Issue No 21 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN 87
the RAF. His mother and sister were also there.
Much as we would have liked to stay, we had to
push on to Bulawayo at 1130hr.
Our route took us over 200 miles [320km] of
rich plains and bush country which is almost
completely uninhabited and just waiting for
settlers to come along and make use of the
country. When we were flying fairly low at one
point during the journey I was amused to see
two ostriches scuttling along in the bush with
their wings stretched out and their long legs
moving at an amazing speed.
We had the wind against us and did not
land at Bulawayo until 1400hr, when we were
enthusiastically received by the faithful few.
We had luxurious bedrooms in the Prince’s
Residential Flats and were royally fed at the
club, an excellent institution of long-standing
tradition. After dinner they introduced us to
a special South African liqueur called Van der
Hum, which was appreciated by all. Then we
were taken to the pictures, where some of our
hosts succumbed to the after-effects of our
excellent dinner by falling asleep.
At last, South Africa
At 0700hr on March 8 we set out for the Union of
South Africa with no small feeling of excitement.
Our kind friends warned us that we were going
into a foreign country, and that we ought to be
on our very best behaviour, as the Dutch South
Africans were rather “touchy”, but I for one
found this warning entirely unnecessary.
Soon after leaving Bulawayo we crossed over
the famous Matobo Hills and flew above the
semi-bush country until we reached the lazy
Limpopo river, which languidly twists, curls and
winds through the plains forming the boundary
between Southern Rhodesia and the Union of
South Africa. Technically speaking, we were now
flying over the high veldt, which is semi-bush
country broken by red granite kopjes of amazing
shapes and sizes, and by long mountain ranges
such as the well known Drakensberg, with its
curious outcrops and foreboding irregular peaks.
At 0950hr we landed at Pietersburg [now
Polokwane] which is a queer little farming
dorp at the back of beyond. Here I opened my
sandwiches, which the Bulawayo Club had
provided for us, and was pleasantly surprised to
find there was also a small bottle of beer and an
opener. A similar gift was received by everyone
else — what a club! Exactly one hour later we
took off for the last stage of our journey.
I personally was most excited. Shortly
after leaving Pietersburg the veldt dropped
considerably in height and took on a moreABOVE One of the many photographs taken by the
author during the 1934 East African tour, this one
shows one of the circular rondavel huts that were part
of the hotel at Mbeya in Tanganyika (now Tanzania),
where the intrepid tourists had to spend two nights
while local mechanics worked on fitting a new copper
oil tank for Victoria No 4, KR2342 (R for rebuilt).
MAP BY MAGGIE NELSON