Hello and a happy new year from Cape Town. We are all set and ready to kick off the year in style as the riders for our January South Africa trips prepare to fly out. Sam, Chris and myself have been busy making sure everything is in place and we are all set and itching to kick off proceedings tomorrow.

The sun is out, it’s 30 degrees, there are some lovely waves around and the forecast looks good for plenty of surfing over the next few days. Shaun and Lucinda are all set to welcome the riders and supplies have been purchased for a big traditional welcoming Braii. Paul and Dene have been in touch to plan the surf lessons and with light north westerlies forecast and a little south swell things couldn’t look much better. We also have a couple of Ticket to Ride graduates returning to help with the coaching in Cape Town. Jules (Sept 2008) and Gabby (Jan 2008) will be helping Dene, Sheldon and Rizal in the water and will be looking to pass on all their knowledge to our new group of riders.

Sam and I caught up with Thomas and Karen over breakfast yesterday and we have some exciting community projects lined up. The guys will be playing football, netball, organising day trips to the beach for the children in the TTR crèche and organising a Braii at Thomas’ house in the Masi township. It will be an interesting introduction to the other side of South Africa and the group will be straight into it.

Then there’s Table Mountain, Cape Point, Wine tours, a surf trip up to the West Coast...we’re going to be busy!

Blogs for trip 1 will be updated twice weekly and you can follow the group as they head along the coast with Sam and Chris.

Thanks for checking in, happy 2009! I hope yours is a good one.

Tim and Sam.

Welcome to Africa……

First of all let me say “Hi” to everyone who has decided to keep themselves updated by our blog.

My name is Sam and I am going to be leading the 1st trip, along with my good friend and colleague Chris. We will be keeping you informed of our exploits with a twice weekly blog as we meander our way up the coastline of this beautiful country.

So today started for me at 5:30am as I made my way to Cape Town international to pick up the first group into Africa. With the plane only slightly delayed, we set off as soon as possible on the scenic drive back to Kommetjie (pronounced Komm-e-key), our base for the next twelve days. The route heads from the airport towards Town and winds its way past the luscious green slopes of the Constantia wine fields and finally hits ‘Ou Kaapse Weg’, literally translated as “Old Capes Road”, and the mountain range separating the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. We moseyed our way up the False Bay side where our budding surfers caught their first glimpse of the waves they would soon be riding, and headed on over to the Atlantic side and finally Kommetjie.

As we pulled into the drive way our kindly host Lucinda came to greet us and welcomed us in to her home. The backpacker’s has a warm and hospitable feel to it, with big smiles and wagging tails everywhere you look. Our hosts Shaun and Lucinda and friend Easter also live there, so there is very much a family feel to the place and a vibe that makes you feel at home immediately.

I left the early birds to go for a walk with Lucinda whilst we awaited the arrival of the rest of the group. Upon their coming, we chucked bags in rooms, splashed cooling water on faces, hastily swapped jeans and jumpers for shorts and tees and made a beeline for the beach and eventually the Green Room restaurant.

Drinks, burgers, nachos and club sandwiches were the order of the day and by 4:30pm everyone was suitably stuffed and ready for a relaxing couple of hours before our Welcome Braai (BBQ) at the hostel this evening.

It’s almost time for me to head over there now so I hope this helps set the scene for you and please keep following our progress…there’s so much in store!!

Speak soon and take care….

Sam and Chris

Well the last few days have been nothing short of eventful. Since we last updated you, the sights, sounds and surf of Cape Town have been the focus for the group.

On Wednesday the group were introduced to Kahuna Surfing Academy Owner Dene Botha and his coaches. These are the guys and girls who will put the surfing foundations in for our aspiring surfers and the first few lessons went ahead in perfect 2ft waves at Muizenberg beach on the Indian Ocean side of Cape Town.
Mid-way through the first lesson, Dene walked up the beach with an astonished look on his face and proceeded to praise the group for their eagerness and natural talent, on behalf of the fact that everyone was up and riding within that lesson.
3 days down the line and muscle fatigue set in with arms, legs, shoulders and backs being the ailments of the week.

Thursday evening brought with it a local derby of great magnitude. Ticket to Ride sponsor a local football team from one of the townships with which we work closely, called Masiphumelele. Having recently kitted out the team in their first strip, we headed down to the local playing fields to watch a friendly between the Masi’ team “Juventus” and the Fish Hoek juniors. All the players were between six and nine years old and showed some effortless talent on the pitch. Backed by our enthusiastic Riders, complete with horns and heckles, Juventus went on to a glorious 2:1 win.
After the match we got a chance to meet the players, who having done all the running so far, insisted that they have races whilst balanced on our shoulders. A few friends were made that day and everyone is looking forward to challenging the little chaps to a game on the beach next week!

Last night was the first proper night out, and the group got to see the haunts of local surfer and my honoured colleague Chris Bond. We started with a view and ‘happy hour’ at the red Herring, over looking a setting sun on the Atlantic and then made our way over to the Kalk Bay area for some food and a few more drinks. A late night after a hard week prompted a well deserved lie in for our lot followed by a bit of sight seeing.

