Surfers know how it is. There are some places you want to go. Like Pipeline in Hawaii, G-land in Indo. And Jeffries Bay, or JBay as it is known, is one of them. We woke up to a perfect winter’s day, barely a breeze to be had, not a cloud in sight, and about 20 degrees. We had breakfast looking out over the Indian Ocean and watched a group of whales cruising by.
Supertubes is the famous break here, and we are staying about 200m from it. So John organised a hire board (being the only surfing accessory he couldn’t fit in his bag), and disappeared for some fun. He reports that it was poor to medium, but easy to see how good it could get.
Ferg and Harry had a great morning on the beach in the sun.
A quiet afternoon, where John squeezed in another solo surf, then took the boys out for a quick dip. Here’s a pic I took of the boys at the water’s edge, while John gets a last wave and the moon rises. Sweet.
And that’s a squid boat on the horizon – the first of many each night. We used to see them from our house back home when we first moved there in the mid 90s, not for some years now.
The Fourth of July brought a change to the weather. A howling southwesterly and buckets of rain with it. Although the wind was favorable for another surf, the swell was in a coma. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt about surfing, it’s that you need a big weather window to guarantee a good time. So our brief two days didn’t really deliver. Maybe come back another day? Might be best to leave town as they are setting up for the Billabong Pro comp which starts in a few days. The circus is in town.
We headed south for a look at St. Francis Bay where is was getting windier and the downpour continued. This is the most amazing town. There are two sections and in one part, every single house, without exception, is white with either a slate or a thatched roof. It’s an unwritten law.
The other part of town is all beige. Clearly they don’t make the most of their non-white opportunity. Very beige.
Here’s a random photo of the stadium they built for the Soccer World Cup in Cape Town.
Leaving South Africa tomorrow for the Zambian side of Victoria Falls.
That must be a grat plase there Harry, it must, is it.
Hi,
Thanks for setting up your blog. I am glad to read that you are enjoying Africa. Loved reading about the coastal towns on the Garden Route. It sounds as if they have grown a lot since I was there, but that was 24 years ago! Shame about the surf. I am intrigued about your shark dive. I am amazed that they let the boys go in the cage. Did they snorkel or were they on scuba?
How are you getting to Livingstone? Flying or driving? M & D seem to think you are driving.
It is cold in Melbourne – surprise, surprise!
Love,
C
Hi Caroline, yes I was surprised the boys were allowed to shark dive. The operators had no problem with it though. We took their own wetsuits, so no problem with small sizes. They just wear a mask and goggles. No snorkel or anything. You dip under the water when the staff yell “down” and hold your breath while the sharks cruise by.
As you will read, we flew port Elizabeth to JBurg then on to Livingstone. Just been having African Internet connections!
Harry bought a shark tooth necklace to match the one he has at home. He took 72 photos of it, but I’m not going to put those on the blog!!!! Ill check his camera for something better.
It is beautiful weather in Zambia! But I guess you knew that.
Bridget
Wow what an adventure! It all looks amazing. Great blog thanks Bridget.
Hi Nat, I just love this place. So much more to tell when next have coffee!
Bridget