Round the World Skydive

2011-03-23T15:09:00.000-07:00

Have finally got round to the book. Over the past few months have been typing my diary up and adding more information from my parachute log book. Hopefully will get it all complete by the end of the year - sooner if I can. Then will see about getting it published - anyone out there interested ???

Update November 2010

2010-11-13T14:03:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time since the last updated the blog. But I have been fortunate in that I have had a few people who have recently given money on the NACC Just Giving page re my big trip. This is just to many thanks to you.
Over the past couple of years I have been doing a lot of teaching back in England at Peterlee Parachute Centre. My trip is still very much in my mind and I would love to do it again and revisit some of the people I met on the trip.

Fundraising update

2008-10-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

Its now about six weeks since I returned from my trip. I have been catching up with friends and work colleagues since I got back. I got some great news from Sarah Hewitson in that she had collected the money to-gether from Sarah Close and from Rachael Barnet for the Tandem Jumps they did for NACC. They raised the fantastic amount of £708.00. I am very grateful to all of the girls for this, this money has now been deposited into NACC's bank account. In addition to this I have totalled up all the various amounts I have been given when on my travels, along with donations from DZ's in the form of free jumps and from people who have given me free or reduced cost of accommodation, also from people back at home. It has all added up to £757.00 and a cheque has now gone off for that also. The total up to now on the web site combined with other donations is £5895 and if you add the tax refund in it adds up to £6263.08 and money is still coming in.
I would like to thank Cess, Mal, Alan Thompson and all the staff at Peterlee Parachute Centre for taking such good care of the girls on their tandem jumps. Thanks guy's
I have been asked to write a couple of articles, one for the USPA magazine and one for our own Skydive Mag -hopefully these will be published and may possibly encourage more people to visit the just giving web site and make a donation.
I will keep the blog running as long as it seems appropriate. I would be grateful on any feedback you can give me re the blog.
Regards John 22 Oct 08

Journey's End

2008-09-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

My flight left as Scheduled, I had a pleasant surprise when my ticket to Heathrow was upgraded to World Traveller Plus, which was very welcome, it meant I had a more comfortable seat and a bit more room. I am no good at sleeping on planes (even those with seats !!!!), so the added comfort was much appreciated. We landed about 1.30 pm UK time. I am just about getting over the jet lag now. I had an onward connection up to Newcastle which got in at 5.30 pm. My wife Rosie and my Dad were there to meet me at the Airport. The weather to greet me was typically English, heavy rain and grey skies - I miss the sunshine already.
Will see what the new week has to bring, need to contact and thank so many people and start looking for a job as well as start thinking about the book. john 14 September 2008

White Rock - Canada

2008-09-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

My flight from Vancouver was not due to leave until after 8 pm so I had most of the day free. Len Doerksen where I had been staying told me about this place on the coast which is about 30 mile South East of Vancouver called White Rock. So I went there and spent a few hours just walking along the promenade and pier enjoying the sunshine and the view. There is long stretch along the seafront and it seems quite popular. There are plenty of Cafe's and Restaurants and the railway track runs parallel to the coast, so with one thing and another it makes for a pleasant trip out. I have attached some photographs as usual. John 14/9

One Final Jump and End of Adventure

2008-09-11T10:46:00.000-07:00

After visiting Vancouver on Monday there was a message waiting for me when I got back to where I am staying. The local newspaper the Abbotsford News wanted to do a storey on me. After contacting them on Tuesday morning (9/9) it was arranged that I would meet a photographer at Vancouver Skydiving in Abbotsford the following day. This all went ahead and I had some photo's taken next to the Porter, an added bonus was that they made space for me on the plane and I got one more jump in - no 125 of the trip. The weather was perfect, I did a very unplanned two way with Tim a visiting jumper from Germany. It was great fun and the jump went really well. By coincidence Tim knew another guy I had jumped with in Perris, another Tim, we did the balloon jump together. They are both pilots for Lufthansa - its a small world.
I am now all packed and en route for the airport, I have stopped off at the local library to do this final blog before I get home to-morrow - long journey ahead. john 11th Sept 2008

Vancouver

2008-09-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went into Vancouver, just to do some sightseeing. Things got off to a bad start in that I just missed the 7.30 mainline train (should have got up 2 minutes earlier). However I drove closer to the city to a place called Lougheed and got the Skytrain straight into the city from there. Skytrain is a rapid transport system which is a bit like the Metro but most of the time operates on a railway system going over the traffic, but it also goes underground, so its the best of both worlds. I headed for the waterfront area and Canada Place. Large cruise ships dock at the very edge of the city centre, so its really convenient. The harbour area is very large with the added attraction of sea planes going in and out all of the time.

The city is very modern, with many high rise glass buildings, but there is also a lot of greenery around so there is a nice feel about the place. You don't have to go far before you find some pretty serious shopping areas. The biggest store I was in was the Hudson Bay Company. There were at least five floors and I think two lower levels. They have tour buses which look like the tram cars in San Francisco. I only scratched the surface in my trip into Vancouver and could have spent a lot longer there. I have attached some pictures as usual, the ship that in the picture is called the Island Princess, it was so big I just could not get it all on the picture.

I am now in the process of trying to get as up to-date as I can before I leave on Thursday. Will try and get at least one more update in before I head back. John 9/9

More Skydiving

2008-09-09T13:11:00.000-07:00

Over last weekend I planned to do my last skydiving of the trip. On Saturday 6th I went back to Pacific Skydivers at Pitts Meadow and spent most of the day there. There was no Otter this weekend so they were flying a C206 and a C182. I did a couple of jumps out of their 182. One of them a really nice three way with Kat and Dave -thanks. I must say their 182 not only is the smartest i82 I have been in - it looks brand new, but its by far the quickest. I understand its rated at 300 hp and climbs like a turbine for the first thousand feet. I was able to take some more photographs, some of them of the view on the way up, I have added these to my earlier posting. Everyone made me feel really welcome, special thanks to Debbie who made sure I got on slots whenever possible, it was a pleasure to jump at Pitts Meadow.

The following day I went back to Vancouver Skydivers at Abbotsford and did a couple more jumps. This time I got to jump out of the Porter and I was able to take more pictures, again some of them of the view as I was going up in the plane, I have also added these to my earlier posting. I did what was planned my last jump at Abbotsford, it was jump no 124. There is the possibility I might do one more as the local press want to do a storey about my visit and the reasons behind it. Thanks to Debbie and Gerry and all the crew for making me so welcome , special good wishes to Karen - keep fighting it and keep well. John 9/9

Canada - Out and about Cultas Lake

2008-09-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I went to have a look at Cultas Lake which is East of where I am staying and about an hours drive. It was fairly late in the afternoon and very peaceful. The pictures have come out quite nice, I hope you enjoy looking at them, I particularly like the wild fowl. john 9/9

Skydive Vancouver

2008-09-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Skydive Vancouver is on the outskirts of Abbotsford and only about 20 minutes from where I am staying. Its situated in a low lying plane and the immediate area around is nice and flat. I went there to jump on Monday 1st Sept.. The facilities here are good with a large carpeted area in the hanger for packing, The landing area is quite large and there is a experienced and student landing area, they have a nice lounge type area for visitors and jumpers to relax in. They have quite a number of Aircraft, the biggest is a rather funky Porter in camouflage colouring, a C206, C182 , C180 and a C170. When I got there the cloud base was a bit low but looked as though it would clear. There is a nice relaxed feel about the DZ and everyone was quite happy to chat with me. Someone came looking for me, which was nice, to see if I was interested in a cloud base jump as it looked like we would get about 3.5k. So very quickly got kitted up, got into 206 and in no time at all was over the DZ and out of the plane, we got just over 3k. Nice no pressure jump and got my eye in for the DZ. Not long after that the weather cleared and I went up again, this time it was on a 4 way to 10.5k in a very quick C180. Thoroughly enjoyed the jump, we got a few points in. The lady who's house I am staying in had come down to see me jump, so I had a bit of an audience.

As I paid for my jumps at the end of the day, Debbie (another Debbie) who runs the manifest and one of the instructors only charged me for the low jump which was there contribution to my cause - thank you.

Really this was quite a momentous day on my trip. It is the very last DZ on my journey, no 22 to be exact. I plan to do some more jumps here before I leave. As usual I have attached some photographs. john 3/9

Pacific Skydivers - Pitt Meadows Nr Vancouver

2008-09-03T09:29:00.000-07:00

There are two DZ's in or near Vancouver that I wanted to jump at. The closest to Vancouver is Pacific Skydivers . Its based at Pitt Meadows Airport and is close to the Fraser River. The Other DZ is Skydive Vancouver and it is based at Abbotsford which is a little further East and on the opposite side of the Fraser River. The first few days I was in Canada the weather was quite wet and no good for jumping. However the weather cleared up for last weekend 30th August. Because Pacific Skydivers were having a boogie this past weekend I decided to jump there first.

As I said in my previous entry to the blog, I am actually staying in Abbotsford, but is only about a 45 minute drive from Abbotsford to Pitts Meadow.

I had best say something about the countryside and general climate before I go on about the skydiving. From temperature point of view, when I arrived it was about the mid to high teens, over the past few days it has gradually got warmer and it is expected to reach about 24/25 degrees C and be sunny for the next week or so. The countryside is quite spectacular, from where I am staying I can see snow capped Mount Baker in the USA very clearly. There are heavily wooded areas between the towns and the Fraser River which is very wide carves its way through the countryside.

As ever when I have introduced myself at the DZ, they were really helpful. The lady I was dealing with and who sorted out all the paperwork was Debbie. The DZ as I said earlier is at the local airport. Most of the air traffic seems to be light planes with the biggest being actually from the DZ. They have two King Air aircraft, unfortunately they were off line so they brought in a rather smart Twin Otter for the boogie, there are a couple of pictures attached. They operate normally from 13.5k and open seven days a week. The facilities such as packing seem mainly to be in the hanger complex, though they had covered packing areas arranged outside while I was there and outside catering for burgers and drinks etc.

There is a big landing area for regular and Tandem jumpers and a separate area for swoop and high performance canopies. It took a while for the weather to clear up on the Saturday but by mid afternoon things got going. I just did the one solo jump to get my eye in on the Saturday, but went back on Sunday and got a couple of jumps in with other people, a 4 and 3 way. I had no difficulty in finding someone to jump with, the girls on manifest just sorted me out.

