I was flying towards Aurora (approx 100ft ASL), which is settled against the southern slopes of the Piketberg (approx 4500ft ASL), and encountered a northerly of about 20mph (at 2000+ ft) almost all the way there. The last 10 or so miles at 800 to 1000ft ASL I did not encounter much of a headwind, and was quite relaxed until all of a sudden about 1.5 miles south of the airfield (and town)....
This Google track, with the mountain elevation shown in background, shows my altitude, and the vertical stripes are a second apart. Since I was flying in more or less a straight line, the spacing (seconds) is regular.
From this track, as well as the data I put on the log you can see that there was (middle of this picture) a sudden 2000ft/min gust, as well as some downward falls, whic scare the sh*t out of me.
My question is now....we all know not to fly on the downwind side of a mountain for fear of rotors. Is there perhaps a logical zone where it might be safer. I would have thought that slap bang against a mountain there would be a quiet "cushion" of air above which the rotors would occur?
Once I took of in from a quite FASH, and once I got above 1000ft I got clapped by the rotors of the mountains due to an easterly. Which is why I had this "cushion" theory, until today!

Shaken, but not stirred,
Yours
G