Well we’re winding down towards the end of our stay in J-Bay and everyone has really enjoyed it here. You really are in a proper surfing town here, with surf shops everywhere and it seems that every person you meet surfs. The reason that the town exists is because of the great waves, and being the mecca of surfing in South Africa many a surfer has moved to J-Bay purely to enjoy its perfect waves.
Tomorrow we are heading to St. Francis bay, made famous in the first Endless Summer movie where the travelling surfers found amazing waves at Bruce’s Beauties. Bruce’s no longer breaks very consistently as the housing on the dunes stops the sand from being blown into the ocean which the break needs to be at its best. Despite this there are still great waves in the area and the swell forecast looks good for it.
The group did a great job helping the Supertubes Foundation by doing a massive beach cleanup near the backpackers we are staying at. This was followed by Pete sharing some of his knowledge of lifesaving to the group. Being a surfer it is really important to have skills in both first aid and lifesaving as you never know when you may need it given the nature of the sport.
Friday night was a dressup party at the backpackers we are staying at, and without giving away too much there were some pretty impressive outfits worn! With a strong onshore wind on Saturday it was a bit of a relaxing day with another trip to the Waterfall. We were also graced by our second snake of the trip, this time a beautiful slim green water snake in the pool we had just been swimming in.
Today we headed off to Seaview Lion Park. Whilst it does seem a little sad seeing them fenced in, the area they live in is a good size and it gives us the opportunity to see these creatures so close up. When face to face with them you really can understand why they are referred to as the King of the Beasts. They really are massive, and one of their claws is about the size of one of my fingers! Their animal instincts were also really interesting to observe, with Freddie Lloyd-Jones sitting on the grass outside the fence and turning his back one of the lions started stalking him. Also Tom and Hilde, two of the smaller members in the group were the two who the lions had their eyes on the whole time as they licked their lips! You also get the chance to touch lion cubs here, but at 8 months old you already feel that they would be able to savage you in a second if they felt like it.
Alright Cape St. Francis road trip tomorrow, hold thumbs for us and hopefully I’ll have some photographic and video evidence of the waves we get. Hope you’re all doing great in your respective corners of the world.
Cheers from South Africa.
Chris