So our trips are fundamentally all about a South African surf adventure but that doesn’t mean thats all we get up to, we’re also about traveling. Experiencing new parts of the world while learning to or improving your surfing is a dream for most people and a dream we’re ever so happy to help make a reality. South Africa as a surf destination is incredible and has just about everything you could ask for waves wise but what really takes the South African experience a tier above the rest is all it has to offer outside of surfing. South Africa is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world, diverse in landscapes as well and no stop on our journey up its east coast is the same, some even with completely contrasting feels and after 6 weeks of traveling the coast you end up with quite a lot to digest and this is what makes South Africa so special. So while we’re all about surfing, this is just to show you everything we’ve been up to in-between over the past 6 weeks, from the city lights and bustle of trendy Cape Town to the rural, open hills of the Transkei with raw ocean below you and clearest constellations above, this is home for me and I couldn’t be happier to be sharing it with these guys.
Me in front of the lens in Coffee Bay
Community
We get to visit some of the most incredible places in South Africa and a lot of the places we visit are also home to some of the most disadvantaged communities who have limited opportunity, we work with organisations who endeavour to provide opportunity to those less fortunate than many of us. It’s a great way to give back and to meet local people, learning about the way of life in that area and to have a legitimate experience of what is the unfortunate reality for many people in South Africa. We worked with Waves for Change in Cape Town helping kids from the community learn to surf and in Jeffrey’s bay we spent the afternoon working with a day care in a nearby township painting their classroom and giving it a new lease on life.
Culture
South Africa is also home to some of the best wines in the world and the Cape Winelands is where most of these world class grapes are grown and fermented. Admittedly wine isn’t exactly our thing on this trip and not something we all particularly enjoy just yet but we thought we’d give it a go and indulge in a bit of wine culture at one of South Africa’s oldest estates and Vineyards in Groot Constantia.
In Jeffreys Bay we got to meet up with the local legend himself Mikey Meyer who shared his wisdom on surfboard shaping and invited the boys around for a few hours each day as they played a hand in designing and shaping their very own Single-Fin Surfboards. A truly once in a life-time opportunity to work with a craftsmen of Mikey’s calibre in what is considered to be a fine art, especially when it comes to Single-Fin’s.
Scenery
South Africa also happens to be one of the most scenic parts of the world and though its winter we have enjoyed some of the most wonderful weather on our travels. We hiked one of the 7 natural wonders of the world in Table Mountain, hiked the incredibly beautiful Robberg Point in Plettenberg Bay, relaxed on beautiful sandy beaches, watched the sunrise from our rooms in Jeffrey’s Bay, watched the worlds best right hand point break at its best, experienced the old dutch town of St Francis which was made famous by the ‘Endless Summer’ movie, explored the hills of the wild coast in Coffee bay and enjoyed the tropical waters of durban for sunrise surfs. Life is really good in South Africa, it’ll fill your cup!
Wildlife
It doesn’t count as a trip to South Africa if you don’t go and see all the awesome wildlife viewing there is on offer. On our travels we got to see Lions in Port Elizabeth, Penguins in their natural environment in Cape Town, we got to interact with a Cheetah in Jeffreys Bay, surf with dolphins in Coffee bay and see Rhino, Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe, Buck, Wild Dog, Hyena, Vultures and more on Safari in Durban. Not to mention all the Flora of the Western Cape which is the most diverse floral kingdom on the planet! We were truly spoilt.
We’ve had a few great laughs as well along the way, one of the most memorable for us was Ed’s Bungy jump off of the worlds highest bridge bungy at a casual 216m.. he was all talk of bravado and grace but it ended up being quite different as fear prevailed and he pulled off the worst (but most hilarious) jump I’ve seen in the past two years of working with Ticket to Ride haha and here it is for your viewing pleasure!
Shakka’s
Luke 🙂