Hi all and welcome to Plettenberg Bay, the beautiful little costal village on the border between the provinces of the Eastern and Western Cape
Our last few days in Cape Town were a real blast. On Tuesday evening the guys met up with the kids from Masipumilele Township for another game of football, but this time on their home turf. We met with Thomas, who helps co-ordinate football development in the township and got a few games underway. We played all the way till sunset when it was time to say goodbye to all the kids and get ourselves home.
Later that night Paul and Dene Botha from Kahuna Surf Academy invited us over for a real, South African style braai. Both Paul and Dene had just recently returned from J-Bay where they had been working at the Billabong Pro. This contest is one of the stops on the WCT “Dream” Tour. The top 44 surfers in the world all compete on this round-the-world tour for the crown of ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) World Champion. This year the waves were cited as some of the best surf of the entire tour, with five10 point rides (perfect score) being awarded, a figure previously unheard of. In the end though, it was Joel Parkinson from Australia who walked away with the top honours at J-Bay. Dene and Paul put on massive feast and got chatting with the guys well into the night.
On Wednesday we took a drive in search of waves. The wind was coming up quite strong and the sea was looking quite big, so we needed to find somewhere a little more sheltered from all the elements. We decided to make a short spot at Boulder Beach to see the penguins that live there. At this time of the year many of the females have stared to lay their eggs while the juveniles are getting ready so make their first swims. It was an interesting stop, but one that we kept short and sweet, after all, there were waves to find!
After a long and unsuccessful search we decided to head back to Kommetjie. To my surprise, the wind had swung around to the south, which is a perfect offshore breeze for our local spot at Long Beach. So off we went to spend some time in the sea. Olli and the girls got some practice in on their new boards by riding some of the foamies on the beach while Pierce and I headed out to take on a few of the back ones. Despite the cold weather, it was a wonderful way for us to end off our time in Cape own. That evening Tim took everyone out for pizzas at the Fisherman’s before it was off to bed for an early night before the big drive!
Early Thursday morning we said our goodbyes to our gracious hosts Shaun and Lucinda (and Zoe the dog) and headed out on the road to Plett. The drive from Cape Town to Plett can be quite a long one, but with the amazing views and landscapes, the time seems to pass quite quickly. Most of the road is surrounded my various mountain ranges including the Swatberg mountains and the Tsitsikamma Berge, which make for some breathtaking scenery. Along the way I decided to make a short detour to Victoria Bay, a spot well known in surfing circles as one of the best waves in South Africa. Unfortunately the swell was still a little rough so we didn’t get a chance to see any of the locals ripping into it, but its still a great little place to stop by in, even just for a little while. The rest of the trip from Vic Bay to Plett is relatively quick and takes you through the wilderness area of the Western Cape, another scenic gem along the Gardden Route.
Arriving in Plett, the guys got settled into their new homes while I went out to meet with Jon and Donna Henry from the International Surf School to discuss the lesson plans for the next few days.
Yesterday morning I took the guys out for their first taste of Plett waves. We did an orientation drive around the town stopping at all the various spots to check out what the surf was doing and then headed off to Hobbie Beach for a few waves. The tide was quite low and the waves really short, but it was still really good to be in the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean. Later that morning, upon Jon’s recommendation, the group and I headed out to the lagoon for an intense fitness session. The idea behind the sessions is to get our riders into top shape, improving on basic techniques such as paddling, and increasing endurance levels so that the guys can spend more time in the water. Each day a different member of the group takes the fitness session, which runs for approximately one hour. They have to come up with all the exercises and activities and run the session. I got things started off by getting the guys to do a few run-swim-runs, pop-ups on the beach and a session of sprint paddling on the lagoon
After lunch I took the guys out for another surf at Central Beach for a few fun shore-breaks on the high tide. It was a classic way to end the day before heading back home for another classic South African style potjie dinner with Jon and Donna.
This morning the group and I are about to head out for the much-anticipated bungy jump. At 216m it’s the world’s highest, but more on that in my next entry.
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Till next time…
Take Care
Bevan