Debbie had given me my first jump ticket for free and waived the entrance fee for the boogie which was very kind and much appreciated.

I plan to go back and do some more jumping before I leave next week. John 3/9

Canada

2008-09-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

The final destination on my journey is Vancouver, Canada where I planned to visit the final two DZ's of my trip. I left Dallas Fort Worth on Wednesday 27th August and arrived in Vancouver in the early afternoon. My base in Canada is Abbotsford. Its quite a large City East of Vancouver, about an hour and a half from the airport. The place I was heading for about ten minutes out of Abbotsford in a wooded area in the Sumas Mountain region. The journey went well and I arrived at the home of Len and Esther Doerksen who run Mountain Acres Bed and Breakfast.

The house is fantastic and in a beautiful setting, with a wood and waterfall at the rear of the house. Len and his sons have made a great job of clearing some of the area just sufficiently to allow access. Otherwise its all very much natural woodland. I have attached a few of pictures for you to look at. My room is really comfortable and I have private bathroom - absolute heaven - and Esther and Len are treating me like one of the family, Esther is filling me up with home cooking - what more could I want. They have a web site if you would like to know more www.bbcanada.com/3661.html

Goodbye USA

2008-09-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed my time in the USA immensely. I have learnt more about my own skydiving here and what I need to do to improve it. There have been so many people I have met and jumped with I cannot recount them all. I will take away some great memories of the US and the people - its all about the people. I was hoping when I made the trip, that I would get to meet the real people in the countries I visit and not the preconceptions you form from watching television. The people I have met have truly made me feel welcome and helped me along the way in so many ways. john 2/9

Skydive Dallas - Texas

2008-08-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

When I was younger the only impression I had of Dallas and Texas is what I had seen on the TV watching such as Dallas and cowboy films. The reality, certainly in the place I am staying is quite different. I am staying just outside of a small town called Whitewright. Its about 70 miles north east of the city of Dallas. Its very much a country and farming area. Its much greener than I expected, very flat but nicely broken up by fields, areas of trees and small communities. The weather is quite hot and the humidity can be quite high also. I thought it would have been hotter, but I must say I like the climate here - I could live with this.

I am staying on the DZ at Skydive Dallas, the bunkhouse accommodation is free and there are good shower facilities. So not a bad start. As ever the people are the stars. Everyone has gone out of there way to be friendly and have been interested in my trip and I have had lots of opportunities to talk about NACC and its work.

Now more about the DZ, as I said its set out in the countryside, its on a large site with a number of large landing areas. The facilities include "The Dive" cafe which is run by Millie, and assisted by Snow and JD. There are two large indoor packing areas, there is a Pro Shop run by Debbie, Debbies husband Bo also works at the DZ.

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was just how clean everything is, the packing areas are all carpeted and they were spotless. Jose is the man responsible for the way the place looks, he is up bright and early each day and if by magic the place is clean at the start of the new day. Now the aircraft. They have two main aircraft a Twin Otter and a Cessna Caravan. They operate normally up to 13,500. They also have a C182 but that was not in service at the moment.

Over this past weekend the centre has been very busy with experienced skydivers, AFF and Tandems and the two aircraft were on the go most of the time. The DZ is open five days a week closed on Tuesday and Wednesday One thing that you notice here and in other DZ's in the USA is the degree to which organisers are used, for me its been great, particularly here in Skydive Dallas I have hardly jumped alone and my own personal skydiving had improved (still a long way to go) more than its done in years. Brett and Tom were two of the load organisers I jumped with and I learnt a lot from them. There is certainly no shortage of progression training going on, its a great place to learn.

They have just appointed a new manger her Johnny Kuczaj who has only been in post a week, Johhny and his partner Laura have been really kind and helpful while I have been here and I wish them both well for the future. There have been so many people I have met in the short time I have been here that I simply cannot fit everyone in, Carol who is the owner of the DZ helped arrange with Laura for a Journalist called Chana Willis from the Whitewright Rose to come along and hear my storey. Chana brought her two sons along to the DZ with her and I was invited that night along to their local school to watch the presentation of the new football team (American). After the presentation, to which the whole town seemed to turn out to, we all went along to a local Mexican Restaurant for a meal. Texas hospitality is very much alive and well.

I went into the local town of Wrightwright at lunch time to-day, I just went in for a late breakfast but thanks to Cathy Pierce in the local information centre I ended up being interviewed by another journalist Tabetha Snow from the "The Whitewright Sun". So once again I was able to tell my storey.

I have been here only five days so far and so much seems to have happened, I feel as though I have been here longer but not in a negative way. I actually leave to-morrow Wed. 27th Vancouver and the final leg of my trip.

I just want to end with a couple of things. Some of you will remember the Otis Redding song "Sitting on the Dock of a Bay". Well there is no bay here, but for the past two nights I have sat down in the quiet at the end of the day looking over the DZ and watching the sun go down, it really is so peaceful. Finally this morning when I started to write this up this part of my blog up there was a bird picking over the grass cuttings for grubs, its was a very elegant Crane, I have included a picture in the attached photographs. john 26/8

If you like the blog, please pass on details to your friends and also ask them to consider making a donation to NACC by going to www.justgiving.com/johnhillam

San Francisco

2008-08-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

There was one thing I wanted to do when I planned the trip was to see San Francisco simply as a tourist. I moved from Bay Area Skydiving on Monday the 18th to a place on the coast Called Point Montara Lighthouse. Its a real lighthouse and its also a hostel. I had room to myself which was called the the Watch Room and it looked directly out to sea. Point Montara is about 25 miles south of San Francisco. Point Montara provides very reasonably priced accommodation for all ages, families included.

So my plan was to drive to the nearest railway station and get the train into the city. This I did, they have a system of trains called BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). Its a bit like the Metro at home or the Underground in London.

I spent a day and a half having a good look around. Ever since I saw the film Bullet with Steve McQueen I wanted to look around the streets and see the Golden Gate Bridge. I did lots of walking, had a ride on one of the famous trams, went up Coit Tower, went round China Town, visited Pier 39, went to the Wells Fargo Museum, took over a 100 photo's and was absolutely knackered. There is just so much to see and I could have spent so much longer there. My only regret is that I did not get very close to the Golden Gate Bridge, however it was quite foggy the closer you got to the bridge so perhaps it was as well. I did however get to see Alcatraz from the ferry, we actually got quite close.

I have attached quite a number of pictures just to give you a bit of an idea what its like. Once again I hope you like them. I am in Texas now at Skydive Dallas, I will update my blog with this in the next couple of days. john 23/8

Bay Area Skydiving - Nr San Francisco

2008-08-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

On the 14th August I moved onto San Francisco from LA. I was heading for Bay Area Skydiving which is at a place called Byron which is 60 miles East of San Francisco. Fortunately this time my journey was uneventful and I got my luggage back without delay which was a great relief. The manager at the DZ had kindly asked one of the club jumpers Carrol Shaw if I could stay in his trailer for a few days and Carrol kindly agreed. Carrol is quite a guy, not only is he a good skydiver and coach he also is quite a cook and more or less fed the DZ over the last weekend.

The first thing that hits you when you get here is the heat, over Friday and Saturday is was over 100 degrees F. at times. Compared to Perris its quite small in a physical sense but they do have rather a nice array of aeroplanes, A PAC XL, a King Air and a Cessna 206. While I have been here I have been jumping out of the PAC. The centre is open everyday except Monday and Tuesday. It was fairly quiet on the Friday I was here but the place comes alive at the weekend. There are the usual tandems but there is a large core of fun jumpers and everyone seems to know everyone else. I did not have a problem with being here on my own and was soon mixing with pretty well everyone. The geography of the DZ means that at certain times of the day it can get quite windy, but the Byron Boys as they are know have learnt to cope with the wind, they can actually jump in winds up to 30 mph here (not students). Its a very open area, mainly scrub land where the landing area is but it is very large. I have attached some still pictures which I took as I was going up in the aircraft to give you some idea of the general area. My stay here has been quite short so the number of jumps I have made here was only 6. However I have achieved one of my objectives for the trip. I did my 100th Jump of the trip on Sat. 16th August. I have done over 1,000,000 feet in descents and about 850,000 in freefall - I hope to get that to over a 1,000,000 before I end my journey. As usual I have attached some photographs, there are a couple of the sunset at the end of last week which I hope you like. Finally I have once again been shown great friendship and kindness by all at the DZ and met some really nice people. I am moving on to-day to a hostel on the coast south of San Francisco so that I can do some sightseeing before I move off again on Thursday, next stop Dallas. john 18/8

Goodbye Perris

2008-08-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

On Thursday 14th August I left Perris to head for San Francisco. I have done more jumps at Perris than anywhere else so far on my trip, 20 in total including the balloon jump. The owners of Perris were kind enough to let me have the first 4 jumps free in view of the NACC cause. I always knew I would do more jumping in the USA than anywhere else, particularly at ZHills (17 jumps) and Perris. Again at Perris I have learnt more about my own skydiving and what I need to do to improve things - looks like I will be wearing a lot of weight when I jump FS in future. The sit flying I started in ZHills is coming along quite well now, thanks to the initial coaching from Pip. I will keep working on that going forward.
I have been staying at Dennis Sattlers house, its been really good, a real home from home for me. Dennis had a last minute surprise for me in that he gave me $100 for NACC. Again I continue to be surprised by the generosity of people. john 15/8

Balloon Jump

2008-08-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

Early yesterday morning I did a jump from a balloon over the the DZ in Perris Valley. I was up at 4.45 to get to the DZ for 5.45am. The balloon jump was not planned and the opportunity came the previous afternoon. The conditions were perfect, we actually went up to 10,000 feet. When I did the jump I did it with two new friends Tom and Tim we left the balloon to-gether. Its an incredible experience, not at all like jumping out of a plane. It was also my 800th Skydive. I hope you like the pictures. john 13/8

Skydive Elsinore

2008-08-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

When I was planning my trip I had not realised just how close Skydive Elsinore was to Perris. You can actually see Lake Elsinore very clearly on the way up in the plane at Perris. So to-day I went and spent the day there to do jumping. The DZ is not as big as Perris but by UK standards its big. They have two Twin Otter aircraft which can take up to 22 people each. As ever when I arrived I got all of the paperwork out of the way and was introduced to various members of staff to get a brief and so on.

