We are now at the end of our time here in Coffee Bay and it’s been an amazing 10 days. The next stop will be Umtentweni up in Natal meaning it’s time to bid a sad fairwell to the Transkei which has provided the group with memories that I am sure will live long in the mind.

So where to start? I suppose with the waves. In honesty the forecast did not look overly favourable for the week with lots of onshore wind predicted so it was a very pleasant surprise for us all to wake up to some of the best waves of the trip so far on Tuesday and Wednesday. A solid groundswell had pushed through and some hefty hollow waves were smashing onto the sandbanks on the beach. In the intimidating conditions some courage was needed and it was great to see the commitment shown throughout the whole group. Jacqui and Brandon both had some screamers and Charlie’s continued commitment to taking off on anything paid off with a deep barrel that had us all hooting! We then experienced a brief drop in the swell allowing us to head over to hole in the wall for some fitness training (not a bad place to do it!) before the swell picked up again yesterday allowing us another full day’s coaching on the point. Dylan and Vicky are back with us and we got some great footage with Vicky shooting from the point and Dylan floating in the lineup with his water housing for some close up shots. We last saw them in J-Bay and both were impressed at the improvement shown across the board.

In other areas 10 of the group have been to stay with a local family in the village to experience the traditional lifestyle still followed by the Xosha community here. The guys and girls were met at 3pm on Thursday and Friday and took a walk up to the village where they would spend the night. On arrival they were shown into their accommodation, a traditional hut, and then taken on a tour of the fields, helping the locals heard the cows before returning to help prepare their supper of Milli Pap and tomato soup with cabbage. We’ve got some talented musicians with us on this trip and David took his guitar up with him to show the locals a tune or two which, by all accounts, went down very well.

The Coffee Shack have been fantastic hosts with some really fun evenings. Tuesday in particular provided more than a few laughs with the “p” party. We all had to choose a costume beginning with the letter “p” and it quickly became apparent that we have some issues in the group with several of the guys deciding that drag was the way to go (this explains the limited amount of photographic evidence – probably best viewed on individual facebook accounts for those with a strong stomach.).

And that’s about it for now. I could go on and on about the beauty of Coffee Bay but it’s probably best viewed in the attached photos. We’re off to ‘Tweni next where more waves, gorge swings, monkeys and more await but it’ll all become clearer on the next blog. Back to civilisation, I’m not sure if we’re all ready for it just yet!

Cheers

Tim and Nikki

We have now left the Transkei and are into the tropical surroundings of Southern Kwazulu Natal where we are happily located at The Spot and beginning preparations for the courses that start on Sunday! It has all crept up very fast but then I suppose time flies when you're having fun.

We left Coffee Bay after a final day of swim training and beach games in the onshore wind. On arrival in Umtentweni we headed over to the pool to see just what effect all the training has had and we were very pleased to see more minutes being shed. Everyone is now swimming within the allotted time for the surf lifesaver award and more than half the group are now under the required time for the full beach lifeguard award. Oli W continues to impress and is out to reclaim his title as TTRide's quickest ever rider. Tom W from trip 1 stole the crown last week but we have every confidence that Oli can do it for Trip 2!

Our location here couldn't be better with the waves right out front. We had a nice little swell on arrival and spent a day in the water before heading over to St Mike's yesterday for a surf with Former World Champ and South African Surf Team selector Ant Brodowitz. Ant gave the guys a great introduction to the area and spun a few stories before taking to the water. The waves were fun and we managed to squeeze in an evening session back at the hostel before supper and then early bed.

Today is a different story all together. A large easterly cyclone swell has hit meaning the sea is a big old mess and surfing will have to take a back seat. This isn't too much of a problem as the Oribi Gorge is a short drive away and is the home of the world's highest gorge swing - should get the adrenaline going! With the swell forecasted to drop over the next day or two it won't be long before we are back in the water and the time off will allow us all to polish off the workbooks and presentations so that when the waves return we will be on them from dawn till dusk!

So there we go, a quick apology on my part. Sea air and laptops don't mix so I am now doing my best to patch the blogs and photos together from a variety of sources! Photos from the last few days will follow in due course and the next blog will arrive in time for the start of the courses on Sunday when we will be on the Bluff in Durban staring down Cavé Rock's infamous barrells! Only for the brave!

Thanks for reading

Tim and Nikki

We're now halfway through our stay here in Durban and have been busy with the Surf Instructor and Surf Lifesaver courses for the last three days. Half the group are staying up here at Ansties while Dene puts them through their paces in the Surf Instructor course whilst the other half head over to Addington for the Surf Lifesaving. The conditions have been good with a nice swell running for the surf assessments and just enough to make the surf rescues a bit more of a challenge. Once again, the effort being put into both courses is great to see. All the time that the group have put into their surfing over the last two months seems to have paid off well and these courses are their chance to build their confidence in the water and bolster their all round skills as watermen and women.

