Surfing South African Style

Sorry for the delay in posting this blog. It has been constant motion since we left Jeffreys Bay, and I am just now getting to the computer.

Cape St. Francis and Jeffreys Bay are synonymous with epic waves. The design of the coastline and the angle of the bays allow swells to wrap in and peel down the points. We were in the area for just over a week, and I got lucky to catch fun surf at Cape St. Francis and a really good summer swell at Jeffreys Bay. On the best day, it was double over head, and the biggest waves would break for about five hundred yards. The best part of the swell only lasted two days, but the waves I caught were worth the wait, and the trip to see why this place is such a surfer's dream.

We spent our first two days in a nice B & B in Cape St. Francis. This time of year, the area is really quiet. The school holiday crowd is gone and there are just not that many people who head to the coast when the weather is nice (about 80 degrees and sunny with afternoon wind). It was so quiet that a lot of the stores and restaurants were closed or on reduced hours. We had a fun time exploring the area and chasing the best waves between the point breaks and the bay. Both Mat and Charlie were able to get in the water here and really had fun surfing in Africa. Supposedly it is not very sharky here, but one point is called "Shark Point", and the surf reports say to get out of the water quickly if you cut yourself. So who knows? I didn't see any sharks while we were surfing, but when we went out on a fishing boat, the other guy on our boat caught a nice three-footer.

In Jeffrey's Bay, we had a house that was directly across from the Supertubes break, one of the best breaks in world. On the day we arrived, there were no waves but the forecast said a new swell was due by the end of the week. My brother Chris flew out from Colorado and met us here. We spent the first few days checking out the town and going to some of the local attractions. We went Sand boarding on the nearby dunes, the Zip Lines Tour at Tsitskikama Falls, the Monkeyland Sanctuary, and the Birds of Eden Sanctuary. During this downtime, it was fun to spend time with my brother, who I usually only get to see twice a year. Sally enjoyed catching up on some reading, helping the boys with their projects, and cooking some wonderful meals. We made great progress on the schoolwork front, and the boys are putting their experiences to good use. Mat completed a nice research paper on Nelson Mandela, and Charlie enjoyed reading the abridged version of Nelson Mandela's autobiography, "The Long Walk to Freedom".

The swell arrived as they said, and the next few days revolved totally around surfing. Unfortunately, the afternoon wind usually messed up the late session, but the morning sessions were epic with only about ten to fifteen guys out at each break. Most everyone was local, so I did my best not to be a pest and gave plenty of waves away. I caught my fair share and really wished I had someone here to surf with. The swell was too big and the break too strong for the boys, so I surfed alone. The worst part about these waves are the rocks. The entire coastline is sharp rock covered with barnacles and urchins, so getting in and out of the water was very tricky. Big kudos again to my brother in law Bill Gassett for setting me up with the Vibram Foot Gloves. These things really paid off on this trip, especially in Jeffrey's Bay. This was our last time on the coast, so I hooked up with the Billabong surf shops and got a pretty good deal to sell them all my stuff. Thanks again to Mike Dolsey for hooking me up the surfboards, and I look forward to buying similar ones when I get back to the States. Next stop Kruger National Park and our four day safari.

The Garden Route

The section between Cape Town and Jeffrey’s Bay is called the Garden Route due to the amount of cattle farms, vineyards, and breathtaking scenery along the coast. Our first stop was the Skeiding Farm which is over 2,000 acres and raise ostriches, sheep, and cows. It is owned and operated by a very nice family who warmly shared their home with us and even let us help out with the daily chores. Not only did we get to feed them, but Mat and Charlie were invited to watch as they performed ultrasound on over 600 female sheep to determine if they were pregnant and how many babies they were carrying. After being unceremoniously flipped upside down on a metal trough and probed with the internal monitor, they were spray painted to denote their condition. Watching the first few was a bit shocking (Sally, being the only female, felt for the sheep and kept saying “poor girls”), but the process was also very funny watching the sheep dogs work the sheep into the pen and us helping unclog the sheep jam when they wouldn’t move down the corral. We were also treated to an authentic South African braai (BBQ to us), complete with fresh ostrich steaks. They were delicious and went perfectly with the local wine and the amazing view as the full moon rose over the African countryside. We only stayed here two days and then we headed back towards the coast, looking for surf.

Our next stop was Vic Bay, a beach community built inside a little bay that is a wave magnet – so I was told. Usually when you here this, the reality doesn’t usually match the hype. As we reached the gate, I could see the swell pumping into the bay. Vic Bay is actually a private community, and you have to be staying there in order to park inside the bay. Everyone else parks outside in the public lot and walks in. Leaving Sally and the boys in the car, I walked down the access lane that is built right on the rock edge to look for a place to stay. As a perfect overhead five wave set rolled in, I came upon the Waves B&B. I didn’t need to look any farther. Their family apartment was available, and it had a perfect front row view of the bay and the nice swell rolling in. We stayed three days and caught some really fun surf. Since the midday wind always came up and blew out the surf, we looked for other activities. Just inland from us were the Cango Caves, the largest show cave system in South Africa. Mat, Charlie and I signed up for the “adventure tour” which took you well past the normal walking route and into sections that you had to crawl and squeeze through. Mat and I opted out of the last two sections which were even smaller because the group we were with were quite annoying and made us begin to feel a bit claustrophobic. Charlie wasn’t fazed and forged on, first in line, and needing no encouragement. After two hours and going almost one mile into this cave system, we reached the light of day and very fresh air.

