Part I. Djibouti to Malindi, Kenya

Round the World Flight with HB-PON 2008/09
Rolf Martin FRIEDEN & Manfred Melloh
Mon 8 May 2006 16:54
03:13.4S 040:05.9E

On our flight next the next day, while listening on board to BBC World Service on our HF tranceiver, we learned, that
that very day of our intended fligt over Asmara the capital of Eritrea, full scale war broke out between that country and
Ethiopia. The airport of Asmara was bombarded by Ethiopian Mig fighters and one of them, a Mig 21 was in fact shot
down by the Eritrean anti aircraft defense.

 

Good we made that change in routing !

 
 

Next morning we headed to Djibouti airport rather early and did all the preparations for our next leg, direct to Malindi
in southern Kenya.

 
 

The 6  ½ hour flight took us via Dire Dawa in Ethiopia first over desert like country side, then over a mountain range with rich
vegetation and some signs  of civilisation.
For hours in a perfect sky with ocasional cumulus clouds then over wild forest and flat bushland with little signs of human presence,
then flat country, small extinct volcanos here and there, crossing the Equator.

 



Crossing the equator in Kenya at 9000ft


45 minutes out of Malindi we managed to establish our first radio contact since many hours, with Malindi Approach control.

A happy landing just before sunset on a well organized airport.

Again a friendly welcome and efficient handling. The customs people did not even bother to come out to the Airport to clear us
into Kenya, as we  were were both declared as Air crew.