Sanibonani – Hello and welcome back to the South Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
So far so good here in the kingdom of the zulu as fresh swell on the coast has kept us busy these past few days.
On Sunday we visited one of the strongholds of surfing on the South Coast, Umzumbe. The conditions weren’t great in the morning, but upon checking the spot again in the afternoon, we were stoked to find that the swell had cleaned up. With water temperatures in excess of 25 degrees it was no wonder that we spent all afternoon surfing. The tide was nice and high which allowed the waves to push over the outer banks and break nearer the shore which made for a nice easy paddle and plenty of waves! With clean, warm water and loads of waves, it was an epic afternoon.
On Monday we woke up to another beastly-easterly which messed up the swell from the previous day. With no sign of the offshore we decided to make alternative plans. As part of the surf coaches course, each rider is required to complete a 1st aid course in the form of a “surf saver” award. We spent the afternoon going over a few of the aspects of the course including, signals, CPR and emergency protocol. It’s a whole lot of fun, and a great excuse to get out on the beach for a day!
Later in the evening we were treated to a traditional Durban “Bunny Chow” for dinner. The basic bunny chow consists of a Durban-styled curry served up in a hollowed out loaf of bread. It’s the ultimate hunger-buster for any Durban surfer.
This morning we took some time off from the beach and went to visit the Wedge Surfboard Factory in Umzumbe. We met up with Justin and Gary Maisch, who took us around their factory and talked us through the process of designing and shaping a quality surfboard. The tour was particularly valuable considering a number of the guys will be doing their presentations on board designs and construction. We got to learn about everything from blowing a blank, to shaping and buffing fins. It was a highly enjoyable trip and some of the guys bought themselves few sets of fins as souvenirs. They’re pretty eager to try them out now. The wind looks like its dying down a little here, so we may just get a chance to get those new fins wet this afternoon, so till next time
Take care,
Bevan and Jill