Hi all! You join us once again as we inch our way up the coast closer and closer towards Durban. We are now at our 6th spot, which is Umtentweni. Our time in Coffee Bay flew by far to quickly, I think that what happens when you are having loads of fun. After Bevan last wrote about the groups adventures to the jaw dropping scenery of Lwandile we returned once again on Thursday to see what the stop had in the way of waves. Again we made the journey along the bumpy stretch of road dodging roaming cows, goats, horses and locals to the stop which is in the middle of nowhere which adds to its spectacular views. Unfortunately this time the waves were slightly disappointing so we didn't end up going in , however the scenery made the journey worth it just for one more look. We headed back towards Coffee Bay where the group had a quick lunch and headed down to the waves. The waves weren't classic in Coffee Bay but that didn't stop the group having great fun out back with each other, calling each other onto waves and daring people to take off on the biggest closeout heading their way. After a long afternoon of surfing it was back to the coffee shack to prepare for dinner and a fancy dress party which was being held that night.

Friday brought more onshore winds but once again the group hit the surf for some fun out back. Waves can be deceiving and its always worth going in as the group proved coming out at the end of their session with high spirits and laughing at the carry on they had with each other out in the mushy onshore waves. After our morning surf we loaded the van and drove to “The hole in the wall”. True to its name The hole in the wall is an island with a somewhat impressive.....hole in it! As the sea conditions were somewhat stormy this made for a spectacle as the waves came crashing through the hole from the open ocean blowing air into the bay. Bevan impressed the group once again by teaching them how to start a fire using two pieces of wood. With great determination and stubbornness Pete, Pat and Jack wouldn't give up until they had succeed. Unfortunately they created some smoke but there was no flame, but as they say there is no smoke without fire so they were content enough with either efforts. After a few hours at the hole we all headed back to Coffee Sack to enjoy our last night in the wilderness of South Africa. Before dinner the group were treated to some traditional African dancing by some of the local children who were trying to raise money for their school supplies. After another delicious Coffee Shack dinner the group partied the night away to say goodbye to transkei.

On Saturday morning we loaded up the tailor and headed once again up the N2 towards Umtentweni the next stop on our journey. Umtentweni is about an hour and a half south of Durban and the last stop before the group knuckle down and sit their surf instructor an life guard qualifications. So its heads down for the group as they learn some lifeguard and swimming skills in preparation for Ansteys. The drive up to Umtentweni was another long and beautiful one as the transki turned into the province of Kwa-zulu-natal with vast plains of crop fields stretching into green mountains South Africa never fails to impress. We arrived at the Spot backpackers where the boys and Kat unloaded and settled into a chilled night ready to explore the local area the next morning.

On Sunday we took everyone for a drive to explore the little towns and surf spots which are scattered up the coast. We stopped at a surf spot called St Mikes to watch a junior lizard surf contest where the group were impressed at how well the contestants dominated the mushy onshore waves making steep drops and throwing big turns. Watching other people surf clearly worked up an appetite as we headed to one of Bevan's jems of knowledge...the Margate waffle house! With every kind of waffle you could ever imagine on the menu the table was spread with banoffee waffles, chocolate moose waffles, chilli con-care waffles and chicken mayo waffles to name but a few. A def must to do when visiting the area, im sure we will return again before we leave. The boys also made the most of the lake that the waffle house was situated on as they cruised about in peddle boats hijacking other members of group from over the fence of the restaurant! That evening we headed out to the local restaurant Afro tubes for delicious pizza and birthday cake for Kats birthday which was the following day. Afro tubes is owned by one of Bevan's good friends so the group were treated to having the restaurant all to themselves for the evening.

So that brings us up to today which I dedicate to Kat as it is her 24th birthday...Happy birthday Kat! No birthday is complete without a birthday surf so we headed to a surf spot called Trafalga. The break is a lot steeper and faster than the group have experienced further down the coast. This new challenge was met head on by the group with huge success as Bevan and myself were pleased to see everyone taking the drop and successfully riding down the face of the waves. After our surf we headed back to the spot for a quick lunch and now the group have just headed down to the beach to do some life guard training and signals with Bevan before heading out for some drinks for Kat tonight. Over the next few days we will be concentrating on timed swims, preparing presentations for the groups qualifications and of course surfing, so until next time thanks for reading and enjoy the photos of the groups antics.

