DURBAN BLOG:
The drive from Coffee Bay to Durban is beautiful albeit long. We arrived safely and checked in at Anstey’s Beach Backpackers on a stunning Tuesday afternoon. The very popular Anstey’s is owned and run by South Africa’s famous big wave rider, Rudy Palmboom and his wife, Tash and is an all-surf orientated place to stay.
On Wednesday morning, we surfed the Bluff, which is directly in front of the backpackers. We were all very keen for our long awaited Durban surf. The waves on the Bluff were challenging but in whatever conditions, Durban surfs are always pleasant with the bikini-warm water and stunning surrounds. That afternoon, we all went to Clayton’s surfboard factory for a tour and to order some custom made surfboards. Clayton is one of South Africa’s most renowned surfboard shapers so it was a privilege to be given a tour and talk by the legend himself.
On Thursday we took to the group off to Ushaka Beach for a change of scenery and to get a chance to surf yet another of the very many surf spots in Durban. We indulged in a quick lunch and then headed back to the backpackers for another surf on the Bluff in 1-2 ft perfect conditions.
An early morning surf was on Friday’s agenda! We got up bright and early and after some brekkie, headed into town to surf at arguably one of South Africa's best waves, New Pier. New Pier is one of the breaks on Durban beachfront that is formed due to the piers, which (Creates a perfectly shaped sand bar that runs from the beginning of the pier to the end causing the wave to break like a pointbreak)After our surf at this world class break, we excitedly shot off back to Clayton’s Surf Factory to collect the boards that we had custom ordered. Needless to say, there were many happy faces among the crew.
That evening we enjoyed a traditional South African braai at the backpackers with boerewors rolls and chops and of course, some of the local South African brews to celebrate a great day on the trip! After the braai, we headed out to experience some of Durban’s night life and landed up watching some excellent live music and everyone had a great night!
Needless to say, Saturday morning was off to a slow start. This was our last day at Anstey’s and we were off to our next stop, The Secret Spot in Ballito, about an hour away from the Bluff. We went straight to the backpackers to drop off our bags and then to Ushaka Marine World for a day of awesome fun on some of the highest water slides in the Southern Hemisphere. Although it’s the middle of winter, Durban blessed us with an amazing day and the waterslides were a lot of fun for all.
On Sunday, we went back to the Piers in town for our morning surf. Of course, we were met with super fun waves and a great start to our busy day. Afterwards we headed off to Gateway, which is Durban’s largest mall where the renowned Wave House is situated. The Wave House boasts the biggest man made stationary wave in the world – The D-Rex, which is a 10ft barrelling left and right point break wave. It’s a fusion of surfing, snowboarding, skating and wakeboarding and is a challenging ride for any boardrider. TTRide’s afternoon at the Wave House is always loads of fun! With everyone cheering on each other ‘in the tube’ and getting to experience another ‘version’ of surfing, there was heaps of fun and laughter watching each other attempt to surf the only standing wave in Africa.
Thereafter, we were in search for some real waves from Mother Nature and so headed back to Ushaka for a late arvo (surfer’s slang for afternoon) surf and then back to the Secret Spot Backpackers in Balitto to rest our bodies after a very busy day.
On Monday we decided to head off to Mfolozi Game Reserve, which is just outside of Durban to see if we could spot some of the African “Big Five”. We were very lucky to see quite a few animals, namingly elephant, buffalo, impala and some beautiful birds of prey. We had a close encounter with an inquisitive elephant and all-in-all it was a truly fantastic experience spending a day in a beautifully protected part of Africa!
Tuesday was the last full day of the trip. The group hadn’t yet experienced a sunrise surf, so we got up super early before the sun for a “dawnie” (surfers slang for a surf before sunrise) and paddled out at New Pier while the sun was rising. There’s something very special about this time of day when it’s quiet and still and being out in the surf is even more special so needless to say, we had a perfect start to our last day. There was nothing that anyone wanted to do more on their last day but spend as much time as possible in the water surfing and on the beach soaking up the surfing lifestyle. So we spend the entire day doing just that, together as a group with all of our new friends.
We ended the day and the trip with the traditional Ticket to Ride End-of-Trip braai at the Secret Spot Backpackers. It’s a great time to reminisce about all of the fun times spent over the past 6-weeks, which have absolutely flown by. While learning to surf, the whole group made new friends, had many laughs and experienced South Africa’s surfing world in its entirety. For many, it was a trip of a lifetime and at the end of the day, everyone is taking home the gift of surfing, which is the greatest thing in the whole world. Billabong’s catch phrase is definitely true, “Only a surfer knows the feeling.”
I hope my blogs have been informative and you have enjoyed keeping up to date with our progress and adventures along the way.
Everyone that was on the trip I will truly miss you guys.:)
Signing out
Chadington Bear (groups nickname for me )