small rentals go), honestly.
As a complete and utter bonus, during my stay in Witbank I met a lovely South African by the name of Karen, whom i've now been with for over a year - she's actually in the UK waiting for me to finish the job and come home now, so no doubt the next 6 weeks will fly for her! I'm about to celebrate another birthday in South Africa (my 3rd in a row!) and last year she treated me to a lovely experience in Kruger Park.
18 months has really taken its toll on me though, it's a lot of hours and a long time to be away from my house, my cars, my cats, my family and most importantly i've been away from my lady for a while now. All in, I can't fecking wait to get home and start tinkering with the Rallye!!!!!! Got to put all the shiny bits I bought on it, and give it a damn good clean!!
It started brewing in February last year, when a catastrophic event occurred at Eskom's D uvha power station when a unit test went badly wrong.(Clicky). It was the worst thing anyone in the field of turbines had come across prettymuch.
As I work for the company who made the turbines it was something I volunteered for, only to find out the management had pencilled me in for anyway! Come April, the call came and I was on my way to SA . When I got to the site it was quite extraordinary, seeing with my own eyes what i'd seen in pictures. I was responsible for a huge portion of the unit damage assessment, repair of the recoverable components in South Africa and have overseen a large portion of the build to date - almost like chief engineer despite there being an extremely knowledgeable engineer above me. Suffice to say i've learnt more from him at this station in 18 months than i'd have learned in a decade in the office! Plus i got paid for the privilege! Customer seems happy with me, that's the main thing.
I spent a large portion of my time last year in Johannesburg, repairing the major parts, travelling from Witbank, and was lucky enough to have several of my work colleagues come out for various jobs for Eskom in their maintenance workshop (where i was going) which helped pass huge chunks of time. I've also had chances to see some of the finer parts of SA, such as Pretoria, Cape Town, Kruger Park etc.
Witbank has its bad bits, like:
... and potholes that are big enough to take your suspension off, let alone bend a rim. They cause many accidents and are caused by a combination of heavy rain meeting poor road substrate, but exacerbated by 10000 coal trucks a day pounding the roads to the mines.
But it also has it's merits such as really lax policing of the roads! Many times when i've left JHB i've pushed the rentals to the top of the box when leaving late at night (you can get away with prettymuch anything). One particular day I got to go in this leviathan when at Eskom's transport HQ in the world famous (in truck circles anyway) Nicolas Tractomas 10x10:
That thing is 950BHP but has crazy crazy amounts of torque from its 27 litre Cat V12. To give you a clue i'm the same height as the tyre. It brought the replacement generator to site in formation like this:
An inspiring sight for any enthusiast of all things mechanical! Plus, Witbank had weekly street racing meetings on Sundays until a few months ago, with an actual 1/4 mile between lights that attracted some very nice motors!
TBH I love South Africa, I really do. The weather is mint for 90% of the year, there is an abundance and huge variance of fascinating wildlife (Springbok still catch the eye!) and the fact that the station has a pack of zebras which you can almost get close enough to touch add to the mix! The Highveld (where I am) is famous in the country for it's thunderstorms, and i'll testify they are amazing. Thunderclaps that'll rock your bed go on all night and the rain is indescribable!
To say i've been lucky to get sent here at all would be a complete understatement. All expenses paid (petrol, car, accommodation) for 18 months has saved (and made) me an absolute packet, especially given i travel 600 miles a week in the UK commuting to work in Mr HDi. Feels nice to pile the miles on someone elses car! Check out one of (many) rental beasts :laugh
Never thought i'd enjoy driving a Corsa but it's comfy on the shitty roads and it goes better than all the other cars in the class from Hertz. I've had to send 4 of them back as i finished their service intervals off lol. That odd shape is an Elephant on the license plate - it's from the Eastern Cape Province. Certainly the license plates are much more colourful than the UK, there is another than has a leopard on which is cool. Trying to get some to bring back for my toolbox in the garage. I had a blue Hyundai I20 for 3 months last year and it was absolutely fantastic (as small rentals go), honestly.
As a complete and utter bonus, during my stay in Witbank I met a lovely South African by the name of Karen, whom i've now been with for over a year - she's actually in the UK waiting for me to finish the job and come home now, so no doubt the next 6 weeks will fly for her! I'm about to celebrate another birthday in South Africa (my 3rd in a row!) and last year she treated me to a lovely experience in Kruger Park.
18 months has really taken its toll on me though, it's a lot of hours and a long time to be away from my house, my cars, my cats, my family and most importantly i've been away from my lady for a while now. All in, I can't fecking wait to get home and start tinkering with the Rallye!!!!!! Got to put all the shiny bits I bought on it, and give it a damn good clean!!
Night Blue VW Golf 7 GTD : Bianca 306 Rallye : Mini Cooper D (The Mrs')
HDi Owner for 200k/9 years
HDi Owner for 200k/9 years