So this is it, the final week of the South Africa trip is finished and we have said our goodbyes, some onwards to Mozambique, some homeward bound and others continuing their travels. But before we get to the sad part, we had a great last week in Durban.
Having done the lifesaving course, all that was left was the ISA Level 1 instructor course. The course comprises of the theory aspect, passing the surfing, and then completing 20 hours of coaching for a surf school. Due to the intensity of the coaching over the 9 weeks prior to the course the group participated well, and had seen first-hand much of what they were learning. They all passed their surfing which was impressive given how short some of them had been surfing.
After the course was done it was time to just have loads of fun for the remainder of the trip. We went to the flow rider at Gateway, which is a standing wave. It is a lot harder than it looks and there were some amazing wipeouts, but loads of fun too.
Some of the guys ordered really extravagant designs on their new custom surfboards so it took a while for them to come through. Fortunately they were ready in time for the guys to surf them a few times before the trip ended. The waves during the last week of the trip really provided for us at the piers in Durban. It was clean and head-high for three days straight. We surfed, surfed, and surfed some more, only stopping for food or water. With the water being so warm in Durban there really is nothing to keep you out of the water!
And then suddenly that was it, it was the last night and we were sitting around a table sharing our favourite moments from the trip. We had amazing homemade pizzas all together, had some beers, played ping pong and really enjoyed the final hours of the group being all together.
Over the last 24 hours before the first flights there were tears at times, but mainly laughter and smiles. It is hard to describe the incredible bond that had formed in the group over the trip. They all looked out for each other and really had made friends for life.
I know I have. Thanks to everyone for an amazing trip, I loved it.
Klee
p.s. Due to my laptop deciding not to wake up on the final night of the SA trip I won't be able to post blogs from Mozambique, so follow us on Facebook, Instagram (@ttride) and twitter (@ttridesa and @ttride) to see what we are getting up to.