The skydive centre is about a mile or so from the lake, the landing area is very large, they also have a swoop pond. Again the weather was very hot, I guess in the 90's again to-day. I did three jumps, one just to get my bearings, but for the other two I joined a lady called Julia who was doing some FS training for small groups. So I got on a couple of 4 ways with Julia, they went quite well and were good fun. Its a very friendly DZ, I didn't have any trouble in finding people to speak to.

As I was leaving I went into the Square One shop to buy a T shirt, by chance I was served by a very nice lady who turned out to be somewhat a pathfinder in women's skydiving. Her nickname I found out later is Purple Patty, I explained why I was there and the purpose of my journey. Patty was really interested and already had some knowledge of Crohns disease. When I got back to Dennis's house I checked on the Internet to find out more about Patty. She has over 4,000 jumps and has done some really fantastic things in her skydiving career. Patty asked if she could sign my log which is how I found out who she was. Patty insisted on giving me a hug before I left, the only regret I have is I should have got a picture. On the note of pictures I have attached some photographs which I took while I was there. john 10/8

Perris Valley Skydiving California

2008-08-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday the 5th of August at 4.30 am I left Zephyrhills Skydiving in Florida to head for the West Coast of the USA and Perris Valley Skydiving. My journey initially was to fly from Tampa down to Miami and then onto Los Angeles. Perris is about 60 miles south east of LA. It was going to be quite long day, it turned out even longer than I expected. This time I would be travelling back in time zones, LA is 8 hours behind UK time. I was due to arrive at LA at 1.30 pm local time. I got there OK, but one of my cases was missing - the one with my parachute and all my other parachute gear. I ended up spending the whole day at the airport (from 1.30 until 8.30). My case eventually turned up, to say I was relieved is an understatement. I then needed to get my hire car from National and they were really helpful, I was fairly tired by then and it was dark, I was not looking forward to the drive out of the city. Because of this I decided to take the Sat Nav option, the guy at National set the destination up for me which was good of him and I got underway.

I was to stay at the home of Dennis Sattler who is a fellow skydiver and works at the DZ. Dennis has been really great, he must have been absolutely fed up of me ringing him to say I was going to be late. I eventually arrived at his house at midnight completely shattered. However my accommodation is superb so I could chill and get a good nights sleep.

Now to the drop Zone. I don't know if Perris Valley Skydiving is the biggest DZ in the world, but they have more jump planes than I have ever seen. Its like an airport with nothing else but Parachute planes. They even have a DC 9 passenger jet which takes 80 skydivers. However the main plane in daily use is a Twin Otter Aircraft (they have at least 3 here) which take up to 22 people. They also have a Skyvan and a Porter. I have attached a number of pictures of the planes for you. One other big facility here they have here is a Wind Tunnel which is used to teach people how to fly their body in freefall and for experienced people to hone their freefall skills.

The owners of the DZ are trying to get some publicity for NACC for me, they kindly let me jump for free on the first day, which was great. The facilities here are very good. The weather here is extremely hot, particularly in the afternoons, easily in the 90's, so there are lots of covered packing areas. They have a great bar here, its like a themed bar, but its the real thing (see pictures attached), its a skydiving bar for skydivers. They also have a diner which serves food all day.

One really neat thing is the paint jobs on the aircraft, instead of the lift being called by just the number its proceeded with the word Shark, so lift one would be Shark 1, Shark 2 etc.etc.

I have done 7 jumps so far, I have done a couple of sit fly jumps - its getting better and some FS jumps with some American and British jumpers. I am here for another week so hope to get more in. There is another parachute centre called Elsinore only about 25 minutes away. If I can I will try and get a couple of jumps in there also.

Finally for now as I have found wherever I have gone, everyone has been really helpful and welcoming. I have even bumped into someone I was on an instructors course about 6 years ago, nice to meet you again Shazza

The skydive world is a fairly small one. john 8/8

Skydive City Zephyrhills

2008-08-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

Its the 4th August and I leave for the West Coast early to-morrow. However I have not said much about the skydive centre where I am. When I was planning this trip, Lesley Gale of the Skydive Mag in the UK helped me decide on locations. I was told Zepyrhills was one of the most friendly. I certainly can say that it has been so for me. From a skydiving point of view I have probably learnt more about my own skydiving and started to learn some new skydiving techniques - sit flying (thanks Pip) than I have for many years - the only exception to that was the canopy course in Spain earlier in the year. Unfortunately I don't have any still pictures of me jumping here, but I have taken quite a few around the DZ which I hope you will like. Some of the pictures were taken early this morning before the DZ was open. There is a very big landing area here and there is a well established swoop pond here also. The pond attracts all kinds of birds. The pond has fish in it, so some of the larger birds do their shopping here.

There are some pictures of people landing, one of them (red jump suit) is Pip my freefly instructor swooping in. As a matter of interest Pip has more jumps than anyone I know, he has over 19,000 to-date. There is also a couple of pictures of Paul (one with the plane the background and white jump suit)who runs the Bar and is an AFF instructor and cameraman. I would love to say the alligator is real but its not (or a very heavy sleeper), but it looks good. Its next to the bar so no doubt has given one or two a nasty turn from time to time.

I mentioned in an earlier blog on ZHills about the age profile of people here. Age does not seem to be an issue here, no matter how old you are, you are included. Over this last weekend they have been practicing a 16 way for Thanksgiving day, I would say that about half the people were older than me and some much older.

So for the skydivers out there reading this. If you want to do some serious skydiving and want a good vibe you must put ZHills on your list. Finally I have submitted an article to the USPA Parachutist Magazine about my trip, hopefully it will get published.

Next stop Perris Valley Skydiving, California john 4/8

Out and about in Zephyrhills

2008-07-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

The DZ is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so it has given me the chance to catch up on the essentials of life, washing, buying food etc. I have not hired a car this time as I knew I could get a lift to the DZ. However it is a bit isolated on the DZ and there is no public transport at hand. However Paul who runs the bar (another Brit) at the DZ and is a cameraman and AFF instructor offered to lend me his Dodge truck to have a look around. It was suggested that I go to Hillsborough River State park which is about 8 miles away. So off I went on Tuesday morning. The park was quite easy to find, Paul had drawn me a map. The park was fairly quiet, so it was easy for me to get around. There are various stopping places, some of these are for picnicking, camping, fishing, you can even hire a canoe. There are marked walkways of various durations, depending up on how fit you feel. There is also quite a bit about the history of the area and the original inhabitants and the settlers.

The vegetation in the park is very tropical (I have the bites to prove it) and I have attached a few photo's for you. There are also alligators in the park, I did not see any, but I am sure they were there.

When I got back from the park I had a trip to the local supermarket. Any trip out is quite an adventure, particularly when I still am trying to get used to driving on the other side of the road. At least here, they don't seem to have kamikaze motorcyclists here.

The weather here is very changeable, its almost always hot or very hot and humid, but there are frequent heavy showers and thunder storms. They don't usually last too long, so you can sit them out and then get on.

I hope over the next few days to get some more jumps in, hopefully will get some skydive pictures next time. I have attached some pictures I have taken over the past couple of days, including a lizard that was putting on a display for me and a picture of Paul's truck alongside my caravan. There is also a picture of a shop called the Sunshine Factory - a real cool shop for everything in skydiving . john 30/7

Skydive City, Zephyrhills, Florida, USA

2008-07-28T09:06:00.000-07:00

Jim from the DZ, met me at the arrivals section of Tampa Airport. Tampa Airport is much bigger than I expected and very modern. The first thing that strikes you when you get out in the open is the heat and humidity. Its in the 90's during the day and mid 70's during the night and you sweat like mad so you need to take in lots of fluid. The ride to Zephyrhills took about 45 minutes. I am staying in a caravan on the DZ, the caravan are run by Judy and Pip, two ex pats and they have made me feel very welcome. The caravan has aircon and its on all the time, it would not be bearable without it. I have everything I need and can even connect to the net from the caravan.

The parachute centre is based on the perimeter of the Airport on the edge of Zephills Town. Its got very good facilities, kit shop, canteen, bar, the aircraft is a Twin Otter, there is a swoop pond for the real serious stuff, nice big landing area, there are facilities to stay over at the DZ if you want to.

Zephyrhills has a reputation of being a very friendly DZ. I can certainly vouch for that. I guy called Roy has been organising me onto various FS (formation skydiving) groups, its nice to be jumping with other people again. The groups so far have been between 6 and 9, that's more than I have ever jumped with. My performance to date is "tries hard, could do better", I am enjoying it and learning all of the time. So far I have done 6 jumps and hope to have some pictures before I leave. I am also going to get some sit flying coaching from Pip later in the week.

Another very pleasant thing about ZHills is the age of the jumpers, skydiving some of the time seems to be quite a young persons sport, not so here, it does not matter how young you are or feel you can skydive and be very much a part of it here. One of the guys I have been jumping with, is in his 70's, a real interesting guy, came back to the sport after a break of 21 years and has now done over 800 jumps in the past 3 years - that's more than I have done in 15 years !.

Before I came to the US I needed to get my USPA membership (United States Parachute Association), but since then I have got one other membership, I am now a proud member of the Muff Brother's, "Muff Brother no 4303". I am not sure what the actual requirements are, but I suspect I must fit the profile. Will it be a Green Card next !!.

That's all for now, will keep you posted. John 28/7

Goodbye Brazil, hello USA

2008-07-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

On the morning of the 24th I left Boituva to go to Sou Paulo International Airport. In view of the problems of getting out of Sou Paulo I was apprehensive to say the least about finding my way to the airport. I tried to get a road map to help me in Boituva but could not find one detailed enough. I ended up using the internet to try and work the route out. So I set off at 8.50 am, my flight was at 9.50 pm - I was not taking any chances, well any more than I had already. I got to the outskirts of Sou Paulo in about an hour and a half. One good thing, the weather was good and the sky was clear, if all else failed I could at least follow the general direction of the planes over head (only problem with that there is more than one airport - are you feeling lucky springs to mind). However, I made it, it took me another one and a half hours, but I did not get lost, well I really was not sure, but I did not take any detours this time. So got to the airport with nine hours to spare.
Everything after that went to plan. This time I was flying with American Airlines, initially a long flight to Miami and immigration and then a connecting internal flight to Tampa. I got to Tampa at about 8.30 am on the 25th (25 hours travelling, clocks go back one hour from Sou Paulo). I was met at the airport by a gentleman called Jim from Skydive City, Zephyrhills.

