Walking in the Sky With Vodacom

Yesterday I flew over Joburg in a helicopter.

This experience was so crazy and unexpected – I hardly know how to explain it. But here’s how it went, briefly:

Last week I was invited to participate in a mysterious “Instawalk” hosted by Vodacom. (If you don’t know what an Instawalk is, read here.) The invitation was shrouded in secrecy. I signed on right away, sensing something extraordinary.

Yesterday a group of about 15 Instagrammers, myself included, converged on a rooftop in downtown Joburg. We were greeted by representatives from Vodacom and a communications agency called Cerebra. We each received a new olloclip – a nifty iPhone lens attachment – and were instructed to mark our Instagram posts with the hashtag “#Vodawalk”. (If you don’t know what Instagram is, or don’t know what a hashtag is…Just figure it out, okay?)

We had a couple of minutes to admire the view and then were ushered downstairs into cars, bound for an unknown destination.

View from the roof of 24 Park Street, near Maboneng. #Vodawalk.

Twenty minutes later we arrived at a place in Germiston called the Harvard Café. I didn’t realize until we entered the café that it is part of Rand Airport.

Rand Airport. #Vodawalk.

Next thing I knew I was in a helicopter.

Our copter. #Vodawalk.

Oh look, I’m in a helicopter. (Photo by Tim Van Rooyen, who also wrote a nice blog post about the #Vodawalk.)

I was amazed and bewildered. I didn’t have my DSLR with me. I did my best to take pics through the window, struggling to hold my phone steady against the helicopter’s wingbeats.

#Vodawalk. (I personally think the hashtag should have been #Vodaflight. But I’m not complaining, Vodacom. I heart you forever.)

#Vodawalk.

Omg. #Vodawalk.

Omg omg this is so fu&*ing amazing #Vodawalk.

Then we were back on the ground. The ride lasted about 15 minutes.

A bit later we went back to the Jozi rooftop and watched the sunset. We also had burgers and beer.

Pretty rooftop, pretty sunset. #Vodawalk.

Cool people having burgers and beer. #Vodawalk.

#Vodawalk was kind of awesome. Twenty-four hours later, I’m still buzzing.

Well done, Vodacom. You’re brilliant and you’ve earned a spot in the title of my post.

A new 2Summers Facebook profile pic, courtesy of Tim Van Rooyen. Thanks, Vodacom and Cerebra.

To see more photos from our walk in the sky, check the #Vodawalk hashtag on Instagram. Also follow me on Instagram at @2summers.

#Vodawalk, baby. #Vodawalk.