The Southern Tip of Africa

The Southern Tip of Africa
(FACG-FAPX)
For September 17, 2022
Michael MacKuen

This afternoon, we shall take a look at Africa’s Southern Tip. We’ll see the “Whale Coast” and Cape Agulhas, pop north to experience the “Little Karoo”, and then back to the Indian Ocean along the “Garden Route” to finish at the Surfer’s haven Jeffreys Bay.


Bloukrans Bridge

We shall meet up at Caledon [FACG], a well-maintained turf airport near the prosperous agricultural town Caledon. (You may fly in from Cape Town or Johannesburg or Durban.) After gathering, we head south past the Kleinrivier Mountains down onto the southern coast at Hermanus [HERM], the very successful beach town that now attracts retirees and tourists. The region’s calling card is its reputation as “The Whale Coast” –  where visitors can watch the Southern Right whale from planes, from boats, from the cliff-tops, and often directly from the city’s waterfront. Hermanus hosts the annual Whale Festival every September.

We proceed along Walker Bay to Gansbaii {hawns bye} [GANS] – the Great White Shark capital of the world. Visitors come from around the world to “cage dive” with the great whites in the waters of “Shark Alley” [SHAR] to the east of the harbor. This may be South Africa’s most popular tourist attraction outside of Kruger National Park. You might view this closeup look. Sadly, for all but the local seals, the great whites are being predated by a resurgence of Orcas.

And then to the Southern Tip of Africa [STP] and Cape Agulhas [AGUL]. (The southernmost point is a kilometer west of Cape Agulhas itself.) This is the point at which the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. Dramatically, this is where the warm Agulhas Current comes down Africa’s East Coast to meet the frigid cold Antarctic currents from the west. (The Agulhas Current retroflects to the east.) The result can be high winds, storms, and treacherous waters that have claimed more than 2,000 shipwrecks. We turn to the northeast to land at Overberg Air Base [FAOB]. This is a SAAF air base that serves as a weapons research facility for both South Africa and other nations. Landing permission has been obtained.

We cross the Overberg wheatbelt to Swellendam [FASX], an historic Dutch and then British administrative center (and fifth oldest town in South Africa). This is a wealthy agricultural region. And just south of the airport lies the Bontebok National Park that helped preserve the Bontebok (an endangered antelope). Then north over the Langeberg Range into the Little Karoo, the arid semi-desert plain between parallel mountain ranges, the Langeberg to the south and the Swartberg to the north. (Further north lies the much larger Great Karoo.) This is dry country with a harsh beauty of its own. Only the northern strip of the valley, watered by the Swartberg mountain streams, is conducive to agriculture. We land at one of these farm towns Ladismith [FAOS]. We continue to history-rich Oudtshoorn {oat suwan} [FAOH]. One animal species especially well suited to this land of dry weather and plentiful water is the ostrich. In the 1860s local farmers successfully domesticated the ostrich for its magnificent feathers, then in high demand worldwide. Oudtshoorn became a fabulously wealthy town when ostrich feathers were worth their weight in diamonds. With a decline in the market for feathers, the town nevertheless continues to be the center of the still active ostrich industry. Perhaps a good spot for a sandwich.

We head south over the Outenigua Mountains to the Indian Ocean. The Outenigua Pass is one of the few ways to travel by road into the Little Karoo. As we fly over, we see the spectacular setting for the current highway. And the nineteenth century Montagu Pass road, on the eastern side, was an even more stunning sight in its time. We land at George [FAGG], the largest city in the region. For nearly two hundred years, George was a center for the timber industry that harvested the great forests of the Southern Cape. In the last half-century, it has turned to commerce and banking and, especially, tourism.

We turn east to fly over the Garden Route, a beautiful journey through dense indigenous forests  with plenty of lagoons, beaches, and interesting stops along the coast. We fly over the Lake District and turn at the lagoon city Knysna [NYSA] to land at Plettenberg [FAPG]. Then further along the sand beaches and rugged coast, we pass over Nature Valley [NV], a beautiful bay cut into the hillsides. (The Otter Trail, a five-day hike along the steep cliff-lined coast from Storms River to Nature Valley, is so popular that one has to book a slot years in advance.)

Continuing, we immediately set up for an adrenaline moment. The Bloukrans Bridge [BUNG] hosts the world’s highest bridge bungee jump at 216m. This is an opportunity to take a close look at the under-bridge location or at least see where visitors plunge downward while tied to a bungee cord. Then further east to take a safer look at the equally impressive Storms River Bridge [STRM]. By conventional definition, the Storms River is the end of the Garden Route.

We continue on along the coast to Cape St Francis [CSF], then northward to turn back near the super tubes of Jeffreys Bay [JBAY] to land at the small airport at Paradise Beach [FAPX]. This is a legendary spot in the surfing world. Cape St Francis was “tipped” to host the world’s perfect wave in Bruce Brown’s 1966 film Endless Summer. Surfers came and discovered a better more consistent wave at Jeffreys Bay which has become one of the iconic breaks in the world. After our flight, we can head for the water to emulate JBay’s better rides ... or simply put our feet up and sip a beer.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here. (TDS GTN users will need to substitute “airport waypoints” for FACG, FAOS, and FAPX which are not in the Garmin database.)

Aircraft
This route runs 388nm and indicates a “fast cruise” of at least 180ktas. Many general aviation fast singles and light twins will do nicely. The Bonanza Turbo G36, Mooney Ovation, Cessna 310R, Cessna 414, Baron G58, Piper Seneca, Daher TBM 930, Pilatus PC-12, King Air 350, and so forth. I shall fly the Flysimware C414AW Chancellor in the N414K livery by TiAr. As ever, fly what you like.

Additional Scenery
All the airports are in the default simulator. I recommend the following addon airport packages but they are not necessary. (These small downloads provide helpful upgrades to otherwise bare-bones airports. The bridges are for fun.)

Recommended:
Caledon [FACG]. darshonaut. 17kb
Overberg AB [FAOB]. Jacques Botha. 41kb
Swellendam [FASX]. Jacques Botha. 38kb
Oudtshoorn [FAOH]. Jacques Botha. 38kb
George [FAGG]. JLR29. 34kb
Plettenberg Bay [FAPG]. Jacques Botha. 41kb
Paradise Beach [FAPX]. Jacques Botha. 37kb
Bloukrans Bridge. Pinepix. 4mb
Storms River (Paul Sauer) Bridge. Pinepix. 9mb

Thanks to these fine authors for their talent and efforts.

Temporarily, you can download a package that includes all the sceneries here. (14mb).

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 1:00 pm local for September 17, 2022.
We typically prefer real weather. This is a VFR flight through the mountains, so we should be willing to reset the weather if necessary. This week has been delightful but the forecast along the coast is for overcast and rain. Things may change.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, September 17, 2022. 1800 UTC
Where: AVSIM RTWR Teamspeak - Casual Flights Channel
Teamspeak Server Address: ts.teamavsim.com
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!