Boituva

2008-07-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Boituva is the town next to the DZ. I believe its actually classed as a city. Its very different from home. First of all the sun seems to shine all of the time and its warm, so the people dress accordingly, its seems quite a busy place, more down to earth than posh. Visiting here, I feel very much a foreigner, as I have said earlier very few people speak English. However I have managed to make myself understood most of the time, one way or another. I even had my hair cut yesterday, considering neither of us, that is the barber and I could understand a word of what each of us were saying, the end result turned out ok. I even found a local restaurant to eat in and got by with some help initially from a customer who spoke English. Its been a bit of an adventure really. The people you meet are friendly enough, lots of smiles, no doubt thinking stupid gringo.

I have attached a few pictures and hope you find them interesting. One of them is of my gardener friend who looks after the grounds of the hotel at the DZ, he can't speak a word of English, but he always has a smile for me and helps me where he can .I am off to Sau Paulo to-morrow to go to the US. Wish me luck !. John 23/7

Skydiving at Boituva

2008-07-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

Following on from my last posting, this time its good news and nice pictures. The good news came in the form of Rodrigo Manzan de Andrade. As I was leaving my room on the 19th July (morning after the nightmare day) by sheer chance I saw another guest carrying of all things a parachute rig to his car. This guy turned out to be an absolute life saver. I asked him if he could tell me the way to the DZ. We ended up having breakfast to-gether. After that we both checked out and I followed him in my car to the Parachute Centre.

Rodrigo was not only friendly, he spoke very good English and had actually worked for some time in the UK - He runs his own company called Lara and Associados in Sau Paulo now. When we got to the DZ which is huge -its the National Centre for Skydiving in Brazil, there is something like 14 skydive schools run here. They all share the aircraft, which are two Cessna Caravans running non stop. Rodreigo took me round and introduced me to his friends and all of the people you need to know, including the guy who owns the aircraft and seems to be the overall boss.

There is a real buzz about the place, there is lots of sports skydiving going on as well as tandems, there are shops where you can buy kit and clothing, lots of places to eat. It only operates at weekends so people make the most of their time here. Rodreigo and I did one jump to-gether just for fun and then we went our separate ways as far as jumping was concerned. I did a jump with some of the people I had been introduced to. Rodreigo had to leave at about 2.00 pm to see his young daughter and wife. But before he went he introduced me to even more people, some of which helped me later in the weekend.

One thing I have not mentioned is the weather, its fantastic, about 26 degrees C not a cloud in the sky. It is so nice to be warm again - hopefully I can leave my thermals in the case now.

As for the scenery, the land around is quite flat, its quite green considering there seems to be little rain. There are some large palm trees around the DZ hotel. I will fill you in on the city of Boituva on my next posting.

Back to the skydiving. I manged to get 6 jumps in over the weekend and really enjoyed them.

On Sunday morning before the jumping started a large hot air balloon was been inflated on the DZ. It was for a pleasure flight and not jumping (worst luck), but it was a really nice seen, so there are some pictures on the blog. One of the pictures is a group of four of us (Rodreigo is next to me in the Red jump suit).

I have attached some pictures I hope you like them. john 22/7

Sao Paulo to Boituva

2008-07-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

Just a preamble before I launch into this. The place that I was heading for is called Boituva, its about 125 km west of Sao Paulo.
We landed at about 12.30 noon local time, It took me a while to clear customs because of uncertainty about my medication, I eventually got cleared OK. I was to find that very few people, certainly in the parts of Brazil I am visiting speak English - I speak no Portuguese - so trying to explain to people and later on to get directions is not easy and in most cases impossible.
When I was planning this trip one part that I was not looking forward to was having to hire a car and drive to Boituva where the parachute centre is. The journey turned out to be a nightmare. Sao Paulo is a huge city with a population of over 20 million. Some of those who drive particularly the truck drivers and motor cycle riders can only be described as maniacs, the motor cycle riders also seem to have a death wish as they zoom in from all angles at speed !!.
I picked the hire car up at about 2.30 pm (it was to take me another 10 hours to reach my destination).I managed the driving side of it OK even though the controls are the other way round and you drive on the opposite side of the road (saying that I am still indicating with my windscreen wipers) however I got hopelessly lost and ended up being stuck in traffic for hours, I was looking for a particular road number - which I learned later on was a mistake and whenever I found what I thought was the exit from the motorway I was on I had passed it. At this point I did not know how to back track and go back in the opposite direction. So I went off the motorway and tried to find a route back - I can only say - do not try this - I certainly visited places not on the tourist map, and ones that I did not want to hang around in. I had been warned when I picked the hire car up not and stop and ask directions under a bridge - I can add lots more paces than that !. I tried garages, tole booths, eventually it was by sheer luck or divine intervention that I got onto the right road, that was at 10.30 pm, it had taken me 8 hours. I eventually stopped at a service area - I had not eaten all day - quite honestly I had not even thought about food - (at least it stopped me going to the loo) I had some look warm soup and some bread but did not care I was just grateful to know I was going in the right direction.
As I was paying for my food another customer heard me when I was paying and spoke to me in good English. This was the first real conversation for hours, he reassured me I was on the right road and told me how far it was to Boituva. The rest of the journey took me about one and half hours. It was a straight road (about 80 km) and the road signs were clear. I eventually got to Boituva at 12.30 after midnight. I pulled into a garage which was still open and by various means asked the people at the garage if they new of a hotel ?. (I was booked into the hotel at the DZ, but at this point I did not feel like a tour of the countryside and just wanted a bed for the night). It ended up where I think one of the garage staff was going home on his motor bike. There was a discussion between the garage staff and I followed this guy on his bike to a hotel which was just up the road. My luck was in - at last, there were two night staff on and they sorted a room out for me - absolute joy, it did not take me long to fall asleep. So endeth a day I will not forget. John 22/7

Sao Paulo via Santiago - Chile

2008-07-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

I left Christchurch early on the 17th July. I flew up to Auckland to catch the LAN Airways flight to Santiago. The flight to Santiago was to take about 11 hours, so I had decided when I was planning the trip to stop over in Santiago just so that I could get some sleep and rest ( I am hopeless at sleeping on planes). Also the time zones were going backwards so my body clock was getting some stick again.
The hotel I was staying in was supposed to be close to the airport - as it turns out it was only about 15 minutes away. However when I cleared customs and tried to get my bearings I needed to get a small amount of money for a taxi ride and some food. - Just a note at this point as you get into the airport proper coming out of arrivals you can hear the taxi drivers baying for business.
I went to the money exchange but on the way asked a taxi driver how much it would cost to take me to the hotel, he said 20,000 pesos (which is just over £20). Because I did not know for sure how far the hotel was at that time and what the taxi rates were like, I said OK. - You know when you do something and you immediately think - you have been conned - well I had that feeling. Turns out I was right, when I got to the hotel, which was fine by the way, I asked at reception how much I should have been charged - it should have been about 5,000 pesos - I had paid about four times over the odds - I felt quite sick. As it happens the hotel actually run a courtesy service to the airport which I did not know about. At least I got a ride back for nothing - they also gave me a breakfast free of charge at 4.15 am the following morning which I did not expect - so I felt a bit better about things after that.
The flight from Santiago to Sou Paulo took about 4 hours and I landed at Sau Paulo international at about 12.30 mid day on the 18th July. From this point the next 18 hours turned out to be a nightmare !!.
(as I write this the spell check on my PC has decided not to work - spelling has never been one of my stronger points - so apologies in advance for any errors ) john 22/7

Goodbye New Zealand

2008-07-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

On the 17th July I left New Zealand with some sadness. Of all the countries I have visited up to now this is the one with such huge contrasts. I have been privelidged to have been able to jump in all af the places I have stayed. The scenery with mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers is truely beautiful. Its difficult at times to find words adequate enough to describe the scenery.

Again I have been treated with great kindness where ever I have been and at times have been quite humbled. I don't know if I will get back to some of the places I have visited, I do hope so.

I have attaced a few pictures taken on my way back from Fox Glacier to Christchurch. (I write this blog from Boituva in Brazil as its the first chance I have had to update things) john 22/7

Fox Glacier

2008-07-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 13th July I left Wanaka to head for Fox Glacier. Fox Glacier is about a 3 to 4 hour drive from Wanaka and is on the west coast. I had not realised that Fox Glacier is so close to the West Coast. I actually drove along the coast of the Tasman Sea. The vegetation is really quite tropical. Its a land of rivers, creeks, bridges and tree covered mountains . Those of you who know me know I don't like the cold so this change of climate is a very welcome surprise for me.

I got to the town of Fox Glacier about 5 pm. Its quite small and I found where I was staying easily. I am staying in the best accommodation of my trip so far. Its called Reflections Lodge, its a family home Rae (Rayleen) the owner of the house has been spoiling me. Rae's family is very much into aviation, her husband and daughter both fly helicopters and their son is a pilot in Canada. The view from the house is right onto the mountains, it is truly beautiful.

I have managed to get 1 jump in so far at Skydive Fox Glacier. They have a Cessna 185 so I manged to get in between two tandems. I followed the first tandem out and was able to close in on them and got some reasonable video shots. The view is breathtaking, I got a good view of the Glacier and the mountains.

The weather got a bit cloudy so I have not been able to get any more jumps in yet. I have been doing some walking and went around a small lake which is just down the road from the lodge. The lake is called Lake Matheson. Its incredible its like what I imagine a rain forest is like, the vegetation is so lush.

I have attached some photographs which I hope you will enjoy. Up to know I have taken over 500 phtographs on the trip, I can only put a small selection on the blog.

Finally I will be leaving New Zealand on the 17th July to head for Sau Paulo.