Our main stop on the Garden Route was the coastal town of Knysna. It is built around a large lagoon system and on the surrounding hillsides. The lagoon opens up to the ocean and there is a very active marina complex with lots of shops and restaurants. They are famous for their oysters, which are very good, but still no match for our Eastern Shore “Salty Sea Sides”. We got the chance to see the movie “Invictus” here. It was very compelling to see this movie in South Africa and having just gone to a lot of the places shown in the movie. This country is still struggling with its problems, but it has come a long way since the abolishment of apartheid twenty years ago. The most interesting tour we did was to the local Rastafarian Community. We had heard about other drive through tours of the “townships”, but they seemed too much like “Pompous tourism” to me. I saw an add in a brochure about this personal tour given by “Brother Paul”. I called him up and he was very excited to show us his community. The tour lasted about two hours and he drove with us into the main township to where the Rastas live. To understand how lucky you are, all you have to do is drive for five minutes into one of these shanty towns and see how others live. It was refreshing to see the optimism that Brother Paul and his fellow Rastas have. They have very little, but they are happy. Brother Paul showed us their day care center, their church, their music hall, and some of their homegrown ganja plants. Did I mention that they are “happy” people??

Our most memorable time in Knysna was when we went to the Knysna Elephant Sanctuary. At one time, Knysna had their own unique herds of elephants, but they were basically hunted out for sport and their ivory. The last survey only found three wild elephants. The Sanctuary was started fifteen years ago to take in orphans or elephants that other areas couldn’t keep. In order to get the best experience, I booked the elephant ride which allowed us to ride them for about thirty minutes and then interact with the entire herd for about two hours. Needless to say, we all loved the experience, and it made us even more excited about the upcoming safari in Kruger National Park.
After our four days in Knysna, we headed further up the coast to the place that characterized the original “Endless Summer” – Cape St. Francis and Jeffrey’s Bay. Possibly some of the best waves in the world.

Great White Central

May God Bless Lloyd Skinner and his family.

As you may have noticed, I have not included any stories about surfing in the Cape Town area. There is good reason for this – the highest concentration of Great White Sharks in the world. This reality hit me in the face when I read the first mornings headlines. Lloyd Skinner, a 38 year old Engineer from Zimbabwe was swimming in about six feet of water within one hundred yards from shore, when a Great White approximately 16 – 18 feet long attacked him and completely devoured him. This happened about 3:30 PM on a sunny day in front of many beach guests and local homeowners, who witnessed it from their porches. One person described the shark as “like a dinosaur, it was so large”. The attack happened one week before we arrived and within sight of our house. The local community was still in shock, and each day other stories came out about other local sightings and the concern for summer swimming. The sharks usually stay out farther in False Bay, around where the seals live. But when the seals leave in the summer, there has been a noticeable increase in shark sightings along the beaches. Most everyone supports protecting sharks, because they are being slaughtered by the millions just for their fins, but some were asking why more was not being done to track down the culprit. There had been two other similar fatal attacks in this area and some felt that a single shark was responsible. You are still more likely to get killed by a faulty toaster then you are by a shark, but there is no more primal fear then being eaten alive. So I say “Bring on the toasters”!!

I have a healthy dose of respect for sharks, and I didn’t want this to be our only shark story, so I booked us on a Great White Shark cage dive. Sally decided to stay on the boat, but she was equally impressed by these incredible animals. Within five minutes of putting out chum, the first Great White showed up, coming straight up out of the water, trying to get the large fish head they use as bait. Over the next two hours, six Great Whites would be around the boat and sometimes two were visible at once. The visibility was only about six feet, so it was quite impressive when a ten to twelve footer would appear out of nowhere and come directly at the cage. Mat, Charlie, and I loved the experience and the ability to watch a true apex predator from a close but safe distance. As frightening as it must be to see one when you are swimming or surfing, it was truly enjoyable to experience them in this manner. I have included several other pictures in “Dr. Doolittle”. Safely onshore, we packed up and headed inland to our next stop – a working ostrich farm. Yee Hah!!

