An epic flying adventure to Angola is in the making. Angola has been a country he has been wanting to fly to since a very long time. It is full of truly remote, uncharted places. A true N3 Aviation country. But due to it’s scarce general and in particular tourist infrastructure it is logistically a very challenging destination. The non-availability of aviation gasoline puts a further spanner into the wheel for a flying adventure.
But thanks to a few new connections, he has finally managed to get the basics in place to put a plan into action. Here is an outline of the planned route.
The route highlights to Angola
Initially we will be flying from Pretoria to Dundi Lodge, a trusted stop over on route to Namibia. From Dundi we will back track slightly to Upington for customs and immigration, and then head up to Keetmanshoop to enter Namibia. From Keetmanshoop we will route straight up to Geluk to visit the famous Sossous Vlei. He has been there on a previous flying adventure, but the passenger on this tour has not. It’s a must be destination for any trip to Namibia.
From the Sossous vlei we fly further up north to Twyfelfontein in Namibia’s Damaraland. It is a place famous for the burnt mountain and ancient rock engravings taking you back in time. A very worthy stopover on route to the Epupa Falls. At the Epupa Falls we will be able to see over the Kunene river into Angola. That place he has been longing to visit.
Angola route
From the Epupa Falls we will first have to fly to Ondangwa to exit Namibia. We will then fly up north over the border to Ondjiva to clear Angolan customs and immigration, before routing out west to Espinheira. There are no tourism developments in this area. It’s truly remote. We will be wild camping here. Just us and our local partner who will bring in our supplies and importantly also some avgas. It’s not cheap fuel, but if you want to go remote, you have to go an extra mile sometimes. Fellow readers will recall a similar situation up in the far north of Zambia.
Whilst we are exploring this south western part of Angola, we also want to fly out to Ilha dos Tigres. This used to be a peninsula with a settlement called Sao Marthino dos Tigres. However, back in 1962 the Atlantic ocean cut of the peninsula from the mainland and it became an island. It was then deserted and has since been an abandoned ghost town. If conditions permit we will try to land on one of the remaining main roads to explore the island and ruins by foot.
From Espinheira we will then fly up to Welwitscha Mirabilis to spend an afternoon on the beaches around the town of Mocamedes. Our next main destination is then Cuito Cuanavale. There are battle fields with hundreds of rusting Sowjet tanks left behind after the South African border war. To the north of Cuito Cuanavale are the lake sources. Famous rivers like the Cuito, Kunene and the Okavango emerge from here. We plan to explore this region by air, as these places are difficult to travel by road, if at all.
It will then be time to start our route back.
Route back to South Africa
We will fly back to Rundu in Namibia via Menongue where we can exit Angola. As we will have visited the source of the Okawango river, it is no question that we will follow the Okawango river all the way as it empties into the Kalahari desert on our route over the Okavango Delta to Maun in Botswana.
From Maun it is then a short flight down to Tau Pan in the Central Kalahari. We have been here before but missed the famous black-maned Kalahari lions. We hope this time we will be lucky enough to spot them. Otherwise we’ll come back. You can’t plan nature. You enjoy what it offers you.
We will return bsck to South Africa via Gaborone, Botswana’s capital in the south east. Check back in here, to follow this epic adventure and see how it will pan out.