Early in the morning of the 13th I launched from Victoria Falls Airport bound for Windhoek. The real objective here was to get the airplane to Walvis Bay, a port city on Namibia's western shore that would give me a sea level airport from which to depart with my heavy, fuel laden tanks up the long coastline of Africa to Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The problem was that I couldn't leave Victoria Falls with enough fuel to make it all the way to Walvis Bay, since Victoria Falls Airport was at a high enough field elevation in this hot climate to boast a 6,000 ft density altitude, even early in the cooler morning. I therefore took off from Victoria Falls with only partially filled wing tanks and elected to make a midpoint fuel stop in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. By the time I got to Windhoek and refueled, the density altitude there was pushing 9,000 ft, and I chickened out on trying a late afternoon takeoff under those conditions. Instead, I spent the night in Windhoek, another clean, modern, African city that would pleasantly surprise those who've never heard of it.

More on Windhoek and Walvis Bay is covered in the report on the next leg of the trip.

Next Stop: Windhoek, Namibia (Eros Airport)