Hello everybody on Hive and especially the SurfHive community! It's Jasper the surfing-musician Dad from Cape Town in South Africa! Last time I posted I told the story about how I have made a New Year's Resolution to surf a new wave (for me) every month of 2023, and that I managed to find a nice new wave, just before February ended, on a week-long getaway to a coastal town about 2 hours drive from Cape Town! So the New Years Resolution Challenge still stands!! Here's that post:
@jasperdick/surfing-discovering-february-s-brand
In that post you will see that I had the minor accident of coming up for air right underneath my surfboard, and a fin hit into my lip hard enough to draw blood and I even needed a stitch at the local clinic! Well, the doctor said I would be allowed to surf again from Wednesday 1 March, and I would only be driving back to Cape Town on the Sunday after that... so here are a couple of pics from the rest of the trip... who knows South Africa well enough to guess where I was?:
The new wave from the previous post was in a very sheltered bay on a big stormy swell that messed up most other spots... by the time I was allowed to surf again, the more normal spot in town was working... here comes a left for me...
Surfing that left towards the convenient rip-current along the rocks to help me paddle out again...
A day when the rights were working better, and a local kid takes off...
And with his youthful abandon, he has a rather stylish fly-away to avoid the close-out...
My turn for a right...
As you can see I waited my turn (as the local kids are paddling back from their waves)...
Now let's try some shots to help anybody who's been to this town to recognize it... here's the main tidal pool close to a fancy Hotel...
My friend Kai struggling with the water temperature, which was about 14 degrees Celsius, which is pretty cold for this part of South Africa in the summer!
This big red flower is called an "April Fool" and only blooms around March-April in this part of the country...
The local bodyboarder kids enjoying a reforming wedge in a small bay, despite the open ocean being a complete mess. This little bay is a favourite for people who enjoy bodysurfing as well!
There definitely seems to be scope for me to try new waves when I return to this town. Here is somebody tackling a spot I had only guessed would be surfable once in a blue moon, just as we were packing up to leave...
This naughty Cape Robin kept breaking into the house! On this occasion he got so lost I had to catch him and show him an open window (after a quick picture)!
So all in all, a good time was had - I managed to fit in a few surfs in between some work deadlines and then surfed twice on the Saturday! A lot of the surfing was hard work and made me realize how unfit I have become! I also stuck to the main beach with a couple of local friends, and will therefore have to be on the lookout for the "New Wave of March 2023", to keep my New Year's Resolution challenge going... so expect another post from me sometime this month!
So, where was I? Somewhere very beautiful, with folded mountains and famous for whale watching! There is also a valley with plenty of great vineyards and wine-tasting to visit nearby, as well as a fantastic variety of bird-watching... Anyone know this town?
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