John 15/7

New Zealand South Island

2008-07-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

I ended up breaking my journey at at place called Oamaru which is on the east coast, it took me about 3 hours to get there. I simply stopped at the first roadside motel in the town, had something to eat ready for an early start. In this blog I will let the pictures do most of the talking. Its the morning of the 11th July when I write this blog. I don't know if I will have time to bring you completely up to date, but I must say the past few days have been some of the most memorable days of my life - in a good way. I have seen some amazing sights and shown some tremendous kindness.

Before I go on, I do sincerely hope you are enjoying the blog, but one of the main reasons for this trip is to raise awareness of Colitis and Crohns disease and to raise what I can for NACC. So please pass on the justgiving web address www.justgiving.com/johnhillam and this blog address to your friends, if you can do that for me I would be very grateful.

On the morning of the 8th I travelled from Oamaru to Omarama to Queenstown. The journey took me across the country to the west side of the country through the mountains. The scenery got more dramatic the closer I got to the mountains, every turn brought a new fantastic scene, just when I thought it could get no better it did and just continues to do so.

I checked in at Aspen Lodge backpackers in Queenstown and this is where it all gets really incredible from a people point of view. My 2 nights stay there was entirely free and I even had free use of the Internet, they had decided upon this as a gesture for NACC long before I arrived.

I owe my thanks to Sally and Mandy the owners of the lodge for this kind gesture.

The parachute centre in Queenstown is a very professional operation and employs over 5o people. The centre is called NZone (the also have the DZ in Rotorua on the North Island where I jumped). My main contact at NZone is Derek Melnick, NZone were just fantastic, everything they did for me was free, they even arranged for the local press to be there. Derek had arranged a cameraman to be with me on my first jump and they took some incredible stills as well as a DVD. Some of the pictures are attached. At the end of all this Derek Presented me with a cheque for NACC for $200. I have been jumping now for over 15 years and I have never seen scenery as dramatic and beautiful as that I have seen over the past few days both at Queenstown and Lake Wanaka. Finally before I finish on Qheenstown I did a further live interview with Rhod Sharp on BBC 5 Live from NZone just after I jumped.

On the 10th July I moved onto Skydive Lake Wanaka which is owned and operated by a wonderful family wonderful family. Dave and Jools. They have two smashing children Max and Maye (please see a picture attached of us to-gether). Something very moving happened for me here, Max who is 7 presented me with $10 , he had raised this from selling chocolate at his school - they had been looking forward to my visit and Jools had brought the children down just to see me, Jools was an absolute inspiration for me and has given me even more determination to see this thing through. I have done two jumps here and have been given a ride in the co-pilots seat up to 15,000 feet. The weather was perfect and the view unforgettable. Dave and Jools will not accept anything from me, they have given me the jumps for free as well as the use of their Internet to send complete this post.

The set up at Skydive Lake Wanaka is very modern, great turbine plane and friendly staff. I have even got a fellow Sunderland supporter to talk to Andrea who runs the operational side of the DZ comes from Hewith and is a big Sunderland, she has been out here for 7 years now and loves it. John 11th July

Rotorua

2008-07-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

I moved from Lake Taupo Rotorua on the 3rd July. Its about one and a half hours drive north east of Taupo. Rotorua is a city and is much larger than Taupo. Like Taupo it is on the edge of a very large lake - Lake Rotorua. The parachute centre here is called NZone and is on the edge of town and is based at the airport. The airport is quite busy so there is a fair amount of air traffic. At first sight the landing area is quite a challenge with quite a few obstacles. However it not as bad as it first seems and have done 2 jumps here and had plenty of room. The guys at the DZ give me a good briefing so I was well prepared. The view is stunning, with lakes all around and very green and undulating countryside. Yet another type of plane to jump out of, this time a Fletcher, its a turbine with a great paint job (for you parachute people out there, it was the predecessor of the PAC).

Rotortua is famous for its hot springs and thermal baths, the smell of I presume sulphur is never far away, you get used to it and after a while don't really notice it. There are all kinds of activities here and many nice places to walk. I have taken a few pictures to give you and idea of the place and more of me around aeroplanes. The pictures all show a large building which is the local museum, it used to be be the bath house. Inside you can find out about the history of Rotorua and its people as well as a detailed explanation of the geology in this part of the world. Picture of the fountain is from the park which is in front of the museum.

As I write this, the sun is out but its a bit on the windy side for me to jump. I will be heading up to-wards Auckland this afternoon (Sunday 6th July) as I fly out to Christchurch in the morning. I have been following the weather on the south island and they have had lots of snow. I have a long drive to Queenstown when I get to Christchurch, its about six and a half hours, so I am going to do it in two parts and stay over somewhere on Monday night. It could be an interesting 24 hours . john 6/7

Pictures From Taupo

2008-07-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have attached a few more pictures of Taupo, hope you like them. john 6/7

Christmas Party at Taupo

2008-07-05T17:43:00.000-07:00

No, I've not gone mad, the weather here is a lot like December in the UK. Ross who owns Rainbow Lodge held a Christmas Party, the full works, Father Christmas, crackers and presents as well as free food and drink. This all happened on Wed 2nd July. There was even music from Cliff Richard and all the usual Christmas songs.
On Thursday the 3rd I left Lake Taupo to go to Rotorua where there is another skydive centre. But before I close on Taupo there were two very pleasant things to note, one, Ross from Rainbow Lodge refunded me 100 dollars to be given as a donation to NACC - this was totally unexpected, I was also given 25 dollars for NACC by Charlotte a guest at the lodge. Charlotte is traveling with a friend - I know 25 dollars was a lot for her - there is not much spare cash when you are travelling. I will tell something of Rotorua on my next post, I have managed to get 2 jumps in here but the weather has been very unsettled, so I think that will be about it. john 6/7

Lake Taupo New Zealand

2008-07-01T20:14:00.001-07:00

As promised here are some of the pictures I have taken from my time at Lake Taupo. I have also added some pictures I took earlier to-day (Wed 2nd July) from a place called Craters of the Moon which is just outside of lake Taupo. The ground in the area releases hot steam as a result of a geological fault lying below the ground. The weather to-day has gone back to rain and more rain. However I did have two nice days and some some wonderful views. I said I would give a roll call of thanks to Skydive Taupo, thanks guys for all of your help:Roy Clements,Lottie, Krista, Mariette (thanks for the pics), Mac, Mat, Antonio and all everyone else who made me feel so welcome.

Finally thanks to Ronan Doherty from Co Donegal who gave me 20 Dollars for NACC. Ronan was doing a skydive at the centre.

As I have moved some of the pictures of Lake Taupo onto this blog an error message has come up, so I will put those ones on when I have sorted the problem out. In the meantime I hope you like what I have posted john 2/7

New Zealand

2008-06-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

Got into Auckland about 5.00 pm last Thursday 26th. I was to make my way to Lake Taupo, I thought it was about 2 hours away but was advised when I pickled the hire car up it was more like 3.5 hrs. I decided it was too far to drive that night as I had been up since 5.30 am. As it happens it was a good decision as the journey eventually took me in total over 4 hours. I headed for a Hamilton about 120km from Auckland to spend the night and got quite a nice room at a Motel for a reasonable price.
I got to Lake Taupo the following day but the weather had started to deteriorate quite badly with very heavy rain and quite strong winds. The weather really only cleared properly yesterday. I am staying at a backpackers Lodge called Rainbow Lodge, its quite nice, I have my own room with a shower and toilet. The place is actually run and owned by a Scottish guy called Ross, there is a constant stream of people coming and going from all corners of the world. This is the second time on my journey I have stayed in a backpackers lodge, the other was at Byron Bay. If you are on a tight budget I can certainly recommend them.
As I said the weather has now cleared, its cold but sunny, just like a nice crisp winters day at home. Lake Taupo is more or less in the middle of North Island and is huge, more like a small sea. The mountains and volcanoes surrounding the lake are beautiful and so big.
There is also another local connection I have found. There is a guy who drives the limo for Skydive Taupo, he is called John he comes from Sedgefield.
Now to the Skydiving, there are 3 skydive operations in Lake Taupo, all situated at Taupo Airport, Skydiving is very big here, mainly tandems (its a lot cheaper here than in England). The centre I have been jumping at is Skydive Taupo, they operate a Cresco Turbine, which takes 8 or 9 people. Its quite a plane and Pink (you can't miss it). All of the staff have been great, I will give them a roll call later. The view from 12,000 feet is stunning, it is so clear you can see as far as the Pacific Ocean.
When I initially contacted the DZ when I arrived here I spoke to Lottie who runs the manifest and told her the reason for the trip. She has been fantastic, she contacted the local Newspaper for me, the Taupo times, and they sent a reporter and photographer out yesterday, so I was able to tell them about the charity and Colitis and Crohn's disease.
As I said the staff at the DZ have been very kind and helpful, they even gave me the first jump free.
I will be staying in Taupo until Thursday morning and then plan to head to Rotorua to try and jump at a DZ there. However the weather is forecast to turn bad again, so we will have to see how things go. I have taken quite a few pictures and the DZ have also kindly taken some pictures of me under canopy. I cannot put them on through the PC I am using at the moment. But will get them on when I can.

Sydney + Gareth !!

2008-06-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing storey. Yesterday I went into Sydney from Picton by train. Because the train was splitting (only so many carriages on the train were going into central Sydney) I had to move carriages, the carriage was quite full and I sat down next to a young bloke. After a while he turned to me and asked if the train was stopping at Central (what a person to ask), I said I hoped so as I was heading in that direction. His accent was local, as very local, he then asked me where I came from, I told him Sunderland, he then said he was also from Sunderland. Within minutes we both realised we actually knew each other, I had interviewed him for a Job in my department a few years previously (the move was blocked by his boss). His name is Gareth (sorry Gareth can't remember surname) and he had worked at our garages at Stoneygate and on Wessington way. Gareth has been out here for about a year and loves it here. He offered to show me around Sydney, which was great for me as I got to see much more than if I started off on my own. The chances of such a meeting must be millions to one, life is so surprising.