The Cape of Good Hope, nearly the most Southern point of Africa (in fact it does a pretty impressive job of being a ‘nearly’ something). This is what today was about. We picked up some supplies and ambled on down to the Cape Point reserve where we pick-nicked at Olifantsbos, a beautiful beach with some nice looking waves breaking through the thick kelp beds. After lunch we drove up to the Cape of Good Hope and climbed the cliff path leading to (nearly) the most Southern point of Africa. It is a stunning view from up there, looking down hundreds of feet to the meeting point of two great oceans, the wind whistling through your ears. It feels very much like Africa should feel.

Tomorrow is hopefully going to bring another view of Cape Town, this time from the top of Table Mountain.

Hopefully you are all well and enjoying the updates

Sam

Hello folks,

I hope that everyone at home is well and enjoying the blog updates. Whilst I’m writing this, the outside temperature is in the high twenties (one of the chilliest days so far), only slightly cooled by the strong SE winds that are welcomed during the stifling South African summer.

When I left you last time we were getting a good nights sleep before our mammoth trek up Table Mountain. As we woke the skies were perfectly clear and there was barely any wind…perfect conditions for climbing (if you start nice and early). Unfortunately for us we were slightly delayed and reached the bottom about 10ish, meaning we should drag ourselves over the top around midday.

Without standing on ceremony, sun screen was slapped on, water bottles packed and our intrepid adventurers embarked on the hot and sweaty 600m ascent. It is a pretty gruelling climb and the sun just added insult to injury. Nevertheless the whole group made the journey, and inside of 2 hours; a pretty impressive feat!
We spent a short while admiring the view from up there; the city stretching out to the north, Robben Island in the bay and Cape Point and the reserve to the South. Then with muscles aching, the majority of us opted for the scenic cable car ride back down, but Zach, Jamie, Ben and Josh scoffed at us and made a beeline for the path back down.

Surfing wise, the group so far have been using boards from the surf school during their lessons, so as to learn and fine tune the very basics. However on Monday we dished out an array of new boards to each rider for them to start using and getting to grips with. Over the last lessons on the Cape Town leg of the trip most of the crew have been riding their new ‘sticks’ getting a feel for them in anticipation of the more challenging waves looming in the near future at Plettenberg Bay.

South Africa is world renowned for its tasty wines and I definitely won’t say no to a glass or two over a long game of cricket, and as we are in the area we thought it essential to go and sample some of these delicacies for ourselves.
Klein Constantia is a vineyard located on the hills over looking False Bay. As you drive up to the reception you are greeted by rolling hills of juicy green and red grapes, long and windy paved roads lined by blossoming trees of all colours and sizes and beautiful, dated, colonial style buildings hiding behind it all. Inside we were welcomed in by the Wine maker, Adam and introduced to our guide Reggie who progressed to give us a very informative breakdown of how the wines are made, a tour of the cellar and finally a good ol’ wine tasting session!

Klein Constantia is notorious for its sweet dessert wine, Vin de Constance…which is what I imagine pure liquid gold would taste like. We all sampled a few of their favourites, purchased the obligatory bottles and then headed into town to ‘Cape to Cuba’, a Cuban themed bar and restaurant where everything is for sale…the seats you sit on, the lamp shades, the bar, the pictures, the LOT!

A few drinks down the hatch and let’s just say the ice was definitely broken and a good night followed.

Thanks for reading everyone…and keep in touch.

Hello hello from sunny Plettenberg Bay

Having moved on a chapter in our adventure up the coast, the scenery, surf and a whole lot more has changed, but first I shall fill you in on our last few days in Cape Town.

Thursday saw the inaugural TTRide beach football match of 2009. The team from Masiphumelele (where the majority of our charity work is based) came down and met us on the beach for some intense football. 1st up were the 6yr olds vs TTRide ladies who after half an hour came to a 2:2 draw. Next up the instructors vs more 6 yr olds and we held the TTRide name high and mighty with a 3:2 win, although we all came off the pitch coughing a sweating , and the little guys were definitely up for more. Finally the big game…TTRide mens vs Masi mens. A gripping match ensued but in the end the Masi team held strong for the 3rd year in a row, giving the TTRide guys a run for their money. One time soon we will be victorious!!

Friday was a nerve racking day for the Riders. The vans were quiet with anticipation as we drove along the sea front towards the most breath taking pool I’ve ever been to, and of course a mock ‘timed swim’! A requisite of the Lifeguard and Surf Instructor qualification is swimming 400m in under 9 mins 30 secs and so to prep the guys and girls we hit various pools on the trip to give them a bit of training here and there. Fortunately or unfortunately, whichever way you look at it, we only realised the pool was 50m (not 25m) after everyone had completed their swims. A bit of extra training can never hurt and it paid off dividends! Everyone completed it in very respectable times which certainly impressed both myself and Nico.

Saturday morning was spent in the township of Masiphumelele. We gathered a gaggle of excitable kids and headed to the local primary school where we spent the next few hours playing and coaching football with Andy and Alex showing their instructors talents. A while later and the local netball team showed up eager for some competition, so our dedicated lasses stepped up to the plate and battled valiantly for an hour. Sadly their efforts were in vain and the Masi girls struck victory.
Later that evening, we gathered at the house of Kahuna Surfing Academy guys Paul and Dene for a de-brief of the riders surfing and a tasty Braai washed down with a few beers.

Now in Plett we have had a lesson with International Surf School’s John and Donna Henry and are looking forward to the next week…probably one of the most adrenaline filled weeks of the Riders lives to date.

Watch this space for some scare stories from Plett involving a lot of jumping and some Elephants.