Cape Town seems to get the most attention in South Africa, but there’s a whole lot of coastline to explore. At the end of 2020, Blair van Breda and Josh Emanuel travelled from east to west, Durban to Cape Town. Read about their road trip adventure in this article!

Things are pretty far from normal here in South Africa. It was meant to be an absolute cracker of a season, but things took a turn for the worse when lockdown started again and beaches closed. Kiters became persona non grata, and getting on the water meant timing it just right to avoid the police. With so much at stake just to get a session in, it’s a good time to look back to the road that led me here.

We set off on a Tuesday at 1:30 AM. The car was stacked with kite gear, camera equipment, and all the supplies we needed for the 2,500 km journey across the southern coast of Africa, from Durban to the windy beaches of Cape Town.

Our aim was simple: Get as many diverse and stunning images as possible in each location we kited. We wanted to explore every angle that we could to make the most of the trip.

It is a trip we make twice a year, sort of like a migration. When winter arrives in the Western Cape, we retreat to the warm weather and water of KwaZulu-Natal, where Josh grew up. When the howling southeast winds pick up in Cape Town and sing their siren song, it is as if we have no choice but to get on the road.

The drive was one of the smoothest we have ever had, with Josh relaxed behind the wheel. We have had our fair share of long-distance drives together, but none were as easy going as this one. We had two stops planned: Cape Saint Francis and Stilbaai - Still Bay if you’re out of practice with your Afrikaans! Both are exceptionally beautiful destinations, with what seems to be an endless supply of spots to kite and surf.

We had been in the car for nearly 11 hours, fuelled by the promise of perfect waves and wind. An hour away from our first destination, we stopped at Addo Elephant National Park, hoping for an up-close encounter with some of the more than 600 elephants that live in this protected area. As incredible as the elephant experience was, once we’d caught a glimpse of the ocean from the park, our detour came to a swift end. The swell had arrived.

We blazed through the last hour of the drive to Cape Saint Francis, where we were greeted with a somewhat clean 4-foot swell rolling down Seal Point. We charged in for a quick surf before stopping for a delicious pizza from a local restaurant. We were on our best behaviour that evening, as my family would be hosting us during our stay in the area.

The ocean continued to deliver clean 4 to 6-foot waves for the next few days. There was wind on the horizon, so we kept busy with surfing and whatever work we could complete on our laptops while we awaited its arrival. We patrolled the trendy coffee shops of Jeffreys Bay (fondly known as J-Bay in the surf community) with laptops in tow, meeting the locals and picking up little bits of information that we could use on the rest of our trip.

When the wind arrived, we headed to Seal Point to find a 20-knot southwest wind with some nice looking point break waves. We knew from the start that we wouldn't find our ‘photo of the trip’ in these overcast conditions, but we gave it horns anyway.

I was bundled up in my 7mm wetsuit as I swam out over the rocks with the camera in hand. I paddled to the ideal area where I could catch the point break from the right angle. The wind on the point was gusty, to put it kindly. Josh would often lose power at critical moments on the wave, making riding extremely challenging. Nevertheless, he locked in and the action began to roll. With the Seal Point Lighthouse in the frame and dramatic spray off the back of the wave, I knew I had found the prime position.

At this exact spot last year, one of my mates had been attacked by a juvenile great white shark. The thought remained plastered in the back of my mind as I bobbed around in the water between the waves. Even with that thought constantly lingering, halfway through the session, I managed to get one of the shots we had been striving for, which was a big morale booster. After an hour on the water, the conditions began to worsen. With great photos in hand, I called the session and Josh towed me back to the beach.

The next day, the wind switched to the northeast. It looked like we would get a flatwater freestyle session in at the St. Francis lagoon before the wind filled in. We messed around in the shallow pools for the next half hour, Josh shooting photos while I rode his 12m Core XR6. The session was short, but a welcome break from shooting.

Next, we headed up to the Jeffreys Bay Lagoon and swapped roles. The spot was packed with local riders, but we set up in hopes of making the most of it. That's when the session began to take a turn. It was hard to get clear shots with inescapable water droplets on the lens ruining almost every shot. I switched my focus to the new GoPro mounted on top of my camera. Sometimes the smallest, simplest piece of camera equipment can produce the best shots!

After the J-Bay Lagoon, we still had some energy left and headed to explore another spot, Gamtoos. The local kids were excited to see us arrive and raced to help us set up our gear. It was a refreshing moment, seeing their smiles and sharing some laughs while we rigged up. The scenery in Gamtoos was stunning and completely different from what we had seen so far.

As we started the session, Josh realised that he had left his knee brace at the previous spot. Driving back to get it would take 30 minutes, while it would only be 10 minutes by water. We hatched a plan. Josh would take the GoPro downwind to get to his knee brace as fast as possible, and I would take the bakkie (truck, for the uninitiated) and meet him there.

I arrived to find Josh on the beach with his knee brace and no GoPro. It had fallen victim to the surf on the way downwind, as had all of the footage we had captured at the lagoon. The mood for the rest of the day was nothing less than sombre. Sadly, not everything goes to plan on a trip like this. That is just the nature of the game. The only thing to do is move forward and make the most of what is available.

We dove back into planning that evening over a beer, realising that the forecast for our last days in Saint Francis had shifted direction and dropped. With a measly 10 knots expected for the next couple of days, Josh suggested packing up early and heading to Stilbaai.

Tucking in for an early night, we got up early, packed the car, and headed off the following morning at dawn. The half-day drive along the Garden Route went off without any hitches. This part of the country has a particularly beautiful landscape, especially around the Kaaimans River area. This region is known as Wilderness, a lush region where the leafy green hills roll into the sea, with wide swathes of sand in between.

We arrived in Stilbaai on the search for both flat water and waves. As we arrived, the two waves we knew from past adventures in this spot - a supercharged left and a right-hander point - were quiet. We had been unlucky with our timing.

With minute waves and not nearly enough wind, we checked into our accommodation for some much-needed rest while we waited. Too tired to go out and explore, we enjoyed some downtime until the northeasterly picked up. The Stilbaai Lagoon would be the best spot for a session in this wind direction, so we headed down to have a fun rip around the lagoon.

I had my camera and Josh's underwater camera to work with, so we messed around with different combinations of angles and tricks. We had already gathered so many lagoon shots that we didn’t have the pressure to get the perfect shot, which meant we were able to relax, slow down, and truly enjoy this session. After a trip full of ups and downs, the lighter, carefree vibe was exactly what we needed.

Leaving the water, we were both happy and at peace. We’d made the most of our time, got the content we needed, and were ready to make the final leg of the journey. We packed up the next morning, eager to get home. After all the miles that we’d covered so far, the last leg of the drive to Cape Town was a breeze.

This trip was one for the memory books. We were blessed with gorgeous waves and wind, met some amazing people, and had fun throughout the journey. I can honestly say that we made the most of every moment on this trip.

As we continue a different kind of journey through different levels of lockdown here in South Africa, it’s memories of adventures like this that provide the most joy!

By Blair van Breda

Comments