Nikki and Bevan

Hi all and welcome back to Umtentweni

With time winding down till we arrive in Durban and begin the Life Saver and Surf Coaching courses, our crew have been hard at work getting focused and prepared for the coming assessments. Fortunately though, hard work is just another excuse for us to have loads of fun out here in South Africa and that’s exactly what we’ve been up to!

On Monday, with the westerly winds pumping, we decided head down to the south coast in search of a protected bay. We found one a little way down the road and decided to give it a go. The waves were nice and punchy; coming over the hard, sand banks, which made for some nice rides. The conditions held up all morning so we made the most of it and surfed until lunchtime. In the afternoon it was time to get to work on some of the lifeguarding disciplines so we made our way down to Umtentweni beach to run a few drills.

On Tuesday our pre-course workbooks arrived. The pre-course workbook outlines the basic principles and guidelines needed before getting started with the Surf Instructors Course. The group are required to study and research the material given in the pre-course workbook and write out a short test on what they’ve learnt. Some of the chapters include basic surfboard design, different types of surf breaks and safety in surfing. We spent most of the morning going over the workbooks as well as the groups’ presentation topics.

In the afternoon we headed down to the pools with Linley to do a few swimming exercises. Part of the Life Saver award requires the guys to do a timed swim over 400m. It’s tiresome business, but with all the surfing and lifeguard training we’ve been doing lately, the guys look set to post some good times.

After our session in the pool we headed back down to the beach for some more beach running and lifeguard drills. It was no wonder then, that we saw a bunch of tired bodies wondering around the hostel that evening.

Yesterday we decided to give the guys a little respite from all the hard work and took everyone out on a tour of the Wedge surfboard factory. Wedge is a family-run business, which caters for most of the surfers on the south coast. Although the family are known for their sturdy boards, it’s their fin factory that has brought them the greatest acclaim, with Maisch fins being one of the most popular brands in the country. It was really good for the guys to meet the Maisch brothers and get to see how a working surfboard factory operates as well as get an opportunity to ask questions about how all the different components of a board works. Who said surfing wasn’t educational?

In the afternoon we gave the guys a bit of free time to concentrate on whatever they felt needed a bit of work. Nikki took a small crew up the road for a surf while I headed back to the pool with some of the others to do some more swim training.

Today we’ll probably start to iron out all the creases in the presentation topics and pre-course workbooks as we count down to Saturday when we leave for Durban. But more on that next time…

Till then,

Take Care

Bevan and Nikki

Hi all, its time for another update from the Ticket to Ride 10 week instructor course and I thought I would take a slightly different approach to this blog so I handed the laptop over to one of our group members so he could give his perspective of the past few days. I hear by introduce Pat Noyles. Pat joins us from Chicago and is the second member of his family to join us on one of our trips after his sister Skatie came with us on our 10 week course at the start of this year. Ill hand you over to Pat....

Hi again from Ansteys,

The rest our stay at The Spot was a good mix of surfing and preparation for the upcoming Surf Instructor and Beach Lifeguard courses.
On Wednesday Glenn, the owner of the Spot, and avid surfer took us to The Wedge surfboard factory where they have been shaping boards and making Maisch fins for over 2 generations. This was a good opportunity for the group to gain some serious knowledge about the technical aspects of a surfboard, which directly relates to information in the upcoming coursework. A few people bought fins and camera Steve (as we like to call him) even ordered a custom board, an opportunity we will have in Durban at the Clayton factory as well. After the factory we saw that the waves were decent at shark bay and most people had a surf while some went to the pool to work on their swimming technique.
The Spot was a great place to start sinking our teeth into the coursework when the onshore winds kept us out of the water and Thursday morning everyone broke out their workbooks and notebooks to begin work on their 10 min presentations, which they need to give as part of their Surf Instructor course. In the afternoon after all that work, a much needed surf in the windy and powerful, but very fun surf at Lucian Beach, which ended with a human wall, where people link arms and try to walk through the head high shore break.
Friday the winds finally backed off and we mission-ed for waves after an early timed swim. We ended up surfing a fun little wave at the end of the point and coming into the beach at Port Edwards around noon. In the afternoon again up a Lucian Beach, which was much cleaner than the day before. After a long day of surfing everyone was well tired and headed to bed early for our drive to Anstey's the next day.
On Saturday we watched a longboard competition in Scottburgh, unfortunately the wind was howling again, however the contest had some good waves but they were few and far between. It was great for self and the rest of the group to see a long board contest in full swing! After we finished at the contest we completed the rest of our trip to Anstey's where we met up with Dean once again. Dean Botha who is heavy involved with the South African surf industry will be running our certification courses over the next week.

