Nico Burger recently experienced his greatest flying trip ever. Here he tells us more…

We planned this trip over four days and ended up flying an average of four hours per day.

The group consisted of three RV-8's and one RV-7, with another RV-8 joining us on day two only.

Day 1
Our routing for day one was Kitty Hawk to Augrabies. We departed early and arrived before midday, flying in loose formation. We stayed at Dundi Lodge, which was excellent. The runway is located about 500m from the lodge and Avgas is available. We had lunch and in the afternoon saw the Augrabies falls.

Day 2
Day two was again an early start from Augrabies to Kleinzee. We then went all the way along the coast to Morningstar Airfield in Cape Town to refuel, before proceeding along the coast to Plettenberg Bay for a night stop.

Flying along the west coast in loose formation has been one of my greatest flying experiences ever.

This was also our longest day in terms of flying time. We spent about two hours on the ground at Morningstar and arrived in Plettenberg Bay late afternoon.

Another highlight from the Morningstar to Plettenberg Bay flight was the number of whales and dolphins we spotted. Our accommodation for the night was in Knysna, which is about 30 minutes’ drive from Plettenberg Bay Airport.

Day 3
Day three’s departure was not so early and took us from Plettenberg Bay along the coast to Port Alfred for a fuel stop, and then on to Wavecrest Resort for our overnight stop.

Wavecrest Resort is on the Wild Coast, just northeast of East London. We had a great time at Wavecrest, which is situated on the coastline, with the runway a mere 200m from the hotel.

Day 4
On day four we first flew to Wings Park near East London to refuel and then routed to Margate flying all along the coast. I had never flown along the Wild Coast before and must say it was absolutely spectacular. From Margate, we routed directly to Kitty Hawk, and that was the end of an epic trip.

We were extremely lucky in terms of weather – it could not have been better.

The flying, the camaraderie, the awesome accommodation, and our spectacular coastline has made this the greatest flying trip I have ever experienced.

My brother André has made some awesome videos of this trip they can be viewed on Vimeo.

Day 1 – click here
Day 2 – click here
Day 3 – click here
Day 4 – click here

Photos

En route to Augrabies.   Flying along the Orange River near Upington en route to Augrabies. Refueling at Dundi Lodge. The entrance to Dundi Lodge. Dinner at Dundi Lodge. En route to Kleinzee. Down the West Coast. Flying along the West Coast. The majestic view of Table Mountain. Blouberg. Strand en route Morningstar to Plettenberg Bay. Parking at Plettenberg Bay.   Stopover at 43 Air School Port Alfred. Stopover at Wavecrest. Wavecrest accommodation. Getting social at Wavecrest. Flying along the Wild Coast.