So to Sydney, first impressions are is its just what you expect, the Sydney opera house is incredible and much bigger than it looks on TV. The Sydney harbour bridge is huge. It has some scaffolding on it at the moment, but it still looks good. You can actually walk up and over the spans of the bridge. We could just make out a couple of groups walking on each span as we were watching. The shore line is very busy with all kinds of ferries, charter boats and the like coming and going all of the time. The weather was very good when we were there so there are some nice pictures. The city its self is a bit infectious as you don't want to leave. I only scratched the surface on my wanders. Anyone who likes shopping would love it. One of the large shopping areas is named after Queen Victoria, its very old fashioned inside and has several levels with a central atrium. If you have been to Jenners in Edinburgh its a lot like that but bigger. The Pope is visiting the city in about a months time, so the Cathedral St Mary's is getting all spruced up for the visit. Gareth had to leave about 1 pm but before we split we got someone to take a picture of us to-gether to prove we actually met. I hope he gets what he needs to continue his life in OZ.

By about 3.30 I was worn out and set off back to Picton. As usual I have attached a whole load of pictures, I hope you like them. Finally, I have attached a photo taken at Sydney Skydivers the other day, I had trouble posting it the first time round. Off to New Zealand to-morrow, so not sure when next posting will be .john 25/6

Mowbray Park Farm

2008-06-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

On my last posting I promised some pictures. You will see a couple of people in the shots, one is of Paul by the tractor, he came out to OZ 25 years ago from Wigan, he still has the Wigan accent but loves Australia. I was helping Paul a few days around the farm and he is a great guy. The other picture is of Fred shearing a sheep, he has had 58 years practice at taking the top coat off, so he is a bit of an expert. The other pictures of kittens, donkeys, alpacas etc were taken this morning on my trip around the farm. The farm itself is set in about 200 acres of rolling green countryside.

Now to Sydney

2008-06-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Sydney from Brisbane last Thursday about 3.30 . However by the time I got sorted out I hit the rush hour traffic. By the time I got to Picton which is about 65 miles from Sydney it was pitch black and lashing down with rain. Got hopelessly lost several times, however did eventually find the place I was staying at about 7.15 pm. I am staying at a place called Mowbray Park. Its called a farm, but you would consider it more of a country house. Its owned and run by the Couch family. They have holiday accommodation for all ages. I have spent a few days helping out and its a great place for kids, they can run about, go horse riding, have camp fires and generally let their hair down. They also host conferences and have specialist riding events for adults. I have been made to feel very much at home by everyone here. There is a web site you can visit which will tell you much more about the place http://www.farmstayholidays.com.au/

I will get some pictures of the place on my next posting.

The farm is run by Blair Briggs who manages the farm with with his wife Jacqui (Jacqui is part of the Couch family), they have very generously agreed to let me stay here free of charge, the money I would have paid will be donated to NACC.

Now to skydiving. I have managed to get to Sydney Skydivers on Saturday, its a bigger operation than I expected. It has a large landing area and good facilities. It operates a PAC Turbine and and Skyvan. I got to jump out of both of them. I did 3 jumps in all. A solo, a two way and a 3 way. Everyone seemed very friendly and I had no trouble finding someone to jump with. I have put some pictures on the blog of my visit to the DZ. There is a nice one with the Australian flag on it. I am not sure if I am going to get back to the DZ as my time .here is quite short. I plan to go into Sydney to-morrow to do some sightseeing.

Will get back with a further update on Sydney, hopefully before long

Goodbye Ramblers and Toogoolawah

2008-06-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

It's funny how some places leave an impression on you. This has been one of those places for me. I will not miss the trips to the loo in the middle of the night - though I did get a fantastic view of the stars and the milky way. I will not miss the cold of the caravan in the last couple of nights. I will however miss the people, Sarah and Gus, Rodney, Macca, Al, Harvey (the backs healing up now!!), Dave (monkey), Lynette and her mom at the video shop where I sent all of my e-mails from, plus other too numerous to mention (you who know me know what I am like with names).
Toogoolawah and the general area are just so down to earth, with some beautiful scenery and a much better pace of life - as for the Ramblers Skydive, I and most other skydivers could not ask for more.
One final thing before I close, the local radio station Valley FM 95.9 fm is run by Anna Wheildon, Anna used to work for the BBC. I met Anna and her husband Ken a few days before I left, Anna was kind enough to allow me a live interview on her radio programme (12/6). It allowed me to talk about my journey and the charity NACC - this is the first time I have been in a radio studio - it seemed to go OK and I was thankful to be able to talk about Colitis and Crohns disease and the aims of NACC. I am a bit behind in writing this as Internet access has taken me a while to sort out. john 18/6

Byron Bay

2008-06-17T00:35:00.000-07:00

Its about a three and a half hour drive to Byron Bay. The place is about a 160 km south of Brisbane. The place was named by Captain Cook. Its an absolute surfers paradise, with a huge curving beach and rollers coming in for surfers to ride. The backdrop is green and in the distance mountainous. The colours at sunset are stunning with reds, yellow and orange. I have taken quite a few pictures and hope you like them. Some of them are taken from the lighthouse which is on a steep hill about 3km out of the centre of town. The weather has not exactly been great with quite a bit of heavy rain. However I have been able to get 2 jumps in. The view from 14,000 is spectacular. There are lots of tandems parachute jumps done here, but they do cater for experienced skydivers and they also do AFF training. All of the staff were very helpful and Steve the Chief Instructor (that's me and Steve by the plane) made me feel at home and got me onto the lifts I wanted. There is lots to see around Byron Bay, unfortunately I leave to-morrow for Sydney, but have enjoyed the experience of being here. I hope you enjoy the attached pictures. john 18/6

Ramblers North West of Brisbane

2008-06-10T20:04:00.000-07:00

Before I start on Ramblers a few words on Brisbane. In some ways it is a little like Perth in that it seems very modern with lots of high rise glass covered and glittering buildings. However where Perth is reasonably flat Brisbane is very hilly, it has a Cathedral in the centre of the city which is nestled within the towering glass sky scrapers - see pictures. Brisbane seems much bigger than Perth and there seems to be endless shops and stores. I would like to go back there again but am not sure if I will make it before I leave.

Now to Ramblers - Ramblers skydive centre is purpose built. It is located in the Somerset region which is North West of Brisbane and about 2 hours drive from Brisbane. As I got past the outskirts of the city heading to-wards a place called Esk, the countryside became very green and undulating - a bit like the lake district but not quite as hilly. I passed over a dam which skirted the Wivenhoe lake. The view was truly beautiful, with large expanses of water with green hills as a backdrop.

When I reached Ramblers I was greeted by the DZ manager a guy called Rodney, in each hand he had a cold beer, one for him and one for me as a welcome to Ramblers - not a bad start. I was shown to my accommodation which is a large caravan, not the Ritz but comfortable and dry.

Ramblers is just outside of a small town called Toogoolawah. The setting of the DZ is generally flat with some banking on the perimeter of the DZ and there are trees scattered around giving shade. The thing that has struck me is the wildlife, particularly the birds. There are parrots flying around all over - they wake you up with a right din in the morning. In the distance I have seen some kangaroo's and there is a Koala lurking around in the trees somewhere but I have not seen it yet. A few days ago I saw a huge stick insect, it must have been 8 or 9 ins long and about one and half ins thick.

The set up for parachuting here is very good. They have two Cessna Caravan Turbine aircraft which whisk you up to 14,000 feet in about 10 minutes. So far I have had 5 jumps. As ever I have made some new friends Sarah and Gus (Sara is a Kiwi and Gus is from Argentina) I have attached a picture of me and Gus with pilot Jason just before we boarded the aircraft. Two other new friends are Ceri (pronounced Kerry)and Ulli, (Ceri the name originates in Wales - though Ceri is very much an Ozzy) Ulli, Ceri's girlfriend is from Germany. All of the skydive pictures taken in this section were taken by Ceri.

This past weekend has been very busy here - its a holiday weekend to celebrate the Queens birthday, I also believe it was the anniversary of the opening of Ramblers.

Part of last weekend it was raining, so Sarah, Gus and I went to the Toogoolawah Show. It was very much a local country show with farm animals, horse riding and "Pig Racing".

I have attached some pictures taken while I have been here, I hope you will like them.

Finally next Sunday I plan to move to Byron Bay which is south of Brisbane, I am told it is very beautiful there - I will let you know john 11/6

Back to Jo Berg !!

2008-06-08T23:31:00.001-07:00

I got an e-mail from Chris Grosch who I stayed with when I went to Johannesburg (Chris is one of the founder members of JSC (Johannesburg Skydiving Club)) just to say hello. Chris pointed out that I had made a posting on my visit to JSC but for some reason it seems to have slipped off the blog - have no idea how - almost certainly pilot error !.
For the record, Jo Berg was one of the places people tried to put me off visiting, but I must honestly say I was shown such kindness while I was there, particularly from Chris and friends and neighbours, at no time did I feel at risk. Clearly you need to take advice from wherever, but you need to make your own mind up and take sensible precautions.
The DZ at JSC is about 60 miles outside of the city. While I was there the weather was great and I got 6 jumps in. The facilities at the club are very good, they have a great canteen, nice bar and all the facilities you would expect from a well run and busy DZ. The plane they had was as PAC turbine. Very fast and got us up to 11'500 feet in about 10 minutes.
The DZ its self is at 5,ooo above sea level which makes it about the third highest DZ in the world.
The land around the DZ is quite flat, its in a Gold Mining region so you can see the mines as you fly up to altitude. Because the air much thinner there I had to be a bit more careful as I came into land as the parachute flies though the air with less resistance. However no problems and had good landings.
I left JSC with very good memories and made some new friends. 9/6

Skydive Express - East of Perth - OZ

2008-06-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

I moved up to Skydive Express on Friday 30th May. Its about a 3 hr drive from Pinjarra to York. York is East of Perth and very much inland compared to where I was staying before. York is quite a small town and quite old fashioned apparently there are lots of festivals held there. I wish I had time to look around, but I was staying at the DZ at Skydive Express which is a little way out of town.

Skydive Express is a much bigger operation than the previous DZ. In some ways its very similar to the JSC at Jo Berg. They have a Cessna Caravan and a Cessna 182. They operate up to 15,000 feet. While I was there the weather was good and I got 6 Jumps in. All from 12,000 ft +. The thing that you notice from that height is how flat the countryside is, its quite green, though they have had quite a bit of rain, I gather the countryside changes colour quite quickly depending upon how dry or wet it is.

