We've been soaking up the South African sunshine for over a week now, so we've said goodbye to Cape Town, and have shot up the coast to Plettenberg Bay. We arrived late last night, and I've woken up before the group, with the sun beaming through my room at 7 am, no wind, no clouds, and pure sunshine. It's going to be an absolute scorcher, and we'll be making the most of it all. We're being pickid up at 8 45 by local legend John Henry who'll be taking us down for an early day surf making sure that we start Plett with a bang!

We've also been joined by a second TTRide trip leader in Chris Bond (for a write up on him see our team page) which means 2 heads planning the week ensuring non stop action.

The final few days were as busy as the previous one's, we went on a wine tour, played more football with the local team, surfed a load more waves, and after too much waiting all the group received their brand new Clayton surfboards (which they're all itching to use this morning!)

In Plett we'll be having more of the same; they've got beautiful uncrowded warm water beaches, aswell as many other activities that would make the butterflies start flapping in the hardiest if stomach's. Plett boasts the world's highest bungee jump coming in at a modest 216 metres over Africa's largest bridge Bloukrans, aswell as one of the most scenic skydives you'll ever find. I have done both of these, and they have a 100% safety track record, and a long serving name, but I'll be letting the group make up their own minds as to whether they throw themselves off high bridges, or out of an airoplane!

For those less adrenaline minded there's an Ocean Safari to consider, having the chance to witness huge pods of dolphine, and the migrating whales that are out at sea, aswell as Monkey land which is an enclosed area with monkeys off all sorts running around.

We'll be here for 7 days, and are hoping to take the groups surfing to the next level. We're starting to bring in the video analysis, and will be looking for as much water time as possible.

So it's over from me, and just another day in Africa!

L

Two days in Plett have passed, and you are quickly reminded why this town is such a popular holiday destination with the South African population. We've had nothing but clear skies and constant sunshine, met with a gentle swell producing perfect waves for everyone to take their surfing up a step. Whilst having a spot of fresh sushi after a morning surf yesterday I even saw a Mother and calf Southern Right Whale cruise past about 1/2 a mile out at sea, life really dosen't get much better!

We've spent a lot of the time in the water, and John Henry has taken the bull by the horns and is giving lessons with so much enthusiasm and energy that it's hard to imagine anyone doing a better job. The water's a lot warmer up here, and wetsuits are starting to become optional with board shorts and bikini's becoming the flavour of the day.

The date for the sky dive has been booked, and it seems as though we'll be having a full compliment taking to the skies. The bungee jump is met with greater anticipation, and this will be done one afternoon but no dates have been set, as it's good to keep this as flexible as possible.

So all is well from Africa's most Southern country, and it seems as though the smiles are here to stay.

Over and Out, L

Coming to South Africa on a month long surf trip is always going to have it's adrenaline activities, but we here at Ticket to Ride like to take it one notch up the scale, and fit in as much as we can.

With a strong demand for both the bungee jump and the sky dive, we thought it would be a good idea to go for the golden double and do them both in the same day. Most normal people would see this as a money raising opportunity, but for our hardy bunch it was just another day in Africa.

The Bloukrans bungee jump comes in at an ever impressive 216m, and is officially the World's Highest Commercial Bungee Jump. This is a daunting height however you look at it! The whispers around the campfire on the previous evenings were enough to put some of the group off but even with the TTRide Staff remaining 100% impartial we still had a solid attendance.

When you're standing on the bridge the nerves are always high as is the strong temptation to turn back, however there were no last minute drop outs, just a load of strong minds; all of whom have are treasuring the certificate, t-shirt, CD, and DVD combo upon completion (and deservedly so!)

Unfortunately blanket cloud cover meant that the Golden Combo was not possible, and the skydive has had to be postponed, but we've still got 48 hours left in Plett and are keen to make sure it happens!

Seeing as we couldn't throw ourselves out of planes the appetite for some other adrenaline activity was still high. The group were thirsty to complete some sort of ultimate combo, and the chance to wrap an Albino Bermese Python around there necks fitted the bill.

