I haven’t been on a surf holiday for quite some time and have really needed it to make the blood flow through my veins again. We have done the soccer World Cup thing and it was a great party and a fantastic experience, but we needed to get back to our roots again so Ian Freemantle, Charles Standing and I got together over a beer or 3 and decided to do a road trip to Mozambique. The planning was light and the packing was heavy. We needed to pack some clothes and camping stuff but a lot of toys including our surfboards, kiting and diving and fishing equipment.
We left Monday morning after the World Cup final with Vic bay being our first stop. There was heavy snow on all the mountain tops which should have been a tell tale sign for what was waiting for us. We pitched our tent and went for a lekka warm up surf. The waves were a fun 3ft and hardly anybody out. Needless to say we had a joll. The temperature dropped to close to freezing after sunset, and we really froze our buts of during the night. We went for a surf in the morning again to thaw out.
Next stop J-Bay. Arriving there Ian and Charley went for a fun surf at Boneyards. The preparations for the Billabong were in its final stages and it looked really impressive. I thought to myself. What a great country we are living in. The world’s attentions were on SA for the soccer and now the attention of the worlds surfing fraternity is back on us. We were amped up at that evening’s braai by some of the locals about some Epic surf at Umdumbe (Transkei). Supposed to be better than J-Bay but it came with a warning. Johnny long fin country, but after quite a few beers everybody was brave enough to surf even if there was a whole pack of sharks in the line up.
The picturesque Port Alfred was our next stop, were we had a fun 3 foot surf with 2 or three very welcoming locals. I understand now why all the locals are so friendly. Having some other people in the water just make your odds a bit better when Johnny comes around. That evening we stayed in East London where we had a braai wit a very interesting couple. Peter and Kim Van Kets. Peter is an adventurer who has just finished a race across the Atlantic Ocean. No not in a sailboat, but in a rowing boat. Yes he rowed across the Atlantic. The boat he used looked like a very small sailing boat, with oars on it. His stories were just incredible and awe inspiring. He also told us about Umsumbe but also warned us of the sharks in the Transkei since we are going to be smack bang in the middle of the annual sardine run.
