Off the Map: South Africa

Destination: South Africa
Going Right Bru
By Beau Flemister 

August 15, 2008—So maybe this surf/culture trip I’ve been on for the last seven months was supposed to be about traveling to and exploring “unknown” spots. The destinations way off the map from the regular breaks surfed by the WCT on the Dream Tour. But come on, if you’re in South Africa you have to go to J-Bay. And seriously, in a place where you frequently hear the local people make clucking sounds intermittently while they speak, or see giraffes and antelope casually grazing on the side of the road, you’re still not too far from the exotic.    

I would go as far as to say that every regular footed surfer on this planet should make a pilgrimage to Jefferys Bay at least once in his/her life. It has to be the best right and in turn, one of the best waves in the whole world.    

Before coming to J-Bay, I’d been hanging out on the south coast of Durban, waiting for the waves to shape up. There was plenty of swell, but the winds were howling from a weird direction and due to massive flooding a couple of years back, some of the region’s premiere spots had sadly been ruined. So arriving at Jeffreys Bay in conjunction with a series of medium-sized swells that filled in over the course of two weeks, coupled with perfect offshore winds, luckily made up for any time I spent loafing in the north, and then some.    

I can’t repeat myself enough: Jeffreys Bay is incredible. Super Tubes, the main peak and one of at least six other different rights along the sweeping coast, is a fast, tubing, perfect pointbreak. For the most part you want to keep a high line, racing just ahead of the cresting lip, utilizing as much of your rail as possible on the wave whether it’s drawn out s-turns, roundhouses, or slashes right in the pocket. But as you surf the wave more and more, understanding its nuances, you quickly realize where the barreling sections are so you can stall at the right moment, taking advantage of the fast sections that can permit up to three or more different tubes on one wave. It’s truly a magical place.    

And besides four- to six-foot swell, the water at Jeffreys Bay is brimming with sea life. Every day we saw migrating whales breeching, congregating close to shore. And I’m usually not one to talk about dolphins, ahem, but seriously, when you see a pod of nearly a hundred dolphins slowly cruise through a lineup, through a dozen surfers frozen in disbelief, and then watch the pod surf the majestic rights before your very eyes, well, then yeah, I guess I’m going to talk about dolphins.    

If perfect rights and dolphins don’t do it for you, less the an hour’s drive from J-Bay is the world’s highest bungee jump off Africa’s highest bridge—216 meters (700 feet) straight down. I’m not so sure what is actually more stressful, the cage walk under the bridge (also a freeway) to the jumping point, or the blaring techno music they have pumping to amp up the jumpers. Once you get through that, get strapped in and helped to the edge, the fall is truly an incomparable rush.    

Despite a full suit, booties, and a Norwegian roommate that pees in his wetsuit during his marathon sessions (thus making the apartment forever smell like stale urine), this is the kind of place that I could stay at for a long time. But on a trip like this, when you have an itinerary to keep to and only so much money, eventually you have to move on. And really, surfing the world’s best right hander and wrestling with lion cubs can get old after a while. Wait…no it doesn’t. [PAU]