International Civil Aviation Day

Derek’s flight over Franschhoek and Theewaterskloof Dam

Last Thursday I posted about Our visit to Franschhoek and surrounds. Some of you might already know that Derek flies a Microlight: so as today is International Civil Aviation Day I thought I would like to share with you a special video Derek made for you on my request. It is a video showing the vistas of Franschhoek valley, then the view flying over the pass and then onto Theewaterskloof dam. I so enjoyed our trip out to this area a while back especially as I know how much Derek enjoys flying there.

Here is the video Flight over Franschhoek pass and Theewaterskloof dam 4 Jan 2020.

Please let me know if you have any problems with viewing it. The music is track 3 and track 1 of Celtic Inspiration. The two people you see in the video are Derek and his brother.

Theewaterskloof Dam

We experienced a water crises here in Cape Town in 2015 which peaked in 2017 through to 2018. We had 6 levels of water restrictions and were waiting for Day Zero which would start level 7. Thankfully it didn’t come to that but it was quite a scare as there was so little water. Theewaterskloof Dam is one of the main dams for Cape Town. Here in the following photos 1 , 2 , and 3: you can see how little water there is in the dam in the first photo compared to the third photo. I can’t express what joy and gratefulness we experienced as a community when the rains came and the drought was finally broken.

Theewaterskloof Dam: low water levels, D Noffke.
Theewaterskloof Dam, January 2020, by D Noffke
Theewaterskloof Dam, June 2020 by D Noffke.

Special thanks to Derek for making the video for this blog.

Have a great week, till next time.

17 thoughts on “International Civil Aviation Day

  1. Thank you Morag for this wonderful post! And thank Derek and his brother, for the amazing video! I know very little about SA but the video helps me feel the size of the country, vast, and productive! Also, the choice of music was very calming, I’m sure I would need it if I ever decided to fly on a microlight!

    Liked by 2 people

    • It is a pleasure πŸ˜€I had to smile about your comment about the choice of music being calming… Maybe subconsciously that is why I chose it. I have not yet been up 😱. But my daughter asked why I didn’t choose South African music πŸ€”πŸ€” the thought had not occurred to me. The country is certainly vast and has different climate zones as well. We are in a mediterranean climate where as we have savanna land, semi desert to name others. I must admit I am not totally clued up on the climatology in the whole of South Africa.

      Liked by 1 person

      • My father came from Scotland so I identify with Celtic music, although my father played more typical Scottish dance music…. my mother was of Dutch /norwegian descent so I don’t have personal roots to typically South African music although I do feel a nostalgia when I hear it. I would have first heard it in the streets. Some day I will post some South African music… Have you heard Jerusalema? That was written by a South African DJ. that has taken the world by storm. Very upbeat and jovial while still being spiritual.

        Liked by 2 people

  2. Derek has done a stunning job on capturing the beauty of the Franschhoek valley – I have never seen it like this before. And the music just put me in a relaxed mood for the rest of the day.
    Thanks for a great post on our beautiful country!

    Liked by 1 person

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