Howzit everyone,
I trust and hope you have had a great weekend. We are now in Jeffreys Bay having had a really enjoyable stay in Plett. Everyone enjoyed their time there and it was an adrenalin and surfing packed week. Jeffreys Bay has started off with a bang with good waves everyone is enjoying the lively backpackers, Island Vibe.
Where we left off last was with the rather terrifying prospect of jumping off a bridge. Whilst some were excited most of the group were just a little scared/nervous. Whilst jumping out of a plane and freefalling 35-seconds is quite an experience, throwing yourself off a bridge definitely ups the adrenalin as you are so near the ground and the experience is indeed quite scary. The initial view you get of the bridge (see photo attached) is possibly more scary than even jumping. One person who had intended to jump changed their mind just from that sight! Most of the group jumped though and all who did did so with very brave faces and not too many tears were spilled. Yes it is that scary that people regularly cry before jumping off! It was loads of fun though, and Tom Allport was literally jumping around on the bridge after it just wanting to do it again.
The next day was time for J-Bay, home to the best point break in the world. And we were greeted with Supertubes, the top section of the wave, really doing its thing. With some of the country’s best surfers in the water Pete and myself joined them to get a part of the action. It was 4-5 foot (meaning about 2-2.5m in surfers feet!!). Jeffreys Bay and Supertubes is a really special place, being one of the world’s best waves and knowing that all the best surfers in the world and sat on the same benches as you watching the waves and surfed the same waves. It has a great setup to watch the waves from too in amongst the indigenous aloe trees overlooking the waves.
The wave which the group has been surfing is called Kitchen Windows and our backpackers literally overlooks the wave. It is a perfectly running right and left reef. A really fun reef and the perfect step-up from Plett. There is a serious extra fear factor for everyone with the rocks below but everyone has managed to avoid them so far and a lot of the group have had the best wave of their life out there already!!! The lessons with their coach, Etienne Venter, start tomorrow. He has recently been over in New Zealand coaching the South African Junior team at the World Games, so he will no doubt have some great tips to share with everyone.
This afternoon was spent at ‘the waterfall’ as the onshore wind came up. It is better known for its rockjump and zipline than the actual waterfall but is a lot of fun and a good way to get out of the wind. If you look at the pictures you will see what this was all about, but things that have stuck in my mind were Pete doing some front-flip thing off the smaller jump, and Freddie Lloyd-Jones sitting up at the top for about an hour before jumping. Henrik also showed his cool nonchalance again, going straight to the high jump and throwing himself off before most of the group were even in their costumes yet!
Well, a busy and fun start to Jeffreys Bay, and with good waves coming this week I’ll let you know on Wednesday how everything is going and who has been doing what!
Cheers
Chris and Pete