“No Need for Parking - An African Rock Adventure” is the story of Mike Blyth, Marianne Schwankhart and James Pitman’s epic June 2006 flying and rock-climbing adventure in Southern Africa.

Having climbed massive rock walls in some of the most inhospitable parts of the world, during early 2006 Marianne and James, both from Johannesburg, felt the longing to travel to their most beautiful “home” rock walls in the Southern African subcontinent. With only limited time available to them, they decided to call upon the legendary flying skills of their friend, Mike Blyth, to assist them in reaching the wild and isolated faces which they hoped to climb, by microlight aircraft. Mike, ex-world microlight piloting champion and veteran of numerous flying adventures and two documentary films, proposed that they each take along a video camera to document their journey.

In pioneering spirit the three agreed that their adventure should include the region’s most difficult and dramatic big-wall rock climbs, namely the 400 meter basalt face of the Blouberg massif of the Limpopo Province, South Africa, the 350 meter granite face of the Great Spitzkoppe, central Namibia and the 500 meter overhanging sandstone face of the infamous Klein Winterhoek, in South Africa’s Western Cape. Climbing any one of the three chosen climbs would ordinarily pose a substantial challenge to any accomplished climber. To face all three in rapid succession, and to fly the 5 800km between them by microlight aircraft, unsupported, however, would require a unique set of strengths and skills.

In meeting the challenges thrown at them, Marianne, Mike and James are required to dig deeply into their reserves of courage and resourcefulness. They are called upon to land on precarious mountain runways, traverse wide expanses of wilderness, face repeated aircraft engine failures, overcome terrifying climbing difficulties and much more. Yet as their trip progresses it becomes clear that the journey is more about the joys of their friendship, the inimitable warmth of the African people they meet and the beauty of the wide open spaces they traverse, than facing down the problems along the way.

No Need for Parking - An African Rock Adventure, won in the category Best Film on Adventurous Sports and Lifestyles at the New Zealand Mountain Film Festival in June 2009!

A 150 films were reviewed in total for the 7th New Zealand Mountain Festival (http://www.mountainfilm.net.nz). No Need for Parking won a joint position, and we are looking forward to more awards in the foreseeable future.