With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information. During July and August 2004 Leica Geosystems equipment was used by Young Explorers on a BSES expedition to The Mountain of God, Ol Doinyo Lengai, in northern Tanzania.

HDS (High Definition Surveying) is the combination of EDM (Electromagnetic Distance Measurement) and electronic Angle measurement to rapidly measure a very large number of 3D points to Surveying and Engineering precision.  These "point clouds" can be analysed and interrogated using sophisticated software to provide Engineers with detailed information for design and analysis.  Leica Geosystems' product family includes powerful and versatile time-of-flight ranging systems such as the Leica ScanStation 2 and ultra-high-speed, phased-based ranging systems, such as the new Leica HDS6000.  Leica Cyclone and Leica CloudWorx software provide a full set of Leica-quality geo-referencing, surveying, and CAD integrated engineering tools for creating accurate deliverables and managing large scan data sets with unparalleled ease.

HANDYKAM sell a range of high quality wildlife camera products like bird box cameras, nest box cameras and outdoor cameras for many wildlife and commercial applications.

Visit HANDYKAM to discover how you can view and record birds in your own nest box.

Lantern House, Ilfracombe, A Regency Retreat by the Sea

A wonderful North Devon holiday home; perfect for families and large groups, comfortably sleeping up to 12 people with ample living space, stunning sea and harbour views, and a delightful enclosed, sheltered garden.

Links to Panorama Related Sites and Software

Links include PanoramaStudio, PTGui, Pano2VR, panoramic tripod head suppliers and 360° panoramas

Nodal Ninja is a specially designed spherical tripod head allowing the photographer to adjust a camera and lens so the “entrance pupil” (front nodal point) is exactly over its correct rotational axis. This helps to eliminate parallax error inherent when shooting multiple images.   Their web site states "The lightest smallest panoramic tripod head on the market today. Nodal Ninja is a low cost solution for both amateurs and professionals alike that seek precision, portability, reliability as well as top notch support."

Backpacking Gear

Hiking, travel and backpacking gear by Osprey packs, Dakine, Arcteryx, Marmot Sleeping Bags, North Face Backpacks and Salomon Hiking Boots.

It is more than 60 years since explorer Wilfred Thesiger travelled the Empty Quarter with his Omani companions.

Setting off on 1st January 2009 Mark Evans and John Smith will spend 28 days living and travelling in the sands of the Empty Quarter (Rub Al Khali) in Oman exploring not only the place, but the people who live there. 

Daily blogs and images will be sent out by an Inmarsat connection and posted on this web site.

On December 16th 2004, Mark Evans launched his 17ft kayak into the waters off Musandam in the Sultanate of Oman to raise money for the Oman National Association for Cancer Awareness.  Mark completed the first part his journey on 3rd January 2005, and continued his progress along the coast of Oman during Easter 2005.  On the 5th January 2006 Mark arrived in Salalah. The journey was completed on Monday 9th January bringing to an end Mark's 1700 Km journey around the coastline of Oman. This photograph of Mark paddling out through the surf was taken by John Smith, who was Mark’s back up in the Land Rover.  Visit John’s website, www.photonz.net, and see his other stunning images from Oman and other exciting parts of the world.

Established in 2004, Connecting Cultures is a unique educational initiative that promotes face to face dialogue with young people from the western and Arab world via short wilderness journeys. In February 2007 a team of 14 young people from seven nations crossed 100 Km of desert in the Sultanate of Oman, using camels for support. In February and April 2008 Connecting Cultures worked with 36 young people from Europe and the Arab world.  This is part of the “Connecting Cultures” initiative in which Mark Evans is involved.  Visit the “Connecting Cultures” web site for more information.

Photograph by kind permission of Bruce Kirkby.

Gane and Marshall are specialists in African safaris and provided the logistical support for our BSES expedition to Northern Tanzania in 2004.  They have a wealth of knowledge and experience of  travel in this wonderful part of the world.  Gane and Marshall have been organizing Kilimanjaro climbs since 1991, and in 2009 Jeremy Gane was appointed project manager and guide for the Comic Relief celebrity Kilimanjaro climb.  Take an African safari with Gane and Marshall and see a wide variety of natural wonders found in landscapes that have remained unspoiled for many hundreds of years. Gane and Marshall organise safaris and treks to: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zanzibar, Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius.

From the Africa’s Blue Nile Gorge to rivers of the Arctic tundra; from high Asia and the Himalaya to Arabia’s Empty Quarter, Bruce Kirkby’s journeys have taken him around the globe. His website provides access to images and reports from his latest adventures, archives from past expeditions, and the opportunity to learn more about future events.  Visit Bruce's site and enjoy his stunning images from around the world.

Courtesy of Frederick A. Belton.

LISCAD is a portfolio of integrated land surveying and civil engineering software modules.  It is intuitive and easy to use as well as being flexible and adaptable to your procedures.  Liscad is marketed worldwide by Leica Geosystems.  This software was used to process the survey observations made with Leica Total Stations during the BSES 2004 expedition to the Gregory Rift and Ol Doinyo Lengai and to create the contour map of the crater from the reflectorless measurements with the Leica TPS1205.

McCarthy Taylor Systems Ltd is an independent software house specialising in 3D terrain modelling software. This is used across a wide range of industries and applications ranging from mineral extraction, land surveying, hydrographic design and surveying, civil engineering, construction, landscape architecture, consultancy, to air and traffic accident investigation, geotechnical engineering, waste management and archaeology. This software was used to model the crater of Ol Doinyo Lengai.

The BSES expedition to northern Tanzania during July and August 2004 benefited from the generous sponsorship from Leica Geosystems in the United Kingdom with the loan of ‘state-of-the-art’ surveying equipment. Leica GPS500 was used to locate and height the positions for Gravity survey readings across the floor of the Rift Valley and in the locality of Ol Doinyo Lengai. The relative heights between Gravity points, which were approximately 10Km apart, were required to centimetre accuracy, which was achieved using the Leica GPS. Modern Leica Total Stations were used for other surveying and mapping tasks and the recently launched Leica TPS1200 long-range pinpoint reflectorless Instrument was used to map a 3D terrain model of the active crater of Ol Doinyo Lengai. Leica Geosystems is well represented throughout the African continent and promoted in October 2004 with a ‘road show’ in South Africa with venues in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.