Playful Plett
Plett — Plettenberg Bay to anyone who hasn’t been — sits on the Garden Route in the Western Cape, backed by forested hills, fronted by the Indian Ocean, and in January it delivers on all counts. We had one full day here, and spent it at Robberg Beach learning to surf. I say learning.
Ready for anything! Wetsuits on, boards in hand, instructor looking appropriately confident on our behalf.
The technique, we were told, is all in the hips. Pop up, find your centre, keep your eyes forward. Simple enough in theory.
Either just up or about to go down… the window between the two turned out to be very brief.
Is that ever a tiring adventure. There is a lot of paddling before any actual surfing begins, and a fair amount of ocean to swallow if you get the timing wrong.
I managed to get upright a couple of times. Briefly, but upright. The wave had other ideas both times — I’m counting it anyway.
Robberg Beach runs along the base of the Robberg Peninsula — fynbos hills behind, Indian Ocean in front, and one of South Africa’s largest Cape fur seal colonies around the point. The seals were visibly unimpressed by our progress.
Adam doing some sand surfing. No waves, no paddling, considerably more success. Smart pivot.