The Amazing Cape

I have always heard that Cape Town was an amazing city - full of life, important history, and very culturally diverse. The six days we spent here were great, and we tried to do the full spectrum of activities. One day we went all the way down to the point and explored the Cape of Good Hope and the lighthouse on Cape Point. A truly amazing peninsula jutting south towards Antarctica and dividing the cold Atlantic Ocean and the warm Indian Ocean. The entire point is a national park and is home to several baboon colonies, ostriches, and an antelope-like animal called a springbok (which are quite tasty). They also have their own cobra, called the Cape Cobra. We saw the warning signs, but unfortunately never saw one. Sally was bummed!! Being this close to the South Pole and between two different oceans, the weather patterns change very quickly. It can go from sunny and no wind, to gale force winds and spitting rain, to sunny again in less than an hour.

Cape Town’s historical importance is most noteworthy due to Robben Island, the infamous political prison, and the effect that apartheid had on this country. The most notable of all its detainees was Nelson Mandela, who spent over twenty years jailed here in a cell so small that he couldn’t fully stretch out as he slept on the concrete floor. The most amazing thing is that when he was finally released, as the current South African government was abolishing apartheid, he did not come out screaming for justice or hatred for his captors, but rather of reconciliation, tolerance, and a desire to unite a torn country. As we all know, he went on to become the first democratically elected President in South Africa, and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his endeavors.

We took a day trip over to the island, so we all could better appreciate what others have endured for the sake of freedom. We went over on the actual ferry that was used to transport the prisoners and had a guided tour throughout the entire complex by one of the former detainees. Even though this man spent over fifteen years imprisoned solely on political beliefs, he has decided to remain on the island and give back by sharing his suffering with others. It was a very moving experience for all of us, and I think we all better appreciate the freedom we have as Americans, and that others in the world have not always had this basic right.
The rest of our time was spent exploring other Cape Town icons, like Table Mountain and driving on Chapman’s Peak – one of the most amazing sections of road I have ever seen. We also spent time shopping in the nearby towns and local craft bazaars. Charlie was no good at bartering. If he saw something he wanted, he was happy to pay asking price, no questions asked….He has a lot to learn. The majority of our down time was spent right in front of our house, enjoying our little neighbors and this beautiful corner of the world.

Charlie Finds Penguin Heaven

Arriving in Cape Town after twenty-six hours of travel was a huge relief. Unfortunately it was night time, and we couldn’t get a feel for our surroundings. We didn’t get to our house until about 10:30 PM and there was quite a gale blowing, so I was unsure how this house choice was going to turn out, since it was right on the ocean. As some of you know, Charlie’s favorite animal is the penguin, and he has always wanted to see them in the wild. Since the South Pole was not in our planned route, I didn’t think there would be much chance of seeing them besides some Zoos we might visit. One day when I was using Google Earth to research some of South Africa, Charlie clicked on a picture icon and up popped a penguin on the beach. This turned into a mad frenzy to learn more about this area, and what the heck were penguins doing here, thousands of miles from Antarctica. We soon found out that this place is called Boulders Beach and is just south of Cape Town and just north of the tip of Cape of Good Hope. It is a quant little town facing into False Bay, home of the Flying Great White Sharks (this is another story), as well as the largest colony of African Penguins in the world, and the only species that does not live in Antarctica. As it turns out, these penguins have not always lived here, but showed up on this residential beach about fifteen years ago and have been living side by side with people ever since. Charlie was psyched when I told him that we would definitely drive down here and try to see them. What Charlie wouldn’t know was that I spent over a month researching this place and was able to find a house directly on Boulders Beach within sight and sound of the colony. This was a surprise I wanted to give him, and I hoped the months of planning and secrecy would pay off and not be ruined by what looked like the beginning of very bad weather. We all went to bed, secret still unveiled.

I awoke the next morning about 5:30 AM. I don’t know whether it was from the travel lag or the anxiety over my house choice. The morning was absolutely beautiful, clear blue skies and not too much wind. As I walked to my bedroom window to survey the view, I kinda felt like a kid again, when we would look out and see if Santa had come. I thought my eyes were not adjusted yet when I saw hundreds, if not thousands, of black dots on the beach and surrounding boulders. I actually got my binoculars out to see if they were what I hoped. Not more than two hundred yards from our house; the whole colony was just waking up and waddling along the beach. Waking the boys up has never been so fun.

When I told Charlie where we were, I don’t think it sank in at first. But when we walked onto the beach at the end of our road and came upon over a dozen penguins lounging about, I think he almost came out of his skin. The great thing is the penguins are totally adjusted to people, and you can literally walk among them. It was one of the most amazing sights of wild animals I have ever seen. They were everywhere; on the beach, on the rocks, in the water, under the bushes, on the road, in the parking lot, and even in our yard. We spent the next six days exploring Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope, but the highlight of every day was when we would spend time just sitting with them and watching them go about their daily lives. There is so much I can say and show about them, we have hundreds of pictures, but I will save that for when we return. We actually found a short movie that was made about them called “City Slickers”, and it is one of the best animal films I have seen. I have included a few other pictures in “Dr. Doolittle, Where are the Reeve Boys, and Friends Along the Way”. The great sights of Cape Town and Cape of Good Hope will be the next blog entry, and then the Great White Shark encounters.