Tuesday 5th Feb
Hi everyone it has been boiling hot here in Cape Town, so we took the crew to surf Long Beach, which is in the suburb Kommetjie and is known as one of Cape Town’s most consistent waves. It was small and clean with some power behind the waves, Nick was loving it out there, and Matt and Will were taking turns getting wave after wave. We then played soccer (football) with the Juventus Masiphumeleli U9 team at the beach. The kids were loving playing against the Ticket to Ride team and were very talented. Ben and Alex scored a few goals for their team and even had their own victory claim.
On Wednesday we started the day off with a great little run, and then we headed over for a surf at Scarborough, another wave on the ‘Atlantic’ side. It was quite windy but everyone was stoked to be out on their new surf boards and some great waves were ridden. It was Nikita’s birthday so we had a cake for her and shared a few beers in the evening after packing our bags for the morning’s drive to Plett.
We woke up at 6 am and packed the trailer to get ready for our new adventure. The journey to Plettenberg Bay is around 8 hours, but the drive went well and the crew got to see ostriches and elephants. The route to Plett is called the Garden Route and has a number of forests we drive through, the Knysna Forest being the most known. We got to Albergo backpackers around 4pm, checked in and unpacked for a great week in Plett. Plett is a really beautiful stop on this trip and offers many attractions, from Skydiving and a wildlife Cat sanctuary, to boat rides and sea canoeing.
Today was our first day in Plettenberg Bay. The crew had their first lesson with the International Surf School run by John and Donna, husband and wife. The conditions were perfect and we spent a solid 6 hours at the beach. Everyone loved it and enjoyed the waves at solar beach (one of the many beaches in Plettenberg Bay).
We spent the whole day on the beach on Saturday (The Wedge). The Wedge is a well-known body-boarding wave in South Africa, which also meant it was great for the crew to practice their body surfing (catching waves with no board). It was a great recovery day for everyone and recharge for the next few days of training and loads of surfing.
Sunday the crew had their second lesson with John and Donna. Ronan, George, Matt, Will, Tom and Ryan were all surfing really well and enjoying the clean running waves. We did some exercise as in shuttles with push-ups; star jumps, sit-ups and burpees, and finished the training with some in and outs in the sea and body surfing.
It's Monday, a new week for the group and what a beautiful first day of the week, blue skies and no wind. In Plett skydiving is a major attraction, so we always recommend it. Sarah and Lucy were the first to go. They were blown away by the view. Alex and Tom were next, Tom rated it to be the best experience he’s ever had, after surfing a wave of course. Danielle and Matt were the last to go before we headed down to Lookout Beach for everyone’s last surf lesson with John and Donna. The waves were really good and the sea was crystal blue. Charlie had some really good waves and didn't stop talking about the surf for hours (only a surfer knows the feeling).
Tuesday was time for the last 5 of the group and myself to skydive. I'm really afraid of heights and can say I'm so happy I got the opportunity to do it and definitely will again soon. Lauren, Lydia, Ben, Charlie and Will were all buzzing after it and wanted to go again straight away! We met up with the rest of the group who had been surfing and had lunch together. We then mustered the whole group together and went for a team surf as a family. After the surf we went and did swimming training at the local swimming pool in Plett and worked on everyone's stroke technique.
We only have two more days in the beautiful Plettenberg Bay, which everyone has loved and will miss. Next stop, every surfers dream around the world, Jeffreys Bay.
‘Til then
Klee Strachan