South Africa. Karoo Feathers, Garden Trek & the Perfect Wave

South Africa. Karoo Feathers, a Garden Trek and the Perfect Wave
For Saturday, January 10, 2026
Michael MacKuen

This afternoon we shall continue our flights over South Africa. Today we shall turn inland to visit the Great and Little Karoos, before returning to the Indian Ocean to follow the coast along the beautiful Garden Route and finish at the surfers’ haven Jeffrey’s Bay.


Over the Little Karoo

We depart from Overberg AFB [FAOB] to cross the nation’s 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 northwest to the Robertson Valley which has experienced success over several phases: the wagon-building industry collapsed with the arrival of the railroads and the ostrich industry collapsed after the turn into the 20^th century. Farmers turned to wine and fruit and later to racehorse stud farms. We land at Robertson Airfield [FARS] which hosts the Western Province Sport Parachute Club, founded in 1972 and now the oldest skydiving club in South Africa. A short 12nm flight along the scenic Route 62 through the mountains to the east brings us to the grass strip at Montagu [FAMQ] long known for its hot mineral springs and dramatic landscape. The local hills provide hiking trails and rock climbing challenges.

We fly east into the Klein (Little) Karoo, the arid semi-desert plain between parallel mountain ranges, the Langeberg to the south and the Swartberg to the north. 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] with 7,000 residents.

After a few minutes, we climb to cross the Swartberg Range to reach the much larger Great Karoo – whose dry plain reaches far north and east. We land at Prince Albert [FAPC] at the southern edge of the Great Karoo, nestled at the foot of the mountains and bordered by orchards and vineyards. In the 1990s the small town experienced a boom with the arrival of private art galleries and a relatively large community of artists and wealthy retirees … now calling itself the “Franschhoek of the Karoo.”

Then south to climb over the immersive Swartberg Pass [SWP] 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 as a fashion item. With two distinct booms, Oudtshoorn became a fabulously wealthy town when ostrich feathers were worth their weight in diamonds. The “feather barons” became rich and built most of Oudtshoorn’s opulent “feather palaces” on the west bank of the river. The boom ended with the post 1914 decline in the market for fashionable feathers. Yet the town nevertheless continues to be the center of the world’s active ostrich industry – hosting a number of specialized ostrich-breeding farms. Perhaps a good spot for a sandwich.

The Oudtshoorn airport hosts the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) which advertises expertise in high performance aircraft – odd for a remote rural airfield. More interesting, the company has been sanctioned by the US with implications that it has trained Chinese pilots in procedures and techniques rooted in NATO practices. See here and here. Perhaps more than meets the eye.

We head south over the Outenigua Mountains to the Indian Ocean. The Outenigua Pass [OTN] 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 gravel road through the Montagu Pass, 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 hills, cliffsides, 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 look at the equally impressive Storms River Bridge [STRM]. (This is also a candidate for a fly-under but the margin for error is smaller.) By conventional definition, the Storms River is the end of the Garden Route. If we have extra time, we can do a touch-and-go at Tsitsikamma Fly Airport [FATK], an entertaining cliffside grass strip.

We continue on along the coast to the surf of Cape St Francis [CSF], and land at nearby St Francis Field [FACF]. After a moment, we continue northeast then 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 (worth a look at this restored historic clip). Surfers came and discovered a better more consistent wave at nearby Jeffrey’s Bay which has now become legendary for its long, fast, right-hand point break considered by many to be the best in the world. Here are some surfers, visiting from the US, taking advantage of 8-foot waves at Jeffrey’s Bay. After our flight, we can head for the beach to emulate J-Bay’s better rides ... or simply put our feet up and sip a beer or two.

Documentation
The flightplan can be found here. (Additionally, find a weather preset “Jeffreys Bay.WPR”. High Clouds with a brisk breeze from the southwest – good for the last leg.)

Aircraft
This route runs 390nm and indicates a “fast cruise” of at least 180ktas. Many general aviation fast singles and light twins will do nicely. The Cessna 310R, Cessna 404/414, Beech Bonanza (TC), Beech Baron, Beech Duke, Beech C90, Piper Aerostar, TBM 850/930 and so forth. I shall probably take the A2A Aerostar. 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.) Thanks to these fine authors for their talent and efforts.

Recommended:
Overberg AB [FAOB]. Jacques Botha (from previous flight)
Swellendam [FASX]. Jacques Botha
Kapstadt Runde Cape Town Region [FACG FAEG FAMQ and FAOS]. Darshonaut
Robertson [FARS]. Carel van Hernert (SkyyStorm)
Oudtshoorn [FAOH]. Jacques Botha
George [FAGG]. JLR29
Plettenberg Bay [FAPG]. Jacques Botha
Jeffreys Bay Paradise Beach [FAPX]. Jacques Botha
Bloukrans Bridge. Pinepix
Storms River (Paul Sauer) Bridge. Pinepix

You can get a full package here. (Note that you may have downloaded these sceneries in the past. But please take a look as many of them have been updated in the last year or two. In addition, some sceneries that are otherwise difficult to get will be included in the package.)

Time and Weather
For takeoff on Saturday, set the simulator at 3:00pm local for January 10, 2026. We typically prefer real weather.

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Saturday, January 10, 2026. 1800 UTC
Where: RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
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!