BEACH DAY MUIZENBERG
Here are some snaps from the weekend, Muizenberg Beach. Don't know about you but they give me this sense of sheer lust for life - there are some real classic, colourful characters that hang out down there. I took some photographs with a friend's splash pack, which was crazy fun though I couldn't push out of my mind the thought of a little shark coming and nibbling on my feet.
Vic Bay | Sidestep up the East Coast
The night before I leave on a surf trip I always get butterflies in stomach in anticipation of the waves I might score and mostly I keep myself occupied for the entire night because I can't sleep. This trip was no different and the waves delivered and all was well.
Victoria Bay is a small haven of unspoilt beauty on the east coast of South Africa with just one modest street of houses and two camping sites nestled slightly higher on the mountain. It's pretty much the perfect destination for a surf trip: the camp site is cheap, it has a magical view on the bay and is about a one minute walk away from the wave. The water is warm and sharks are scarce. The wave is a gentle point break that is super consistent and mostly uncrowded during the week. Somehow this little village escaped the J-Bay hype, most probably because the wave isn't quite as good (but good enough for me any day!) On the odd chance that there is no wave, there are several other spots nearby that pick up even more swell.
After the second day and far too many hours of surfing we were surfed out and visited the skatepark in George, a small town near Vic Bay. As you will see below, my cousin Sam kills it at skating - a real pleasure to photograph. The following day we took a beautiful walk along the railway tracks to visit a friend of my aunt's that lives in a cave (if you plan on visiting him, bring a donation!). Below is a random collection of photos I took on the way. I recommend you go to Vic Bay as much as possible before it gets more popular, which it undoubtedly will!
Sabbatical in Cool Bay
Long days at the office add fuel to the burning fire of desire for waves. And then sometimes when the weekend rolls along, the swell dies and the wind picks up, killing any hope of something that can classify as a decent surf. This was not one of those weekends.
This weekend was perfectly windless and on a whim we decided to go up the coast (and actually did it). We threw together the bare necessities, stopped for some sandwich ingredients on the way and cruised on to Cool Bay - a spot on the eastern side of False Bay, Cape Town. It's a heavily shark-infested surf spot that has claimed one or two lives, but on this particular day it's resemblance was closer to paradise.
We left all our stuff on the beach (something one can only do at very few beaches in South Africa, but it's a real luxury when it is possible!) and went for our first surf. I struggled a little initially, mostly due to a lack of confidence because I assumed that everyone in the water was a local. But once I figured out that some guys were kind of average, I got it together and had one of the best surfs I've had in a while. We had a couple of surfs, getting out only for a snack and to re-apply sunscreen and had a all-together fantastic day.