Friday morning we woke up, packed the trailer and were all ready for our journey to adrenaline central Plettenberg Bay. On the drive we head through quite a few small farm towns and the drive up the garden route is spectacular. When we arrived at Albergo Backpackers, which is our home for our stay in Plett, we were greeted with open arms by the staff that know us to well. It’s an awesome backpackers that has all the needs from a kitchen to a TV room, free wi-fi and a braai chill out area that we always make the most of.
Saturday was a little overcast but still warm, the crew had their first lesson with John and Donna, who own the main surf school (international surf school) in Plett. They know all the ins and outs about Plett's beaches and have loads of knowledge to give the group, from the safety part to technique and catching the right waves. The group had there lesson down at Beacon Beach which is a fun wave and is located right next a hotel on the beach. It was a good first lesson; Beth and Emily were both catching loads of waves, Tim and Will both loved the wedgy lefts and George was really enjoying his fair share of waves. We did some beach training that afternoon, where we did some shuttles and exercises to get the groups fitness and strength up. That evening we went out to a local bar and had a few drinks and the boys danced loads.
Sunday the group had their second lesson with John and Donna down at Lookout beach, which is just 300 meters down the road from where we stay. Lookout had an amazing right sandbar just over a year ago, which saw many south Africans from all over coming to get there fair share of waves. The group had a good 3-hour lesson in the sunny clean conditions and all enjoyed the new beach break and fun waves. That evening we relaxed around the fire place and spoke about our awesome trip so far. We were also lucky enough to have Nikita’s mother come out from Knysna, who made us an awesome home made dinner, nothing like a mothers touch.
We woke up to a very hot and sunny day on Monday, we started the morning off with a swimming training session down at the local pool, we did loads of stroke drills and a few sprints. The group really enjoyed it and trained hard. The group were also all super amped to skydive while in Plett. Its one of the main attractions in Plett as it’s a beautiful place to do it. Throughout the day the group did their jumps in twos and came down from their 32-second free fall 10000 ft jump with massive smiles. It was an awesome thrill-filled day, which we ended with a great traditional South African braai.
Tuesday was started off with the group’s last lesson with John and Donna. We surfed at the wreck, it’s a really fun but challenging wave, the group had to be smart and committed. Callum really showed commitment when he got wiped out on a solid wave, but just kept going out to find a good wave. Tim and Graham got some fun waves too. We surfed for around 3 hours and made the most of the great conditions. We relaxed around the fireplace that evening and enjoyed a cold beer after a hard day of surfing. Wednesday was once again very hot. We did a swimming training session and then walked home to check the surf out on the way. We relaxed before heading down to lookout beach and surfed a few different peaks (where the waves break), which helped to split the group up. We had dinner at the Surf Café, which is owned by a surfer and offers great meals at a great price.
It was overcast and needed cool day on Thursday, we did a timed 400-meter swim, everyone passed and improved a lot on their first swim, we then had a surf at lookout. It was fun and the group really enjoyed the clean 2 ft waves. That evening Nikita and I made pasta for the group. We packed our bags and were looking forward to our next stop. Surfing Mecca Jeffreys Bay.
Klee Strachan