I am by no means alone in my fear of snakes, but as the great Steve Irwin always said "They're more afraid of us than we are of them" with this running through all of our minds we headed off to the local snake park, had a very educational tour and each of us held at least a couple of snakes, the most impressive of which was 3 metres long, and weiged in at around 40 kilo's. This certainly got the pulses pumping, and was a fantastic effort seeing as more than half of us have "official" snake phobia's.

We've obviously been taking to the waves, and enjoying the sunshine daily as per norm, and everyone's taking it to the next step in eager anticipation of the world class waves of Jeffreys Bay (we're off there on Friday afternoon.)

So with one fear faced today it's over and out from me, until next time.

L

You fly all the way to the other side of the world, waiting for the scorching Southern Hemisphere Summer that was so cruelly denied by us in the Uk this year. Sure enough for the first couple of weeks this is exactly what you get, but just as your tan is starting to gain a good even all over depth and the warm weather feels like all you are used to, the heavens open and you quickly realise that they even have a bit of the wet Summer curse down here.

We've suffered such heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours that it led to some devastatin flash floods. Plettenberg is in a very mountainous area and with all the rain fall on the slopes charging into the river it burst it's banks and headed down to the local beach with serious intent.

Last night we went down to the local beach to witness Mother Nature at her most ruthless, and witnessed the land getting swept into sea at literally a metre a minute. Where was once a beach was now the river banks, getting wider all the time. Nothing could avoid her wrath, you could see pontoons flying out to sea, trees getting pulled down it really was a true spectacle.

With the rain still heavy we headed down this morning to see what damage had been caused over night. It had continued to sweep back into the car park ripping into the concrete, has given a local hotel the sea right on it's doorstep (the hotel's pool is only half there this morning!)

In amongst all of this we were safe in the comfort of our camp, and took the opportunity to take on some great wet weather activities and went to play with a few cheetah cubs and wild cat kittens.

We've now moved up the coast to Jeffreys Bay for two weeks of surf and sunchine (don't worry it is on the way!) We'll be getting into teh local school to help with some renovation, teaching the local township kids to surf, visiting elephants, and stepping it up to play with lion cubs.

I can hear shouts from the bar that food is ready (Mexican feast yum yum!) So until next time...

L

We’ve been at Jeffreys Bay for two days now, and I’m very happy to say that all signs of the heavy rain that we experience towards the end of last week have well and truly passed. We had a weekend of beautiful sunshine (I even managed to receive a horrendous vest tan line – who made those uniform!?), mixed with plenty of surfing, and a couple of well deserved cool sundowners.

They have the Billabong factory outlet here in J-Bay, which has certainly become a focus for the group. As soon as we arrived everyone slapped on their bargain hunter hats and headed over to the outlet to take advantage of the ludicrously low prices on one of the worlds most fashionable brands.

It was time for some Video Analysis on Saturday, and having filmed everyone over the first two weeks we each sat down and looked back over the edited footage on an individual basis. Video Analysis is a great way to take your surfing to the next level, and having the opportunity to go over it with two fully qualified and experienced coaches is really going to help improve the technique and allow each member of our group to benefit as much as is physically possible over their time with us.

We’ve taken to the waves a handful of times, and have even sampled a few of the famous breaks. We’ve taken on Kitchen Windows, J-Bay beach break, The Point and also went to Seals Bay as part of our “Endless Summer Tour.” The waves are always cooking in this part of the world, and it’s great to see the group progressing each time we hit the water.

Over the next two weeks we’ll be visiting an Elephant Sanctuary, playing with lion cubs, helping the local township kids learn to surf, taking on various roles in a local day crèche, soaking up all the swell that hits J-Bay, aswell building up the all important tan for our Christmas return.

All’s well that ends well, and things are certainly going well over here, and with the half way mark now crossed we’re going to make sure that the final two weeks are as action packed as the first half of the trip.

Over and out from Africa’s most Southern tip.

L