5:55am. It’s dark, cold and windy. Trees play off the wind in the shadows. It’s actually quite miserable. There’s no open bathrooms due to the horseriders leaving early this morning back up the coast.
Okay, Hilux’s are fucking great. We floated over the absolute abolishment of a road with absolutely no discomfort. There’s a bakkie in the road facing our way in a cold valley with high vegetation on either side; someone is flagging us down. Three sleeping faces lined up in the front seat. It turns out that they went out drinking last night and on the way back their car had broken down. They pour out of the car asking for “Amanzi” water. David tows them to try start their car - it doesn’t, he ends up towing them all the way back out the valley. Me and Gareth talk about Indonesia and throw rocks into the bushes. Throwing rocks is one of the pleasures that I indulge in when there is nothing to do.
The roads get worse and we pass through the front yard of a small Rondawel on a hillside. David shifts into 4x4 and we creep up this incredibly steep grassy hill. At the top you have to wrench the car into a 90 degree turn to avoid careening off the top of the hill. Then it’s just a Transkei version of the endless summer sand dune; driving the Hilux over the top of a grassy hillside, the ocean slowing coming into view with the sunrise to our left. There are dolphins in the waves and a whale in the bay. A beautiful beach wrapping into two headlands with the iconic setup of Lwandile wrapping the swell into perfect walls below us.
I scrap together my things to make a coffee and we froth out of this absolutely magical setup. A child named Nas rocks up and has a little chat with us. I decant the coffee into the flask, we suit up and clammer and slip our way down the grassy slope.
Today it’s a pretty easy jump off of the rock stroke through the warm water up the point. I get some really lovely waves, mostly doing wrapping cutbacks into the foam. I get one memorable wave that was about shoulder high and just had so much power to it. I managed a few more powerful wraps in the pocket and then fell on the closeout snap with a big smile on my face.
We smoke a dirty rollie together by the car watching the waves. The wind and tide had come up, chilling us and causing only the set waves to break. We’re cold and Nas thoroughly enjoyed the flask of coffee so much that there isn’t any left. One pleasant Hilux ride later we’re back at the Mdumbi and saying goodbye to David. Me and Marco have an interesting conversation that both flows and jerks its way around a range of topics.
I had a feeling that my lost hair tie hasn’t gone too far. True enough, it’s on the path to the common room; welcome home. Long may your rein over my hair last.
Watching the waves from the embankment I decide it looks longboard worthy. It’s strange putting on a 5/4mm wetsuit with a hood on in the Transkei, but nobody has truly complained about being too warm - not me for sure. The rip pulling along the rocky headland gives you two choices: float at the speed of the current and have a brief chat with the people fishing on the rocks or paddle hard and watch the landscape blur past you.
I’m out there with just Christian. It’s windy but clean and there are gentle knee high waves running down the point and the length of the sand bank. I get a few really long waves that are euphoric. Dolphins come to visit and I briefly share a wave with one of them.
The first rainbow peeks it head out below the clouds; 10 degrees of the arc adding colour to the otherwise grey skyline. Then another appears, and another. Wind and rain texture the waves - a few nose rides become submarine. Bas, Cam and Gareth paddle out during a squall and the ocean comes alive. The waves are consistent yet lack confidence - changing their mind multiple times along each ride. It keeps things exciting navigating the ever changing line that must be threaded to the beach.
I treat myself by washing my hair and putting on a fresh pair of clothes. It’s raining and cold but the common room has a fire and lovely music. I’m excited to get stuck into my book. Reflecting on my mind and how it’s approaching daily life now I notice how it has really relaxed. It’s rarely planning or worrying, it doesn’t think too hard about the past unless I journal and I find that my presence has resulted in very clear experiences and lasting memories.
Pap and sausage for dinner is hearty and warm. A candle lit dinner around the fire with a group of people that feel like old friends. More people congregate and before we know it there are guitars, shakers, drums and a didgeridoo. Marco disappears and comes back with an amp and peddle and it turns into a sort of party.
