Flying Adventure: Weekend getaway to Phalaborwa and the Northern Kruger Park (FAWB – FAKN – FAPH – FAWB):

After a week of rainy and cloudy weather across the South African interior, the skies couldn’t be clearer. So it’s definitely time to fly out to another weekend getaway. This time we decide to head out to Phalaborwa and the Northern Kruger Park.

Flight over Mpumalanga to the escarpment

We depart early in the morning and fly out from Pretoria in an easterly direction into the rising sun. It’s a fantastic clear and calm morning to go flying. It couldn’t be any better. We route over Mpumalanga and descend through the Ngodwana valley into Kruger International Airport for a re-fueling and breakfast stop.

Along the escarpment and the Blyde River Canyon

For our next leg we opt for a scenic route out to the town of Graskop and along the escarpment passing God’s Window and the Blyde River Canyon to Phalaborwa in the Limpopo province. It’s an incredibly stunning and impressive scenery, in particular on such a perfectly clear and sunny day.

As much as this breathtaking landscape invites you to marvel, conditions can easily become hazardous for flight. He cannot overemphasize the importance to be cautious and aware of the potential down and updrafts in mountainous terrain like this. Downdrafts can easily develop strengths in excess of your aircraft’s performance, particularly a single engine aircraft. If caught, your best chances are by riding the wave down to the bottom where the draft’s strength subsides and then try to climb out again.

It is also critically important to be aware of your aircraft’s specific performance under the weather conditions of the day. You need to be aware of your minimum turn radius and maximum climb rate and read the terrain ahead and around you at all times. If you are somewhat sane in your mind, you don’t want to get yourself into a position in a valley where you have neither enough space to climb out nor turn around. By the time you realize, you are likely to still have some time to say sorry to yourself and your fellow passengers. But it won’t help, you gonna hit the mountain or the ground guaranteed, and that is more than likely not pretty. Not something he wants to maneuver himself into.

To fly into Kruger Gateway Airport in Phalaborwa you require prior permission from Airlink. As we had that our arrival and parking was smooth and easy.

Kruger National Park

We are staying over at Bushveld Terrace, which is a lovely establishment just about 300m from the gate into Kruger Park. An ideal location he would say and staying just outside Kruger National Park and as a proud Wild Card holder, it is needless to say that we spend Sunday in the park.

The northern Kruger Park is predominantly mopane veld, as opposed to the thorn veld south of the Olifantsriver. At this time of the year the mopane bush is high and lush. That makes sightings obviously much more difficult compared to the drier season. But nature nevertheless offers us some beautiful sightings and sceneries. We stop over at the Lethaba Rest Camp and visit the Elephant museum and have a short lunch.

Contrary to some common belief, Kruger Park has a substantial overpopulation of elephants. As much as that is great for the protection of the species, it also has a series of negative consequences on the wider ecosystem. For example, elephants take down virtually all taller trees, which results in a decline in migratory birds such as storks etc. as they can no longer find suitable places for their nests. There are also no longer any suitable underpopulated areas available to which the animals could be relocated to. This is a real challenge for the Kruger’s and other parks conservation efforts. It should not be implied that he promotes elephant culling, but as with everything in nature, and life for that matter, any excess comes at the expense of something. It’s not easy sometimes.

Phalaborwa to Pretoria

By Monday it is unfortunately time to head back to Pretoria again. Never a nice thing that last day, but it is what it is.

It’s another beautiful day to go flying. There is a layer of cloud sitting on top of the mountain range along the escarpment. But with more than enough gaps to pass it, it brings us a little closer to the mountains for an inspection of the rock formations.

After passing the mountains we set course over the highveld via Marbel Hall and the Arabie dam to Pretoria.

And with that this weekend getaway comes to an end like all things. He has no idea yet where he will be heading off on the next trip, but it will certainly be to somewhere. So keep checking in here.