Hi guys, it was Tuesday morning in Plettenberg Bay. The sun was out and waves looked fun. We did a lesson down at Robberg beach and the crew all had a great surf. Chris was getting some really good lefts, while Tobias took off on some big waves and was very committed. Josh, Sam and Dayne were working on catching lots of waves and taking turns. It was a beautiful hot day, and after lunch we went to the swimming pool to do some training, everyones swimming and fitness has really improved over the last few weeks. After a couple of laps and some drills we went down to Lookout Deck restaurant. It's on the beach and has a good view of lookout point. Nicola and Dayne went out for a surf and we all watched from the restaurant and rooted them on. We had a chicken pasta for supper and slept like babies.
Wednesday morning we headed to Tenikwa wild cat sanctuary. It was a warm sunny day and we were hoping the cats would come out to play. At Tenikwa they get injured/endangered wild cats for research purposes and educational. They also have other animals like seagulls and penguins, they rescue animals to rehabilitate them and hopefully release them back in the wild. We were able to stand in the enclosure with a female and a male cheetah that were only a meter away. They have many different cats; like a baby lynx that is 3 weeks old and an older one that is 5 years old, a male leopard and African Wild Cats, that could never be tame like your common household cat. We also saw some baboons jumping off their enclosures roof doing wrestling moves and showing off. We had a guide that filled us in on all the info and every cat, which was very educational and the group all learnt a lot. After Tenikwa we had a quick lunch and headed down to the beach for the groups last lesson with John and Donna. In their last lesson they worked on positioning in the water, which means they worked on being in the best place to catch waves and where the best place is to paddle out. It was a super fun surf and the guys all got some great waves. Sarah and Nicola put a lot of hard work in and were the last two in the water, and both ended their surf with great rides. John and Donna were super stoked to meet the group and were very impressed with everyone's performance. Nikita's mom often comes while we are in Plettenberg Bay and cooks us a motherly meal. She made us a chicken curry that was to die for. We filled our bellies and licked our plates, and thanked Nikita's parents for coming up.
Thursday was our last day in Plett, so we started the morning off with a training session in the pool. The group swam 1 km in total. Everyone's swimming is improving. After training we went and did the trail walk around Robberg peninsula; it is a stunning walk, and half way around the 10 km trail walk there is a seal colony. It's a big colony of seals, young to old, that come and spend their last days relaxing on the warm rocks and bathing in the African sun. We had our packed lunch on the beach, where Sarah, Nicola and Nikita had a swim. In Plett the crew do their first rider diary. The rider diary gives the crew a brief run down on all the stops on the 13 week trip. It has a section in it that the crew get to individually chat with Nikita and myself about how their surfing is going and what they need to work on. It helps the crew to set goals at each stop and work on certain aspects in their surfing. That evening we had a braai and hanged around the fire place with a few drinks.
Friday morning we were leaving Plettenberg Bay and driving to the Mecca to all surfers around the world, Jeffreys Bay. We packed the trailer that morning and headed to the pool for a timed 400m swim. It was a little chilly, but everyone was amped. Everyone cut loads of time off their first timed swim back in Cape Town, a total all together of 16 minutes and 34 seconds! It is a massive improvement and they were all super stoked. We got on the road and were on the way to Bloukrans bridge which is home to the worlds highest bridge bungy. We put some amping music on the way to get pumped for the 216 meter high bungy. You reach around 115 km/h on the fall. When we arrived it was raining and misty, but that just meant more adrenaline. Dayne was first up to jump, but everyone jumped and loved it. It was Tobias's second jump so he did it backwards; it was a thrilling experience. After the crew got their certificates, DVDs and photos, we hit the road to Jeffrey's Bay. We arrived at Island Vibe backpackers and we were welcomed by all the staff. Island Vibe is situated on the beach, overlooking kitchen windows and phantoms. Both are really good waves for the group to push their surfing. It was Friday night which meant a party was on at Island Vibe.
We woke up to crystal blue water and a hot sunny day on Saturday. The swell was really small but it was a beautiful day and we were all happy to be in J-Bay. There are all the surf brand factory shops in J-Bay, so some of the crew went and popped in and had a look at what they had on offer. That afternoon we played a game of beach soccer. It was a fun game and a little fitness. They like to do beach games at Island Vibe, usually with everyone but in our case it would be Ticket to ride versus the Island Vibe staff. It was a good warm up for the next 13 days in Jeffrey's Bay. They make breakfast, lunch and dinner at Island Vibe. The group had 350 g T-bone steaks for dinner. That evening we celebrated for Manuela, because it was her birthday on Sunday. We had a party and a few drinks to celebrate.
Sunday we woke up to some rain and a little more swell. We all went out at kitchen windows for our first surf in Jeffrey's Bay. Kitchen windows is an A-frame peak which means you can go left and right on every wave. It always takes a few surfs to get into the wave, due to the strong waves and the fact you are surfing over rocks. It was a fun surf, and for Josh one of his best. It was great to be in the water which was 19 degrees celsius. After the surf we went for lunch at a pasta restaurant. On the way there we stopped at Supertubes and showed the group where they used to have the World Champion Tour event (Billabong Pro). It's a world class wave when it's on and is known as the best right point break in the world. Nicola is one of the most amped people in the group to surf, she's always ready first, it seems like her suit jumps on to her and she was just itching to get in the water again. So she went for a quick afternoon surf; we went down and watched her and hit a few golf balls, she got two really good waves and we cheered her on. The sun had come out by the afternoon and the boys were amped for a game of touch rugby. Nicola joined us for the game, she gave the boys a tough time. We all went to bed early because tomorrow was the groups first lesson with Ettiene Venter (South African junior and senior coach).
On Monday the group had their first lesson with Ettiene. They had the lesson at Point which was where they had the Hurley South African junior surfing champs this year. It's a really good right hand point break. It was a new wave and the crew were nervous at the start , but after a few waves, they all got the hang of it. The group was broken into two groups of four and five which let them have more time individually with Ettiene. The group all 'shredded' and had a lot of fun. Having different coaches along the trip helps to cover all the different elements in the groups surfing. It was a solid surf and so we had a big lunch at Nina's restaurant. When we got back to Island Vibe the waves were still really fun at Kitchen windows. The group went out for a free surf. It was great to see them sharing the peak and making the most of the waves on offer. We had dinner and relaxed after a great day.
Till next time
Klee Strachan