Having only been out here with trip 1 for the past 5 days, I can safely say that this trip has set the precedent for all our future ttride South Africa instructor courses.

Last night's send of Braii was all about the Riders looking back on everything they have seen, done, achieved and experienced. The pool party that followed lasted long into the night and there were some sore heads this morning.

Today has been all about packing boards, bags, finding the t-shirt that never got worn and some emotional goodbyes.

Sam, Chris and Bevan have done a fantastic job, putting on quite a show for their Riders over the past few months. They have literally given it everything, the fact that they are crashed out next to me barely able to raise the energy to speak let alone type is a testament to this.

You will be hearing from Sam tomorrow with the final trip blog.

So for now it is goodbye to Trip 1.

Thanks for coming. Safe travels.

See you all soon....

"spot on trip 1"

W

How do you start the last blog of an epic trip?

Sad as it is, this journey through Africa has drawn to a close. With many fond memories and some friendships forged in stone, I can safely say this has been an adventure of a lifetime.

The last few days of the trip were nothing short of eventful. We had some classic
waves at the Piers in Durban, 2-3ft peaks with light offshore winds making them glassy as you could wish for, and a whole bunch of friends in the water to surf with.

On Monday we booked ourselves in at the Wavehouse in Umhlanga Rocks to go and tackle the standing waves they have there. Water pumped at high speed across a hard sponge floor creates a standing that you can surf on a body board or a mini surfboard. We had two hours in the sun there and everyone had some great rides and some classy wipeouts leaving us with aching bodies all the next day! The Wavehouse is located in the second biggest Mall in Southern Africa, so naturally there were a few last things to pick up before we left……no doubt some last minute presents!

Back at the hostel the five aspiring shapers were frantically finishing their boards in preparation for the spray artist to come and work his magic. The end result of each board was incredible and all the guys took away boards that they will hopefully surf for many years to come.

There was a bit of a surprise for the group on Tuesday. On arriving back at the hostel in the evening, who was waiting for us there? None other than Mr Bond…Chris Bond. He flew all the way up from Cape Town to say hang out with everyone for a couple of nights and say his last goodbyes.

Our final night was spent in the grounds of the Secret Spot and it was a very special night. We organised a goodbye Braai and we had a bit of speech giving session. Mike and Roz from the Secret Spot said a huge thank you to everyone for being such a pleasant group, and followed up by giving everyone a Secret Spot towel and goody pack. After that it was time for Chris, Bevan and myself to give our speeches along with Jany and Andy, and how can we forget that delightful song played to us by our in house musicians James, Andy and Josh. I would love to read you the lyrics but I don’t think I could do them justice….if you can get hold of one of them ask them for a rendition. The night turned into a long one with drinks being served by the pool and plenty of banter being thrown around and it was early hours when we put down the pillows from our pillow fight and headed for bed.

I would like to take a moment to just thank each and every person who came on the trip with me for making it as fun as it was. Everyone added their own little flavour to the trip and I can honestly say I have never met such a polite, happy and enthusiastic bunch of people. I think I speak for everyone who met Trip 1 when I say a heart felt “Thank You” and I really hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did. I hope everyone takes something special away from this trip, least of all the memories which will last a lifetime.

I would also like to thank both Chris and Bevan for their help and support through the course of our trip. They are both genuine people and I couldn’t have asked for better friends to help turn this trip into a life experience.

Lastly I would like to thank the guys and girl in the office at home in the UK. Linley, Will and Nikki deserve a big thank you from all of us for organising such an exhilarating voyage throughout an amazing country.

I hope you all have enjoyed keeping track with our blogs and please keep in touch in the future.

All the best

Sam