Social Activities

What is the good of experiencing a fantastic soaring flight, without being able to tell your friends all about it that evening? In January we will be joined by a number of pilots who had competed at the World Championships, and we will also be able to hear first hand of their experiences.

The local and overseas pilots together make our Gariep Dam soaring centre like a miniature United Nations. South Africa is a very hospitable country and the atmosphere at the airfield is relaxed, friendly and not rigidly German. Almost every evening there is something happening.

The town swimming pool is turned over to us after it closes to the public at 1800. There you can just have a swim, or we might hold a large communal barbecue. We hold similar regular barbecues on the lawns outside the chalets at Aventura, and for this we have arranged gate passes for those staying outside the resort.

There are several restaurants and eating places where our pilots gather in the evenings, but beware, several 750km flights in a row make you awfully tired. An open air restaurant over the banks of the mighty Orange River will become an unforgettable evening in Africa, as you sit watching the red sun set across the rapids.

On Christmas Eve we hold our traditional dinner in the Aventura restaurant and on New Year's Eve we have a barbecue at a Lapa overlooking the lake.

During the day, the ladies or those not flying, can laze next to one of the swimming pools, or take part in many of the other daytime activities at Gariep or in the surrounding area. See Things to Do section.