The upcoming days will be packed with classroom work, training and physical tests which include a 400 meter timed swim and a run swim run on the beach and in the ocean. Half of the group completed their 400 meter time swim today with great success. We will also be completing our lifeguard qualification which involves lifesaving and first aid techniques and if we are lucky enough to get favorable winds, certainly a few chances to catch some waves. Until next time.

Hasta la Pasta,

The TTRide Crew, and their totally awesome trip leaders Nikki and Bevan

Hi all and welcome to Ballito – our final stop on what has been another epic Ticket to Ride South Africa experience.

The past few days have been jam-packed with course work and assessments, which has kept the guys busy. However, it hasn’t all been hard work as we’ve managed to find enough time to sneak in a few surfs and activities in between all the studying.

On Wednesday the groups switched courses, those having done the life saving award now moved onto the surf-coaching course while the surf coaches got ready to be put through their paces at the Marine Life Saving Club. I followed the lifesaving group around who started things off with the dreaded timed swim! It’s the part of the course that requires the guys to swim 400m in under 9 minutes. Hours of swim training over the course of the trip has gone into getting the guys ready for this aspect of the qualification so it was rewarding to see the guys who came in under the time on their first go.

Thursday and Friday were again course days for our crew so the guys were kept busy for most of the day, but not too busy for us to sneak in a few added bonuses. On Thursday we visited a few of the top local surfboard shapers in town to see what went into making a board and learn a few tricks of the trade. First up we said hello to Clayton Nienaaber from Clayton Surf. Clayton is renowned for his super-light, high performance boards while his team riders are well known for being some of the most expressive and innovative surfers in South Africa. Clay took us on a brief tour of his newly set up factory in Durban and showed us a little about how his boards are made. Clayton likes to work with high-end shaping machinery and high-tech warming ovens to get his boards just right. In stark contrast, Hugh Thompson, our next shaper, is better known for his hand-made boards, which are crafted in a very traditional manner. The newly blown blanks are shaped and sanded in the shaping bay before being sent for spraying and laminating. Once the board is tightly sealed it is finished with a light sanding coat and then buffed up to give it a smooth shine. It was really good for the guys to see the two different approaches to shaping and how each process works and how they differ. We couldn’t hang around too long though, as the guys needed to get back to work on their courses.

On Friday afternoon, with all the course work finally over, we decided to go for a celebratory surf in Durban. The waves weren’t the best they’ve ever been, but the guys had been out of the water for so long it didn’t really matter. The group split up between New Pier and Wedge and we spent the afternoon tucking into some tidy little beach breaks. It was a great way to end off all the courses and have some fun in the sea again.

Yesterday we said our goodbyes to Tash and Rudy and all the other good people at Ansteys Backpackers and headed north for Ballito on the Dolphin Coast. With the end of all the course work in sight we’re looking forward to making the most of our last few days in South Africa!!

So till next time,

Take Care

Bevan and Nikki.

Hi and welcome to Balito our last stop on the trip. Balito is an idyllic spot just out side of Durban and a great place to end the trip! We are staying at the secret spot with Mike and Ros smith who without fail year after year are fantastic hosts! The smiths are no strangers to the surfing world. Their daughter Tammy-Lee smith is a professional surfer and is currently at the secret spot for a short stint before taking off again traveling the world competing. We have been here for a week now and the pace has slowed dramatically as the group have finished the majority of their courses, so there has been a lot of time for free surfing and chilling out. Although things have been slightly more relaxed than their time at Ansteys where surf instructors courses were in full swing, the guys have been putting in some practice for their assessments which they have been waiting anxiously for. The group had their surfing assessments today...but more on that later.

