Flying Adventure: Winelands Namaqua Karoo – Day 2 (FAAugrabies – FACV – FASH):

We are proceeding onwards to Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands today.

After a wholesome breakfast at Dundi Lodge we head out to the aircraft to get ready for our flight down to the South.

Augrabies Falls to Calvinia

We take off over the Augrabies Falls and set course over the Karoo to Calvinia, which is about half way on our route.

The temperatures are high, already early in the morning. Our descent and approach into the airfield of Calvinia is therefore fairly turbulent. But we get there safely and stop for a leg stretch and a short break.

The landscape and scenery when approaching Calvinia over the mountain ranges are stunning, in particular on a beautifully clear day as today. It is a very quiet area, with complete silence on the radio and no other air traffic anywhere near.

Before takeing off again, we briefly check the weather around Cape Town and note that the winds are starting to pick up. The south easterly buster is a very strong wind this time of the year in the cape and can gust up to 35 knots or more.

In case the conditions in Stellenbosch are beyond limits for a safe landing, we identify Robertson airfield as a potential alternative to divert to.

With a plan at hand, we are ready to proceed.

Calvinia to Stellenbosch

From Calvinia we are climbing out to 8500 feet AMSL to safely clear the mountain ranges before the escarpment into the cape. In the heat of the middle of the day, it’s a long climb!

The views when flying over the mountains and descending down into the cape are amazingly beautiful. He has flown this leg on a previous trip already, but the beauty of mother nature’s wonders are equally fascinating and impressive each and every time. It’s something one can only really appreciate and see from the air.

As we get closer to Stellenbosch, we note that there is no traffic in the air at this usually quite busy airfield. And that despite it being a public holiday today. As we reach overhead the airfield we conclude that it must be due to the very strong cross wind that is blowing on this early afternoon.

It’s a rough fight on the controls to beat that cross wind on final approach and during touch down. But we make it safely and smoothly, though not exactly on the center line.

Once on ground we refuel and park the aircraft, and enjoy an afternoon drink at the Stellenbosch Flying Club. He thinks it’s one of the most beautiful flying clubs you can ever find.

His fellow passengers will be off to their own holidays in Cape Town from here, whilst he is staying over in Stellenbosch to meet up with a new travel companion for the remainder of this adventure.

We check in at the Stellenbosch Hotel, which is a national monument dating back to 1876. The location in the center of town, and the hospitality and service are excellent.

For the rest of the day we relax and enjoy the many bars and eateries in Stellenbosch

Cape Winelands

Day 3 is dedicated to some wine tasting in the cape winelands, as Stellenbosch is the perfect location for that.

We visit the two oldest wine estates of South Africa, Rustenberg Wine Estate and Muratie Wine Estate. They both date back to the 1680ies, and have an impressively rich tradition and heritage in wine making. It is amazing how a farm which started to make wine in 1682 still operates over 300 years later. People’s taste for Coca Cola may well fade in less than 300 years, the taste for quality wine obviously doesn’t. Peace of mind, that for the rest of his life, there will be good wine.

Muratie is an exceptionally special place. Alberta Annemarie Canitz who owned the farm from 1958 to 1987, was very proud of the estate’s heritage. She requested in her testament that everything must remain untouched and no changes be introduced to the methods of production for 3 generations after her passing away. One can visibly see, that the Melck family who took over the farm has honoured that will meticulously to this day. It’s one more generation to go until changes will be allowed. But he would reckon that those would only be very subtle changes.

The favourite recommendations are the Wild Ferment Sauvignon Blanc at Rustenberg and the Port Wine at Muratie. Outstanding pleasures for the palate.

Equally outstanding is the Bush Pinotage from the Kanonkop Wine Estate. The bush Pinotage is a wild wine bush, which grows only to a short height and gives the wine a distinct taste and note.

Lastly, we stop at Glenelly Wine Estate, which is one of the youngest and more modern wine estates.

And because we have such an amazing time in this wonderful part of the world, we decide to also spend day 4 of our tour here.

That’s the advantage of an unplanned tour. One can do what one wants and when one wants … Cheers for now.