As with everywhere I have been I was well looked after. The canteen facilities are run by a lady called Toots and on an evening they did real home cooked meals. Plenty to eat and very reasonably priced. The place is owned by a guy called John, he has clearly invested a lot in the place and its really quite modern with good shower and toilet facilities. The Chief instructor is a guy called Dixie, he and his partner had just come back from Perris in the US and he clearly has lots of experience and runs a very slick operation.

With luck I have attached a few pictures for you to have a look at. As I write this blog, I am at video shop in Toogoolawah using there Internet connection and I have forgot to bring with me the list of pictures. The pictures should be me and Dixie, Skydive Express plane, Bell Tower (very modern) from the waterfront in Perth - I think the bells in the tower came from St Martin in the Fields in London. Perth street scene.

Finally, its my birthday to-day so I am going to celebrate by having a coffee and cake in the local coffee shop (when I find it).

Chow for now John 4/6

First Jumps in Australia

2008-05-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

Finally manged to get two jumps in yesterday, Mon 26th. They were both from 10,000 feet. I was a solo slot between 2 tandems. The plane is only a Cessna 182 but is surprisingly fast as it has a supercharger fitted. The scenery is quite something, Pinjarra is not very far from the sea, so you have the Indian Ocean, then a belt of very green fertile area and then the bush for as far as you can see. The first thing to hit me after I exited the plane was the difference in the air, it is difficult to describe but it felt as though there was a real quality to it. It may be the contrast to South Africa where I was jumping at quite a high altitude. whatever it was it was nice. I had the sky all to myself, as the tandems were way above me(I went out first). Two nice safe uneventful landings, just where I wanted them to be.

The icing on the cake was that Rob O'Neill who owns the Centre gave me the jumps for free. We eventually agreed that a case of beer was suitable payment (for you skydivers out there. it was a first !!!).

I have attached a couple of pictures taken by one of the tandem masters Kim Brooks (Brooks'y), the other guys in the shot are Jim Whitfield -the pilot (white T shirt RHS), The other guy is the other tandem master on the lift Doug Harvey. May get some more jumps in here in the next day or so but on Friday I am going to move onto another DZ at York, called Skydive Express, this way I get another DZ in.

That's all for now. john/27/5

Australia

2008-05-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Journey from Jo Berg was a marathon, it eventually took about 26 hours. Over the next couple of days I genuinely lost a day and eventually asked someone what day it was.

The route initially took me from Jo Berg to Sydney - for those of you who know their geography its a long way past Perth. I had to change flights at Sydney to board yet another 747 to fly back to Perth - trouble was the connecting flight was running so late they put me onto another flight. Things just went from bad to worse as that plane was eventually delayed by about 2 hours. Its about a 5 hr flight from Sydney to Perth. Long storey cut short after various telephone calls to the hotel and car hire people to tell them I was running late I eventually got to the hotel just after 3 am, needless to say I had no trouble getting to sleep, unfortunately it was not for long as I had to check out at 11 am.

Woke up to a beautiful morning and not a cloud in the sky. The hotel I was staying in was in the centre of Perth. Perth is very modern with sky scrapers and many shops and stores. Lots of hustle and bustle - a nice vibe. I will attach a couple of pictures to show you what I mean.

However all good things must come to an end - I needed to head south to a place called Pinjarra, which is a small town about 70 miles away, the parachute centre is located on the outskirts of the town.

I am staying in a cabin in a caravan park and for most of the time I have been here its been raining. However come Sunday when I am drafting this it has eventually stopped and the forecast is better for the next few days. So no skydiving yet, but I have been out to the DZ, picture attached.

There is not much in Pinjarra but there is a city about 12 miles away on the coast called Mandurah. Mandurah is right on the edge of the Indian Ocean, its very much a boating community, with some very smart houses and nice waterfront with cafe's and restaurants. A series of canals have been constructed in recent years and this is where you will see the most expensive housing and posh boats.

As I have said I have not got any jumping in yet and I am looking at the possibility of trying another couple of DZ's, one of them interestingly enough is called Hillman Farm Skydiving.

Finally for now the obvious contrast between South Africa and Australia is the vegetation. Where Johannesburg and to a lesser extent Cape Town are quite arid, Australia is (or this part) is very green, hopefully will get some pictures on this later. Even though its winter here, its not particularly cold. When the sun does get out its nicely warm - even hot. John 26/5

Well done the two Sarah's +Rachael

2008-05-23T00:57:00.000-07:00

I got a text message from Sarah Hewitson to say she had done the tandem jump, I am assuming Sarah Close was also on board. Well done girls I am proud of you, and of Rachael who did the jump earlier. Thanks for all of your combined fundraising efforts and the courage to do the jump. john 23/5

Goodbye South Africa

2008-05-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

I am now in Mandurah a city south of Perth in Australia and I am using the Wi Fi Internet service at the local library. But before I start on Australia I thought I would put some of the pictures from Cape Town and Johannesburg on the blog. The pictures are: Birds Eye view of Table Mountain, JSC Parachute place a PAC, View of the main Street in Simon's Town, Penguins at Boulder Bay and finally a picture of me in my Kwik Fit T shirt (thanks Dave), at JSC parachute centre Jo Berg.

Will give a separate post on my journey to Perth, it took 26 hours, and my body clock does not know what day it is yet !!. john 22/5

Good Bye Cape Town

2008-05-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

To start off on a bad note, I did not get to jump to-day. Woke up to a grey sky, it had been raining during the night. However went into Cape Town (I know my way there now) and amongst other things visited the aquarium. Its quite big, with two big show pools with sharks, rays and all kinds of large fish. There are smaller displays also, all interesting with some fish with vivid colouring.
One thing I have learned over this first week, is I need to make the most of the place I am in. I have concentrated all of my efforts over the past 4 months into planning the skydive side of things. There really is a lot to see in Cape Town and I have only touched the edges. What I have learned is it is a place of contrasts. You pass some of the Townships on the way in from the airport, they are slowly improving the housing and you can see that also, but its going to take I don't know how many years to get the standard of living up to what we would consider reasonable. For all that I have found everyone friendly, courteous and helpful. You also see the wealthy side of Cape Town with smart cars and offices and buildings, shopping malls to match anything we have at home.
There is also a contrast in the places you go to. When I went down to Simon's Town, the feel of the place is like another country again, more like going back a 100 years. The buildings are brightly coloured and well kept. On speaking to Esther the lady who runs Elements where I am staying, she says this is typical of the area, lots of different experiences in the places you visit. I did not get to the wine region, mainly because I was hoping the weather would change. But if I do come back here and I would like to, I will certainly make the effort.
I am going to sign off now, need to finish packing and I have half a bottle of SA wine to address !!. Hopefully will post a few more pictures from my stay here when I can.
Johannesburg in the morning, not sure when I will be able to log on next, but will manage it somehow. Finally Cape Town is a wonderful place and if you want somewhere to stay, check out the Elements web site http://www.elements-capetown.com/ john 15/5

13th May - Sarah's Birthday

2008-05-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Sarah Hope you have had good day. The weather was not expected to be good to-day and at first it was not great and consequently the parachute centre was not operating. At least this left me free to do other things. I was given strict instructions before I left home to get some pictures of Penguins, and this I have now done. Just down from where I am staying is a refuge that looks after penguins and seabirds. I was given a tour of the premises this morning and then went to see them in their natural habitat near to Simon's Town at a place called Boulder's Beach. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. There is also a picture of Table Mountain. I took this on my way back this afternoon at just after 5.30 pm. Its only been to-day that I have actually been able to see Table Mountain - it is stunning. Hope you like the pictures, let me know what you think. Finally I am to contact the DZ first thing in the morning, so keep your fingers crossed. john 13/5

Cape Town

2008-05-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

The weather is still no good for skydiving so have spent some more time in Cape Town. I have taken quite a few pictures which rather than me witter on you might like to see. Most of them are taken around the Victoria Quay area, as you will see its very smart and modern, there is one of a sailing ship which is under restoration, I think its called the Europa. The navy was in town so there are some pictures of some ships (I know boy's stuff - but my Dad will like them). Chow for now. john 12/5

11May Cape Town

2008-05-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

The weather as expected has not been good so have spent some time in the harbour area of Cape Town. Its very modern, lots of classy shops and places to eat and its cheaper than home.

For now will just attach a couple of photo's taken from Friday, have only just worked out how to work the re sizing program for the pictures - will see if it works. john 11/5

South Africa

2008-05-10T01:53:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Cape Town just before 8 am yesterday -the aircraft I flew in was a Boeing 747 I have never been in one of these before - have got to say I am pleased I don't have long legs.
Discovered one of my cases had been very badly damaged somewhere between Newcastle and arriving in Cape Town - ironically the case was marked as fragile for me when it was checked in as it had my parachute in it. However the staff at BA in Cape Town airport were very helpful and gave me a brand new case to replace the one that was damaged.
I am staying at a place called Elements Lodge in a town called Blaauwberg just outside of Cape Town. Elements is run by a young couple called Esther and Remo. Remo comes from Switzerland and he collected me from the Airport, Esther comes from Liechtenstein and they set up the business 4 years ago. They are a smashing couple and are really looking after me well.
Now to the parachuting, the weather here is not great at the moment and the forecast for the rest of the weekend is not good. However I contacted Mark Bellingham the Chief Instructor at Skydive Cape Town. In view of the forecast I decided to go out to the DZ yesterday afternoon. Its about 15 miles from where I am staying - Esther had previously organised a hire car for me so transport was not a problem. I went to the DZ mid afternoon.
The DZ is about 2 miles off the highway along a dirt road, so I had to drive slowly and take it careful with the car. Mark checked all of my documents, the Parachute Association of South Africa had given me free membership for 90 days. Thanks to Neeve at PASA my membership card was waiting for me at the DZ.
Well I did get to jump, I joined two tandems and Sean the cameraman in a Cessna 206 and went up to 9,000 feet. The weather was a bit grey so I could not see table mountain but I did get a good view of the countryside and more importantly for this first jump I could see the DZ (there is almost nothing worse than not being able to see where you are and not having a clue where to land). However all went well and I had a good landing in the place I wanted to land. The icing on the cake was the jump was free in view of the cause - thank Mark.
It looks doubtful that I will get any jumping in this weekend because of the weather, wind and rain are forecast, but the DZ is open all week, hopefully the weather will break and I will get in some jumps during the week.
I had hoped it is the people I meet that will in a very big way make the trip for me - I have not been disappointed - everyone has been very helpful and friendly and have all wanted to know more about the trip.
That's all for now john 10/5

Heading off to South Africa

2008-05-08T01:01:00.000-07:00

Now completing last minute packing and various other things. The BBC came good and I had my first interview last night by Rhod Sharp, it was being broadcast between 1.00 am and 2.00 this morning on the Up All Night Program on Radio 5 Live. It seemed to go OK, I had the chance to give NACC a good mention. Rhod was easy to speak to and put me at ease. They are going to broadcast further interviews as I travel round. I don't know the dates yet. Will keep you posted. I have finally decided to get a laptop, largely thanks to the saving I made with National Car Rental - thanks also to Falcon Computers for the discount. So I should be able keep the blog updated now and have no worries about how I am going to get pictures on.
Must dash now - have a plane or two to catch !!!. John 8/5/08

The Night Before the Night Before

2008-05-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

Only one more full day then I am off on the big one. There has been still so much to do, accommodation car hire, the jobs I must get done at home, as well as sorting various horse issues out ( Sarah - my daughter, keeps me busy with something to do with the horse).