So a reflection on the last weeks antics. On Sunday we all piled into the van and headed for Gateway, the largest shopping center in the Southern Hemisphere. Now without sounding sexist with 12 boys and only one girl on the trip shopping was not first on the list of activities at gateway. No we were there for something a little more fast paced...go cart racing! Alongside many...many shops and restaurants gateway has its own race track that the boys made the most of tearing round the tight bends. A mini tournament was set up and the boys showcased their somewhat 'questionable' driving skills as the winner of each race made their way into the next round. There was some interesting driving as Pirate Steve spent the majority of the race crashing into people in a bid to overtake them, causing people to collide into the side barriers and other drivers. Kat also gave a great effort amongst the boys competitiveness. At the end of the races experience and time on the roads won over as all the oldies came in the top spots. Pete the eldest of the group took first place on the podium with Chris coming second and Bevan third. Pete was even presented with the traditional celebratory bottle of fizz although the excitement turned into laughter as the boys realized it was in-fact not champagne but fizzy grape juice!

Monday presented us with light offshore winds so we made the most of the conditions and headed back into the center of Durban to surf at the piers. Along the beach font of Durban there are piers situated all down the waters edge. If there is enough swell there are normally waves on each side of these piers so we can have our pick of where to surf. When surfing beside these piers there is two ways of getting out back to the breaking waves, paddling in the rip which runs right alongside the pier or the fun way...jumping off the end of one! As you can imagine the guys choose the option with the most adrenaline involved so Bevan and I took them along to the end of the pier to make the jump which takes them directly out back to where the waves are, no paddling needed just timing and guts is definitely a must. After the days surfing it was back to the secret spot for a delicious home cooked meal and some chill out time infront of a movie.

On Tuesday more swell had arrived,the waves were bigger and there was no wind so it was back into Durban for another surf at the piers. The conditions were good and everyone left the water chuffed with their surf even though the rain was pelting down. With surfing and life saving assessments scheduled for the next day we headed back to the secret spot and concentrated on an afternoon of revision and mock lesson practice for their ABC lessons they had to preform to Dean the next day. Satisfied with their efforts the group couldn't let the day finish without squeezing in a last surf and with news of big waves in Balito some of the boys were down to the beach with Bevan, Tammy and myself faster than you can say...wipe-out!

Wednesday came and with it the day of the final assessments had arrived. We set off for Durban to Addington where the assessments would take place only to be greeted by howling onshore winds and huge choppy uninviting waters. The lifeguards assessments were rescheduled till Friday due to the conditions so we concentrated on the ABC assessments which Dean preformed. I am proud to say all the group passed their ABC lessons presenting confident and well structured lessons. With a little weight off of the groups shoulders it was back to Balito for a chilled afternoon and a celebratory night out on the town that night, any excuse for a night out!

That brings us up to today. It was a 6 am start to the day as the group were woken by Dean to put all their coaching into action and preform their surfing skills. We again headed into Durban and surfed at one of the beaches called Bay. It was another successful morning as all the boys passed their surfing assessments! The day carried onto be an unfortunate day for the weather as a storm hit Balito and electricity throughout the town went down. With limited option in the heavy rain and howling winds we headed to an ice rink in Durban. With 15 of us on the rink we took over the show with Pat showing his speed from years of ice hockey and Jonty, Jonny, Jack and Steve showing their pure bravery as they gathered up as much speed as they could flying round the rink!

As there is only one more week of the trip left everyone has started to complain, wishing it was longer and I will include myself as one of these people. The past 9 weeks have gone incredibly quickly, but no talk of the end just yet as the next week is going to be packed with activities, such as indoor football tournaments, paint ball, shaping boards, the wave house, game reserves and of course surfing. Tomorrow is the groups life saving assessments so everyone has gone to bed to rest up. So more from us shortly as we wind down on the past 2 months in South Africa!

Nikki and Bevan