Jeffreys Bay blog 1
The drive to JBay from Plett was pleasantly short and we arrived at our destination, the vibrant Island Vibe Backpackers situated virtually on the beach directly in front of ‘Kitchen Windows”, a point-break wave that breaks on rocks instead of the usual sand bottom and this is where the majority of our surf lessons were to take place.
I shot off to the Port Elizabeth to pick up two more guys who were joining up with us on the awesome TTRide African road trip. Welcome James and Ed!
The surf out at kitchen windows presents predominately right handed breaking waves. Natural footed surfers (who surf with their left foot forward) prefer right-handed waves because they face the wave when they are up and riding, whereas a goofy footer (right foot forward) has his back to the wave. Most of the group is natural footers so they have really enjoyed the waves out here. We have been very blessed with south-westerly winds for the first few days of our stay. A south-west wind is offshore in JBay so we enjoyed clean and glassy conditions.
By now, most of the group have gone from riding white water “foamies” to riding open faced waves and Jeffreys is the ultimate spot for long, smooth, gentle clean and extremely fun rides. Catching a wave that takes you all the way to the beach is a great feeling for a surfer and almost everyone has had the chance to experience this by now.
In between all of the free-surfing and lessons we managed to fit in some other fun activities. Fifteen minutes away is a beautiful waterfall and zip line, which one can hang on and slide down into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. The mountain water is always chilly and refreshing and the group had a great time swimming, zip lining and for the more adventurous in the group, rock jumping.
I took the group to one of Jeffery’s best surfboard shapers’ factory, Mikey Meyer to see what surfboards are made out of and how they are built from start to finish. Mikey has been shaping surfboard in Jeffreys Bay for the past 30 years so he has a LOT of insight on the technical aspects of surfboard. The crew was fascinated with what Mikey taught them and everyone gained valuable knowledge about the sport.
A tradition for TTRide in Jeffrey’s Bay is beach soccer because there is a huge beach right in front of the backpackers, which is perfect for beach ‘footie’. There are always many games played but the most significant is the match between Island Vibe and the TTRide group. Unfortunately, this time, the backpackers were victorious but needless to say, there were ample laughs and everyone had a fun afternoon in good sportsmanship.
Our stay in Jeffrey’s Bay is longer than any of the other spots simply because this is South Africa’s surfing mecca. For so many surfers around the world, it’s their dream to come to Jeffrey’s Bay. There is so much surf history here and the surfing culture is so strong. The group have so enjoyed their stay so far and are looking forward to many more fun waves in the days to follow.
Signing off…
Chad