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The local air strip in the heart of paradise makes this the easiest place to land

The local air strip in the heart of paradise makes this the easiest place to land

February 2022 · 5 min read · Bitou Local Municipality

Having not travelled much in the past few years and staying in one particular location all this time, it’s hard to know how others might perceive the view here on the south Cape coast of Africa. To me it looks idyllic every day, perhaps because I have cultivated an attitude of being in paradise, but to others it may seem drab and boring compared to their surroundings or compared to their perspective and interpretation of reality. Nevertheless, I aim to share with you the perhaps unassuming yet still inspiring surroundings in which I find myself here on the southernmost shores of the African continent.

Summer blossoms light up the olive green terrain at the south coast of Africa as it meets the Indian ocean
Summer blossoms light up the olive green terrain at the south coast of Africa as it meets the Indian ocean

With summer now in full swing, blossoms are abundant and dot the landscape like decorations at a festival. The somewhat sober and unchanging olive green vegetation is a constant throughout the year, creating a backdrop upon which the sparkling summer blossoms now bring new life to my hiking trail along the cliff tops and shoreline in this region of the south coast, known as the “Garden Route”.

More blossoms on the cliff sides, with the local air strip just a few minutes away
More blossoms on the cliff sides, with the local air strip just a few minutes away

If you want to immerse yourself in pure, untainted natural surroundings with no sign of human intervention, then there may be plenty of options in remote places on the planet. However, this particular place is one of the most accommodating and tolerable, compared to – say for example – the beautiful yet dangerous deserts, Arctic circles or other such remote landscapes. And it’s easy to access the southern shores of Africa too. There is an airport nearby in the city called George, about 90 minutes drive from here. And even better - there is a small landing strip just a mile away from this very place, where small planes can land.

Summer blossoms brightening up the landscape at the Cape
Summer blossoms brightening up the landscape at the Cape

Visitors and adventurers from all over the planet can land in Cape Town International airport, and then either catch a flight to George and hire a car to drive to this part of the Garden Route, or you could take a smaller flight right into the heart of the Garden Route, to the town of Plettenberg Bay, and land just a stone’s throw away from these very same cliffs where paradise awaits you. This region is truly the best that southern Africa has to offer anyone from anywhere in the world.

Spontaneous mushrooms in the pine forest on the hiking trail
Spontaneous mushrooms in the pine forest on the hiking trail

So you don’t have to over endeavor with arduous flights or road trips to access this lesser known gem of the African coastline. The air strip is just minutes away and jet setters land their private planes here every weekend for their little beach getaway after a busy day at the corporate offices in the cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg. And in summer right now tourists and travelers are doing the same thing by catching a small passenger plane from the cities to the landing strip nearby, thus bypassing long road trips if they prefer to keep the schedule tight and tidy.

Nothing like the magic of mushrooms to brighten up your day
Nothing like the magic of mushrooms to brighten up your day

And if you enjoy extreme sports, then you can even go skydiving right at the same local airstrip while you’re in town in between your nature explorations. A private plane will take you up into the sky above the airstrip, from where you can see the awesome and epic landscape and seascape from above. Then you can do a tandem jump out of the plane, where you and the professional sky diver are harnessed together as you bail out of the plane and into a free fall through space for a few seconds before the parachute opens and you are floated down to the earth under the guidance of the experienced parachutist. It’s an awesome experience and I regularly hear the wails of delight followed by the parachute actually opening, from my position on the ground while hiking on the cliff tops near the landing strip. The jump is over within a few minutes but the memory is with you as one of the rarest of you life.

Reach for the sky and let your soul fly
Reach for the sky and let your soul fly

So there is plenty on offer here in the Garden Route, Eden district, on the south Cape coast of Africa, for any adventurer or explorer of the vast and remote corners of paradise on our beautiful planet Earth. Let me know when you’re on your way and we can meet up so I can show you around the place, including some of the lesser known hidden gems that few locals even know about. It’s so easy to get here and once you’ve discovered the place, you may find it harder to leave.

(photos my own)

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