Bambi is on private land and daily sites fees of R100 per pilot apply. Check the notice boards at launch for how to do site checkin and payments.
Launch at Bambi is large and accommodating, with gently sloping grass to see you off on your flight. The launch area has a covered shelter, a long drop toilet and plenty of space for gazebos and picnics. The launch is at 1605m altitude.
The turkey patch, around 230m below, is a big, grass field within easy glide, with a regional road linking it back up to launch (10 minute drive). Vehicle access is not permitted on to the bottom landing field, except to recover hang gliders; pilots must walk past the farmhouse to the pickup at the main road. Pilots should be aware of both thermic and rotor turbulence associated with the farmhouse and the existence of power lines along the road on the west side of the field. The recommended landing spot is to the east of the farm house. The flat lands of the Crocodile River valley extend from the turkey patch to the Kwena Dam, some 12km distant and offer many other landing alternatives and straightforward retrieves.
The site is essentially a ridge soaring location with embedded thermals that can take pilots more than 1,500m above launch. There are no airspace restrictions within immediate reach. Cross Country flights can follow the escarpment to the north, in the direction of Lydenburg, where it is common to thermal with vultures. It is also possible to run with the wind to the south west although the terrain climbs in that direction. There is often a strong, evening valley release that can take pilots 600m above launch in silky smooth air.
Bambi can be flown in wind directions from north to east-south-east, but is ideally suited to a north-easterly. Pilots should be attentive to the wind direction while flying as the bowls to the north-west and south of the main soaring face can become turbulent if the wind direction swings. Venturis can also affect those bowls/gulleys when the wind is stronger. The mouth of the Wagenbietjieshoek valley (north-west of the landing field) can also be subject to a venturi, blowing pilots back into the sink of the upper valley, behind launch.
Top landing is relatively straightforward as long as the wind is not too strong. The recommended approach is from the west side of launch, losing height over the small ridge behind launch and touching down to the northwest of the shelter. Pushing further forward will often result in the pilot entering the compression zone at the front of the hill and having to take another pass. There is often a wind shadow affecting the last few metres of the approach at the rear of launch.
The site can be flown throughout the year. In the winter, bring your thermals and in the summer, your sun screen. As is typical of the high veld sites of South Africa, spring brings the most challenging and potentially dangerous conditions, with strong and hard thermals marking the change of seasons. While Bambi is an excellent mountain training site and can appear relatively docile, it can at times be unforgiving; please fly with care.
This site introduction is provided in good faith and does not replace a comprehensive site and weather briefing for pilots new to the site, from a senior local pilot.