GOTS Airport Simenti, Senegal

World Heritage Sites Air Adventure: Out of Africa
Flight 22 – 11/19/2024

Opted not to rent a longer-range plane at GOBD and instead continued the journey south to GBYD, then flew in over the Gambia River. One of today’s highlights was flying over Kunta Kinteh Island (formerly James Island), home to Fort James—a UNESCO World Heritage Site deeply tied to the history of the West African slave trade. Ortho4XP scenery made the flyover especially vivid, and with ForeFlight and O4XP working together, I could pinpoint my position along the river the entire way.

Landing at my first non-towered, hard dirt runway was a blast—REALLY FUN! While I couldn’t visually spot the Stone Circles of Senegambia (another WHS), I did successfully locate the point just east of the little village of Sine Ngaya and a few miles before Ngayene, right where the circles should be.

Simenti is a barren place, but I’m well-stocked with hot tea, Snickers bars, and MREs for these “bush pilot” adventures. To my delight, a passing tribesman stopped by my makeshift camp and generously shared some local cuisine—a spicy domoda (peanut stew) with rice and a calabash of sweet, tangy bissap juice. It was a welcome taste of Senegalese hospitality and a reminder that even in the most remote places, you can find warmth and connection.

So far on this Out of Africa Air Tour:

67.2 total hours flown (all hand-flown, no autopilot)

3.5 night hours

5,999 NM flown

26 UNESCO World Heritage Sites visitedRead more