The crisp fabric of my glider falls onto the sandy area of the Klein Krantz dune, with care I lay out my wing, turn my face into the wind once more to get the feel of the air. A slight nervousness niggles somewhere deep inside. I take a deep breath and bring the glider to life, it hovers over me like a buzzard on the hunt, active and reactive. I turn and face the edge of the sand dune, everything becomes still and focused. There is always a certain calmness before take off and within a few steps, I’m airborne. A sharp left turn towards the dunes, I find the much-needed lift of the cool up drafts and the elevation is almost immediate. A few more turns into the wind, zig-zag, zig-zag and up.

The long stretch of beach cliffs lies ahead, I wriggle in my harness to get comfortable, check everything, hook my speed bar over my foot and slowly let the flight begin…

#Wilderness #SouthAfrica #GardenRoute

Learn to fly