87 Plettenberg Bay - Stellenbosh

23. Mar 2010

Saturday I drove from Knysna to George on the Garden Route, crossed the Montagu pass driving inland, and the Outeniqua pass coming back to the coast, visited Herolds Bay, and returned to Knysna by the Seven Passes Road for the night.

It was beautiful scenery – but not much justification for calling it “the Garden Route”? Maybe it is because of the climate change?

Sunday I returned to Plettenberg Bay airport after getting lost trying to locate it. I got there later than planned, as I was invited to lunch by a local couple I met in Botswana.

When I arrived 2 days ago, I was told I could get fuel – but the guy who I should call to get it did not answer his phone today, so I had to fly to George in order to refuel. The clouds had started to come in from the sea, so my arrival in George was Special VFR.

I had requested a password from the South African Weather Service – but instead of giving me one, they seem to want to start a correspondence, by requesting me to “supply information that supports, that I operate in the South Africa region”. So no weather info for me. How the hell do you prove, that you operate in the area. Fly by their office window?

I had planned to continue my route along the coast, but by the time I departed George, I realized, that if I flew direct to Stellenbosh, I would get there by sunset! So I decided to do that, to avoid having to land in darkness. I climbed to 6500 feet, barely enough to stay clear of the mountains on the way, and apart from announcing my position on tha common frequency, I did not talk to anyone before approaching Stellenbosh. 5 miles out I broadcasted my position, and there was just one other plane in the landing circuit, so I landed as number 2 on runway 19 in Stellenbosh.

I friendly guy came from the club house to help me push the plane to a parking spot, where I could tie it down. He also offered me a lift to town, so  I could check into a hotel.

Stellenbosh is my destination. I am going to fly back to Europe, but not for a while. I have arranged a hangar space here, and will return home by a commercial flight, and return later to fly the plane back to Europe.

So if you have enjoyed reading about my journey, I kindly ask you to check in every now and then for the remaining part of the trip. If you have any questions – or comments – I would like to hear from you.

Bye for now.