Tour around Africa: Stage 56 - Dire Dawa (HADR) to Ambouli (HDAM)
MS Flight Simulator VFR Flight Plan
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In this VFR - GPS Flight Plan we take off from the runway 15 of the Dire Dawa airport (HADR), fly north towards Djibouti and land in the runway 27 of the Ambouli airport (HDAM)

Find below a short extract and screenshots of the main points of the route. In this journey around Africa I have used the Cessna 172S (Skyhawk)

Take off from the runway 15 of the airport of Dire Dawa (HADR).

Dire Dawa International Airport (IATA: DIR, ICAO: HADR), is an international airport serving Dire Dawa, a city in eastern Ethiopia. It is located 5 km (3 miles) northwest of the city centre.

Facilities The airport is located at an elevation of 3,829 feet (1,167 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 15/33, with an asphalt surface measuring 2,679 by 45 metres (8,789 ft × 148 ft).  (*1) 

A long flight over the desert straight towards Djibouti.

Lake Hayq

Lake Hayq (Amharic: ሐይቅ ሐይቅ, transl. "Lake Lake") is a freshwater lake of Ethiopia. It is located north of Dessie, in the Debub Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region. The town of Hayq is to the west of the lake.

Lake Hayq is 6.7 km long and 6 km wide, with a surface area of 23 km². It has a maximum depth of 88 m and is at an elevation of 2,030 meters above sea level. It is one of two lakes in the Tehuledere woreda.  (*1)

Crossing the border and entering Djibouti.

Reaching the lake Assal

Lake Assal (Arabic: بحيرة عسل Buḥayrah ʿAsal, lit. “Honey Lake”) is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura between Arta Region, and Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some 120 km (75 mi) west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake that lies 155 m (509 ft) below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. No outflow occurs from the lake, and due to high evaporation, the salinity level of its waters is 10 times that of the sea, making it the fourth most saline body of water in the world, behind Garabogazköl, Lake Retba, and Gaet'ale Pond. The salt in the lake is exploited under four concessions awarded in 2002 at the southeast end of the lake; the major share of production (nearly 80%) is held by Société d’Exploitation du Lac and Société d’Exploitation du Salt Investment S.A de Djibouti.

The lake is a protected zone under Djibouti's National Environmental Action Plan of 2000. However, the law does not define the boundary limits of the lake. Since the exploitation of the salt from the lake was uncontrolled, the Plan has emphasized the need for managing the exploitation to avoid negative impact on the lake environment. The Government of Djibouti has initiated a proposal with UNESCO to declare the Lake Assal zone and the Ardoukoba volcano as a World Heritage Site. (*1)

Day Forest National Park.

Day Forest National Park, also known as Forêt du Day National Park, is a national park in the Goda Mountains and Tadjourah Region of Djibouti. The region is one of the very few forested areas of Djibouti, which taken as a whole is one of the least forested countries on Earth. It is the wettest part of Djibouti, receiving some 500 millimetres (19 in) of precipitation annually.  (*1)

Moucha island

Moucha Island is a small coral island off the coast of Djibouti. It is located at the center of the Gulf of Tadjoura. The island is part of the Djibouti Region; the island has a total population of about 20 inhabitants, which increases considerably during the summer.

In August 1840, the conclusion of a treaty of friendship and commerce between the Sultan Mohammed bin Mohammed of Tadjoura and Commander Robert Moresby of the Indian Navy describes the sale of Moucha Island to Great Britain for ten sacks of rice. The sale is, however, contingent upon occupation. In 1887, Britain ceded sovereignty of the island to France while recognizing the French sphere of influence in the Gulf of Tadjoura, in exchange for the abandonment by France of any right in Zeila and the neighboring Sa'ad ad-Din Islands.

In 1900, a quarantine station was built to accommodate persons in health quarantine, but it was ultimately not used for lack of available medical personnel.

The islands were used by Henry de Monfreid in 1914 as a weapons cache to try to sell smuggled arms. After the deposit was discovered, a "detachment indigenous guards" was installed on the island and occupancy restricted. This monitoring station was removed in May 1915.

Moucha Island is the largest island in Djibouti. Less than 3 km long, Moucha Island's mainland is surrounded by the smaller Maskali Islands, a few islets and a coral reef. It lies approximately 15 kilometres (9 miles) south of the Djibouti's mainland. (*1)

Final approach to the runway 27 of the airport of Ambouli.

Ambouli (Arabic: أمبولي) is a southern suburb of Djibouti city. 

Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and Jibuti in early Western texts) is the eponymous capital of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura.

Djibouti has a population of around 600,000 inhabitants, which counts for 54% of the country's population. The settlement was founded in 1888 by the French, on land leased from the ruling Somali and Afar Sultans. During the ensuing period, it served as the capital of French Somaliland and its successor the French Territory of the Afars and Issas.  (*1)

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(*1) Credits: The descriptive texts are mainly an excerpt of those provided by Wikipedia. Visit Wikipedia to read the full descriptions.