Today was change over day with Group 1 moving from Surf Lifesaver to Surf Instructor course and Group 2 going the other way, moving over from the Surf Instructor to the Surf Lifesaver. It was an early start for the lifesavers as they headed over to Kings Park olympic pool for their timed swims and i'm happy to report a 100% pass rate. Group 2 faired well in their timed swims last week with everone swimming below the 9 minute cut off time and Dom, Hugo, Kit and Jimmy all coming in at under 8 minutes, meaning they can now go on to tackle the full Lifeguard award if they want to. Lizzy, David and Brandon just missed the time but are going to head back to the pool next Tuesday to see if they can shave off the final few seconds. I have every confidence that they will in time for final assessments next Thursday (27th).

It feels strange to be back up in the city envirnoment. We have come a very long way and, with the courses now underway and in our final destination, there is a feeling that things are beginning to draw to a close. This hasn't dappened spirits, in fact quite the opposite. With just under 3 weeks to go every moment is more precious and the guys are soaking them all up. April is prime surf season out here and the land breezes begin to kick in with more regular swells. The dawny crew are now back on it most mornings and there has been no shortage of takers for the evening glass offs. We've got a good set-up here at Ansties too with the oldies in the main house and the others split between the large dorm and the small cabin. The house is quickly becoming the main hang out and there is a really good atmosphere in the group with eveyone just enjoying relaxing with each other in their own beach house.

We are now approaching birthday season as well. It always happens that we have a couple of birthdays falling on the Durban leg, quite why I am not sure, but it's as good a place as any to have a party. Harry turns 19 on Thursday and is blissfully unaware of the fate the awaits him. Lizzy will also turn 19 towards the end of March, she only let that slip a couple of days ago - perhaps not the wisest of moves...!

More news will follow towards the end of the week. We head up to Ballito on Friday for 13 days in the luxury of the Secret Spot. Photos of the courses will follow towards the end of the today.
Thanks for reading,

Tim and Nikki

We've reached our final port of call and are now settled into the luxurious confines of the Secret Spot surf camp up here in Ballito. We arrived yesterday afternoon once the guys had completed the first stages of their lifeguard and surf instructor awards and were straight into the waves with a nice little evening surf to get rid of the drive - all 45 minutes of it!

As i mentioned, the group are now one step away from qualifying as Beach Lifeguards and/or Surf Instructors and only have their final assessments to complete next Wednesday and Thursday. With the free time and Harry's birthday falling yesterday, we decided that it was time to let our hair down and start a few early celebrations. We headed into town for a bite to eat and then on for a few drinks at a local bar. The few drinks lead onto a few more and we danced the night away returning early this morning with many a story to tell - it was alot of fun.

Though the trip is reaching it's final stages there is alot to look forward to. Durban is surf city with a variety of waves breaking in all kinds of conditions. As we're fully mobile we can take advantage of this and will be trawling the coast over the coming days to make sure we make the most of every bit of swell that comes our way. We had a fun surf a day or two ago on the city beaches; the piers there make for some interesting rips and paddle out options include taking the jump off the pier. After a few early reservations about taking the 15 ft plunge we all got it pretty well sussed and spent a good couple of hours jumping off the pier, catching a wave in and doing it all over again. Lazy surfing at it's best.

Monday sees the guys take their first surf lessons. We have advertised locally for a day of free surf lessons on Easter Monday. We are hoping for a good turn out so the guys and girls can put their new skills to good use in preparation for their final assessments next week. For many it will be the first time they have had to present themselves to complete strangers so it will be an interesting day all round. Teaching is a great skill to have under your belt and teaching surfing must be one of the most enjoyable and rewarding ways to build up your confidence. Keep your eyes on the blog next week for more news on that.

That't it for now. A new blog will follow early next week.

Thanks for reading,

Tim and Nikki

We’re now into the middle of our stay here in Ballito and time is flying by. We had a couple of days off over the Easter Weekend, as much as you have “days off” when you’re on holiday. These were spent rising early (5:30am for some) to catch the morning offshore before spending an easy afternoon by the pool in the Secret Spot relaxing and sunbathing.

Hugo, Jimmy and Adam have all started shaping their own boards. The Secret Spot has a shaping bay and the guys were lucky enough to be hooked up with top SA Shaper Elton Fursman. They headed over to Elton’s place to put their shapes onto paper, Elton then shipped the rough blanks over to the Secret Spot and since then, under the watchful gaze of Mike (our host here), the guys have sanded, sprayed and glassed their very own surfboards. A pretty unique experience.

Elsewhere the guys are gearing up for their final surf assessments tomorrow. In order to give the group a taste for the instructor lifestyle we spent Easter Monday on the beach here in Ballito. Obviously being a bank holiday the place was packed and there was no shortage of takers for the free surf lessons that we were offering. We had advertised in the paper so were a little worried about just how many people would turn up but we gave 35 free lessons and had a great time doing it.

For now that is about it. We have spent the day on the beach in Durban today surfing some fun waves at the cities premier spot – New Pier. It’s still amazing to see just how far everyone’s surfing is coming along with Jaymie H and David (back in the water after injury) making some really good progress.

So 2 busy days of assessments ahead of us and then it’s time to kick back and party!

Thanks for reading,
Tim and Nikki.