Flying Adventure: Indian Ocean Coast – Day 8 (FAKN – FAVG):

Nelspruit was just an en-route stop, and we are therefore on our way back to the airport after breakfast and check out. It is time to fly back to the coast. The destination for today is Umhlanga. Back on the Indian Ocean coast, this time in South Africa.

Kruger to Durban Virginia

It is a beautiful day to go flying, and so is the scenery on today’s route. After take off, we first route to the Barberton mountains.

The Barberton mountains, are also called the Makhonjwa mountains, or the Barberton Greenbelt. They are a lesser known UNESCO World Heritage Site. The area is a unique remnant of the ancient Earth’s crust. One can access some of the oldest and best preserved volcanic and sedimentary rocks dating back over 3 600 million years. For scientists they provide a unique source of information and insights of the early Earth, the formation of continents and the atmosphere, that created an environment for life to emerge.
So next time you are in that area, spend some time, and remember that these mountains are a window back to the origins of life, and with that your own humble existence. And if you have never been there, you might want to pass by there, to see where you come from.

From Barberton we fly along the border to Eswatini, past the towns of Piet Retief and Vryheid towards Greytown. This area of the eastern KwaZulu Natal province is an exceptionally scenic part of South Africa and he can only recommend a visit to explore this part of the country. It might be less famous, but certainly does not offer anything less than its more famous counterparts.

From Greytown we gradually descend towards the coast and set course for Durban Virginia.

It is just around lunch time when we reach the Virginia airfield. A perfect time to sit down at the Durban Wings Club for a drink and find a place to stay for the night.

Umhlanga

We find available accommodation at the Garden Court Umhlanga, which is in walking distance to the Gateway Theater of Shopping. Not that he has any intentions to visit the shopping mall. But the area around has a number of restaurants and bars to spend a pleasant evening.

On day 9 we wanted to fly down to the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape. But the day turns out to be non-flyable, neither where we are, nor where we wanted to go. It’s rainy and misty until the afternoon. We are stuck where we are, and extend our stay at the Garden Court for an additional night.

We spend the day at Umhlanga Rocks and the Umhlanga beachfront. This is one of South Africa’s prime holiday locations. There are certainly worse places to be stuck, and we do not complain.

We have a few drinks at The George and later a delicious steak at the Butcher Block “On the Pier”.

180 degrees U-turn

Day 10 has slightly better conditions both where we are and where we want to go. The cloud ceiling is at around 1000 feet pretty much all along the coast. But there is no major weather passing along our route, nor is any forecasted. The significant weather chart does however indicate widespread mist along the coast. He expects this to clear up and the clouds to lift a little by mid day as the temperatures rise. On this day, he shall be wrong.

We check out and head out to the airport to get ready. With things still looking okay-ish, and him still expecting that mist to clear up, we take off and are on our way.

It shall not be for very long. As we reach the area of Umkomaas and Scottburgh the clouds are getting lower and lower until they reach the surface of the ocean.

In a situation like this you have a choice as a VFR pilot. Either you take chances and continue without visibility, or you turn around, back to where you know conditions are better. Statistics indicate that your remaining life with the first option is around 90 seconds. With the second option its pretty much the same as if there had not been any cloud, mist or fog.

For any reasonably sane mind the choice is clear. We turn around, and being the closest option, we land back at Durban Virginia. And we head back to the Durban Wings Club and end up spending the afternoon there too.

After a fun afternoon with other fellow aviators, we check in at the Protea Fire & Ice for the night and hope for clearer skies on day 11.