Our adventure began with a flight from Adisucipto Airport Terminal B in Yogyakarta to Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II in Palembang. This fieldwork was one of my most impressive and extreme adventures so far, as I had to navigate through oil palm and rubber forests and deal with strict plantation security guards. Without a pack of cigarettes as a tip, you couldn’t enter or leave their area. However, not all locals were so strict, but you still had to stay cautious and vigilant—what we in Javanese call "PAPAN EMPAN ADEPAN."
My work area was in Peninggalan, Bayung Lencir, Musi Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatra, Indonesia. I was there to assist a friend on a topography project to map the area. We were a team of four, with my friend Yanuar, a Geodesy Engineering graduate from UGM class of 2013, handling the topography, while I served as his assistant. The photogrammetry responsibility was managed by Eka, who operated a fixed-wing UAV drone, the Sky Walker, and was assisted by his friend Imam. Both are from Purwokerto.
Our team’s target for topography was 20 static-mode points using a Navcom GNSS, while the photogrammetry team aimed to complete six drone flights. As time went on, various challenges arose. On the first day, our driver was less skilled, resulting in only two points being completed by midday. Fortunately, Asep, the coordinator from the Geology team, arranged a better driver for us, which allowed us to reach ten points by working late into the night. Meanwhile, the photogrammetry team faced unavoidable delays due to heavy rain.
Our base camp was shared with the Geology team, which comprised 24 people. They had arrived a month earlier and rented local homes as a work base. The sanitation facilities were very poor, as the local habit was to use a nearby, slow-moving river that wasn’t very clear. Our first impression upon arrival was, "Hopefully, we can complete the work as quickly as possible and get back home."
Well, I don’t want to ramble on. I hope this documentation captures the essence of our long journey.