One of my biggest head aches by far has been transport from the various international airports to the DZ's (Drop Zones). They invariably are in the middle of nowhere and public transport is either a challenge or non existent. However my friends at National Car Rental have really helped me out big time. Sarah Philp has been a real star no doubt assisted by many others and arranged hire cars in every location that I needed them, I am even called a VIP - (I can live with that). They have even covered the cost of two of the hires for me, in view of the cause (NACC) for which I am truly grateful.

I am hoping BBC 5 Live will be contacting me to-morrow - will have to wait and see.

One final thing before I go, Empuriabrava is a great melting pot for meeting skydivers. I met Claudia who works on the manifest in Empuria. Claudia is from Brazil, as soon as I mentioned I was going to Sao Paulo she was elated, she has since contacted her friends out there to tell them I am going out there on my trip, so I feel very sure I will have a great welcome there.

Will try and get one more update in before I go

Adeos j 6/5

Back from Empuriabrava

2008-04-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

Got back from Empuria on Monday. Learnt a lot while I was out there and met some great people. I have attached some photographs from the trip. The group picture is the people on the course with Brian Vacher who took the course in the middle on the back row. There is also a photo of Kim the lady I mentioned in the last blog. The picture was taken by Mel, Kim's husband and is just after our last jump to-gether. Mel is a big Man U fan, he should be at least very happy to-night after beating Barcelona last night. I hope Angie likes the single photo (recognise the jump suit).Whilst I was in Empuria I made some valuable contacts for the trip ahead and was given a generous donation for NACC for which I am very grateful.

I am now working like mad to get everything ready before I leave next Thursday. I think there will still be some things, accommodation wise to sort out, I will have to work them out as I go. I have been contacting the various Parachuting Federations in the counties I am going to to get licences etc. The Parachute Association of South Africa have very kindly given me free 90 day membership of their association. I have found everyone I have been dealing with extremely helpful. I have been warned about visiting certain parts of South Africa, but I must say the people I have been dealing with have bent over backwards to help me, answering numerous e-mails and never letting me feel that I was being a pest.

There still seems to be a lot of interest in the trip and I hope that will increase even more after the first Radio 5 Live interview -I think that's on the 7th May. However I did discover while I was in Empuria that I was going to miss not being able to check my e-mails and up date my blog as much. I did not intend to take a laptop with me, for one I don't have one and it is one more thing to carry or get stolen. However I am re-thinking this now. I do need to keep in touch with my e-mails and be able to update my blog, I would like to put pictures on whenever I can, I found I could not do this in Empuria even though I was able to get on a PC some of the time. I am going to try and find out if I can borrow a lap top and have put a couple of feelers out - will see what happens.

That's all for now, will update again at least once before I leave. j 30/4

Empuriabrava

2008-04-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

The canopy course ended on Wednesday. We manged to get all 10 jumps in as the weather has been good. Have really enjoyed the course and met some nice people. There were 6 of us in total, Mick, Bob, Darren, Stephanie, Geoff and me. With the exception of Stephanie who was from Belgium the rest of us were Brits.

There is quite a contrast to scenery around Empuria. To the North is the Pyrenees (the direction we fly before we jump out) and to the East is the Mediterian. Empuriabrava is on the coast just south of the French border. If you would like to find out more and see some neat pictures log onto http://www.skydiveempuriabrava.com/ . I will get some new pictures onto the blog once I get back to the UK next week. I must mention that the parachute centre is co owned by a North East lad Pete Jones, Pete has always made me welcome whenever I come to Empuria ( so there are no language barriers !!!).

Have done some skydives to-day with Kim, who is out here on a break with her husband.

I still have lots to still sort out when I get back home. One of my main concerns at the moment is car hire. It looks like I am going to have to-hire a car more than I would like. I have made contact with a couple of the big car hire companies to see if I can get some sort of deal sorted out and await developments. If any car hire companies are listening out there please get in touch.

Thats all for now. Will update again soon. jh 25/4

2008-04-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Empuriabrava two days ago, Sunday night actually. I am attending a canopy control course run by a guy called Brian Vacher who co- own´s The Safe Flight School. Its been very busy since we started. Did a lot of theory yesterday but did get 2 jumps in. To-day Tuesday we have been at full speed all day and have done 6 jumps to-day. I am learing, or re-learning a lot which should prepare me well for the coming months. There are 6 of us and all of us are enjoying the experience. Weather in Spain to-night is fine and pleasantly warm. Have met up with some old friends, Tim, Katherine, Lynn and Regan from my days at Brunton - they have all been living in Spain for some years now, its good to see them again. Thats all for now Cheers j. 22/4

Next Stop Spain

2008-04-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

Off to Empuriabrava in Spain to-morrow to attend a Canopy Control course given by a guy called Brian Vacher. Empuriabrava is north of Barcelona and on the coast. Its one of the busiest Drop Zones (DZ) in the world. The course lasts for three day and it will help sharpen up my landing skills. Since I will be visiting so many different DZ's on my travels its particularly appropriate at the moment. I am out there for eight days in total back to the UK early on the 28th. I was hoping after the course to go over the border into France to a place called Gap. However due to my impeccable planning (not) I did not realise just how far away it is - 200 miles, so might not get there, will just have to do more jumping at Empuria.
As for everything else, since I got back from Ireland I have worked away to tray and get transport and accommodation arrangements sorted out for the rest of my trip. I am getting there but progress is slow and frustrating at times. But I am getting there, but there will still be lots to do when I get back from Spain. I have made one change to my plans and added another flight. Instead of staying in Miami I am going to fly up to Tampa and go to a DZ called Zepher Hills. Its halfway up the West Coast of Florida, I have spoken to them there, they have been very friendly and helpful, they are even going to pick me up from the Airport.
Finally for know, I have had a bit of good luck in Johannesburg. One of the Founder members of Johannesburg Skydiving Club has is going to put me up in his home while I am there and take me to the DZ. That's a real big help. As ever never underestimate the kindness of people.
Will try and get some posts in while I am away.
John 19/4

National Assocaition of Colitis and Crohn's NACC

2008-04-16T01:20:00.000-07:00

Hi All, Should have put this in earlier. One of the main drivers for this trip is to raise some money for NACC and awareness of Colitis and Crohn's disease. If you have a minute please have a look at www.justgiving.com/johnhillam and if you have a spare shekel or two lighten your pockets.
John 16/4

Ireland Trip

2008-04-15T08:34:00.000-07:00

Got back from Ireland yesterday. The first stop was the Irish Parachute Centre about 45 miles west of Dublin. Met some great people, Mr and Mrs H who looked after me so well in Clonbullogue. Vinney who showed me round the parachute centre and Coley the CCI. They have some very good facilities and some great jump ships (Aircraft), they have a Pilatus Porter, a Cessna 182, and they are putting the finishing touches to a 206 turbine. The centre has been running since 1956 and they are well established in the local area. Unfortunately the weather did not play ball. I was hoping to jump on Saturday morning, but is was raining and the cloud base was too low. Apparently it cleared about an hour after I left - that's skydiving. I will make a big effort to go back there, spoke to a lot of regulars and they seem a great bunch.

Now to Northern Ireland, John McCourt a friend of mine picked me up from Londonderry Airport. John had it all thought out and within an hour and a half I was at 13,500 doing a two way skydive with Stephen one of the club members. The parachute centre in Northern Ireland is called Wild Geese and is located between Belfast and Londonderry, again it too has great facilities. The main aircraft is a Cessna Caravan turbine and Cessna 206 used for students. As with the South the staff and club members could not have been more helpful, Maggie the CCI and Judith who runs manifest made sure I got onto lifts and generally sorted me out. On Sunday I had two more jumps and the pilot was Alex Brand (who works for Loganair - Loganair kindly donated the flights). Each of these jumps was from 13,000 feet and John jumped with me on the last one and took some fantastic photographs. Provided I can master some of the technology you should be able to see some of these attached. I was told in advance that I would be impressed with the set up in Ireland. If you are a Skydiver, go there you will not be disappointed.

Finally, thanks to Sharon and John for looking after me so well, they made me feel very much at home.

So 3 jumps 39,500 ft so far, just 960,500 to a 1,000,000 jh 15/4

Off on the First Leg

2008-04-10T00:48:00.000-07:00

8.45 am 10/4 Just getting ready to set off for Glasgow Airport to catch flight to Dublin, will be there about 6.00 pm. Had a great send off from work yesterday, quite emotional for us all. Got a very smart MP3 player as yet another leaving present, I now just need to work out how to use it !.

First entry

2008-04-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

Well the first step is nearly here. Set off for Ireland in two days time. Still loads to organise for the BIG trip but have made some good contacts who are helping with info accommodation addresses etc. Finish work to-morrow, so lots of good bye's. All the staff at work have been fantastic, they even arranged a surprise party for me a week past Friday. It was more like this is your life. So I guess not a bad note to end the entry on - lets see what life has to bring over the coming months jh 8/4/08