Hi everyone it has been a week of onshore wind on the Muizenberg side of the Cape Peninsula, so we decided to take a drive to the Atlantic side (Big Bay). The conditions were great and the crew got their first taste of clean glassy waves and icy cold water. It was around 2 foot in size, which made itperfect for everyone to go out to the backline beyond the white water and start working on riding open face waves (green wall waves).
The next day we awoke to perfect conditions right on our doorstep at Muizenberg. Matt was having an awesome time, I saw him riding a wave almost every time I looked out to sea. George and William were loving being back in the warmer water, and Charlie had his best wave of the trip so far. Every one was surfing smaller boards and said they all really enjoyed it.
We have been using Lifestyle Surf Shop as our base camp. It has really great facilities from hot showers, change rooms, lockers and even a hair dryer. Tich Paul is the owner of the shop and was one of the first South African surfers to be allowed to compete over seas when apartheid was driven out of the country. Due to apartheid South Africans weren't allowed to compete on an international level.
Thursday started off with a talk on boards from Chris Bond that included a run down on how surfboards are made, what they are made from, and how everything on a board works from the tail to the rails and fins. We then went for a hike up to Elephants Eye which is a cave in the Silvermine nature reserve and has an amazing view of Cape Town and False Bay.
It was Toms 19th Birthday so we went to Klein Constantia to do one of those things one has to do in Cape Tonw, wine tasting. The crew got a tour of the farm
and cellars, told how wine is made and got to taste four whites and four red wines. It was topped off with Vin de Constance, a desert wine that is voted one of the 100 best wines in the world and was loved by everyone.
Friday the waves were really fun and clean. Ben was stoked with his smaller board and was smiling from ear to ear. We ended the day by going to the Blue Bird Market, which is a short walk up the road from the Backpackers where we stay. It has amazing food, arts and crafts for sale. They also sell the only bitter beer in town, giving the English guys a little taste of home.
On Saturday we woke up and gathered the crew and went for a boat ride to Robben Island and tour of the prison and surrounding area. It is where Nelson Mandela and many other political prisoners were sent to during apartheid for political crimes. It had around 1000 prisoners and 350 prison guards when it was running. 60% of South Africa's current constitution was written in a cave at the lime quarry where the prisoners were sent to do daily work. The limestone was used to fix the roads on the island and prison. The group really enjoyed Robben island, and Ronan found it especially interesting getting to hear more about South Africa’s history and ‘dark’ years.
Sunday morning we headed down to surf even though the sea was quite choppy. Having grown up surfing these sort of waves and learning as much as I did from them I think that those sessions are really important when the waves aren’t perfect, it lets you really work on the details. We then toke a drive to Boulders which is in Simon's Town and known for its colony of African penguins that are surveyed and looked after there. Nikita Robb adores penguins and so did Sarah Goble, Lydia, Lauren, Lucy and Danielle Smith. We took a couple pictures and watched them waddle around. They are endless entertainment.
Monday was an important day for the group, the day they bought their new surfboards. We headed down as soon as Lifestyle was open and carefully selected each person a board according to their ability and potential. They then went out for a surf on their new boards and everyone was ‘stoked’. We followed that up by a swell talk where they got taught about how waves are made and how to read swell charts. The group then watched some video footage of themselves which is always great to track progression as well as to help work on stance and technique. It can be quite a shock though!
We woke up at 6am on Tuesday morning and headed to Table Mounatain (a World Heritage Site). It's the only place in the world where you can take a picture of a world heritage site (Robben Island) from a world heritage site (Table Mountain)! We walked up the mountain, which is a solid hike, but totally worth it once you get to the view from the top with that extra sense of accomplishment. The cable car down was a welcome relief!
Its been a super busy week and fun last few days. Next stop is Plett which everyone is looking forward to. Cape Town treated us well but this trip is about an adventure and everyone is excited to see something new, and to jump off the world’s highest bungy of course!
Until next time,
Klee