Flying Adventure: Indian Ocean Coast – Day 12 (FAEL – FABL):

We have to plan our route back to Gauteng. Essentially we have two options, either back up along the coast and around Lesotho to the east, or route towards the Karoo and the Free State west of Lesotho.
We opt for the latter option, as we came down along the coast already. Knowing that Gariep Dam has no accommodation for today, we can choose between Kimberley and Bloemfontein as refueling stops. As we had stayed over in Kimberly last year already, we opt for a stop in Bloemfontein this time.

East London to Bloemfontein

The sky in East London is cloudless this morning and according to the weather radar, satellite and the significant weather chart it should be like that for our entire route to Bloemfontein. Also the weather forecasts predict a beautiful day with a probability of a thunderstorm in the late afternoon, by which time we would already be settled at our destination. Pretty much a normal summer day. It shall not be.

We head out to the airport after breakfast, sort out formalities and are soon on our way.

It is a stunning morning to fly over the scenic rural areas of the Eastern Cape. We fly past Queenstown, the Xonxa dam by Lady Frere and then over the mountainous terrain up to Aliwal North on the interior plateau.

That is when things started to unexpectedly change. It is getting dark towards the north west and heavy rain cells are around Aliwal North. One can still circumnavigate the rains around Aliwal North. We experience a fair bit of rain as we fly between them. But it is safe as we can clearly see through and deploy carburetor heat to avoid icing. Remember the old saying “if you can see through, you can fly through“.

But towards the north west it is dark for as far as the eye can see. There is no flying through there, and no flying around either. That means that our alternative airfields, Gariep Dam and Kimberley are both definitely not reachable.

It must be a very large weather system that has unexpectedly been building up. We can hear over the radio that many airliners flying higher than 30’000 feet are requesting a re-routing due to this weather.

Unfortunately these storms are moving right towards our route and destination. We are essentially just flying along its frontline. That requires in-flight re-planning, as our deviation alternatives are not reachable, and there is a real possibility that we may not reach our intended destination.

We identify a few suitable farm and lodge landing strips along our route for a precautionary landing. As our new destination alternate we select Bethlehem. We would fly ahead and thus well clear of the storms and have sufficient fuel to safely reach Bethlehem. In addition there are a couple options to stay over in and around the town, and we could refuel to proceed from there once the weather is clear.

We again have a solid and workable Plan B and can thus continue our flight along the storm front towards Bloemfontein.

As we get closer we establish contact with the tower in Bloemfontein. The inbound clearance means that the conditions are still above visual flight minima. That’s a relief.

We are cleared straight in on runway 02, and as we are taxing onto the main apron, the rain starts. His passengers run for shelter whilst he parks and secures the aircraft. Twenty minutes later, it is pouring cats and dogs and the clouds are on the surface.

Had we departed half an hour later than we did, we would not have made it, and would be flying to Bethlehem.
Well, not that Bethlehem is a bad place to stay over, but it would not have been our plan to be there.

Bloemfontein

We have a light lunch and a couple drinks at the Mug & Bean in the terminal building to wait until the rain subsides a little. And we use the time to arrange a rental car and a place to stay.

After about an hour the worst seems over and we are on our way to town where we check in at the Southern Sun Bloemfontein. According to the hotel manager, they have never been as busy as today with short term bookings. Many people got caught in the storm on the road to or from Cape Town and are looking for a place to stay over for the night. The weather forecast did not predict anything like this, so no wonder people got caught by surprise.

We wake up to continued rain on day 13. It does not look like we are going to fly anywhere on this day. So what to do in Bloemfontein on a rainy day? There are not that many options he must admit.

Bloemfontein is the judicial capital of South Africa and hosts the Supreme Court of Appeal. When translated from Afrikaans to English, its name means “Fountain of Flowers”, which refers to the abundance of roses and the annual rose festival. It is also the birth place of the “Hobbits” and “The Lord of the Rings”. JRR Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein on January 3, 1982. This is less well known. And probably also less important.

Chasing Hobbits in the rain did not seem to excite his companions. We thus decide to take a drive up to the top of Naval Hill, which is the highest elevation in the relatively flat setting and offers some nice views. Probably nicer when the weather is nice also.

The British had naval cannons stationed here during the Second Boer War, which gave it the name Naval Hill. More interestingly, its top is a game reserve. The only game reserve in the middle of a large city in South Africa.

Plus there is Planetarium too, which he was hoping to visit. It would have been a perfect place to spend a rainy morning. But unfortunately, it is closed. How such a place can be closed on a public holiday is not clear to him.

As the rain starts picking up again, we take a drive down to the city. There is no rush today with anything and we spend most of the afternoon indoors, eating and drinking.

But by the late afternoon the clouds clear up and the sun comes out. Time to have a drink outside, and a toast on a promising outlook to fly out on day 14. Cheers!