Surfing - South Africa

While something remains of the mystique that surfing had in the sixties, and perhaps into the seventies, it has changed enormously. No longer is it the preserve of young, long-haired, sun-bleached raggedy free spirits. Surfing has become big business but it’s also become highly democratised. In the past, if you wanted to learn to surf you acquired a board (different to a body board), went to the beach and tried to figure it out. If you were lucky, you knew someone who could surf and he or she would give you a few pointers before they disappeared off behind the back break. Now there are dedicated surf schools all along the coast, and anyone can learn with confidence and in safety.

There are good, great and fantastic surf spots scattered all along the coast and you could spend almost your entire life exploring them all. But some places do stand out, particularly Durban and Jeffrey’s Bay. Durban is Surf City. The beach is right in the city, and locals surf any time of the day. Also, the water is warm. Jeffrey’s Bay, or J-Bay as it’s affectionately known, is the most incredible place. Blessed with absolutely perfect waves, great weather, pretty scenery and much more it was a bubble of perfection that just had to burst, and it now qualifies as the ugliest town in the most beautiful place. But the waves are still great, even though they’re getting a bit crowded out, and the town still revolves around surfing.

It’s an awesome place East London also has some great surf just outside the city, and Cape Town – of course – is a more than adequate surf destination. The water’s pretty darn chilly in Cape Town, though. But – for big-wave surfers – that’s not an issue. Cape Town is one of the best big-wave spots in the world, with two of the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave awards for 2009 being awarded for rides on Cape Town waves – the Biggest Wave and Ride of the Year. That’s two out of the four “single wave” awards. The others – Monster Tube and Monster Paddle – went to Hawaii and California respectively. Not bad for one small little city at the tail end of Africa. Trust Dirty Boots Adventure Guide to help you find the perfect surfing adventures in Southern Africa.