Welcome back to the surf safari! If you haven’t already, please go and check out the previous parts. If you’ve already read them, then get excited because we’re about to continue the story!
On this leg we say goodbye to Jeffrey’s Bay and make the drive all the way to Cape Town. It’s a decent haul, but a lot of South Africans do it to surf, so we were excited. And to make it just a little nicer, we added in a stop for a night… which turned out to be far more interesting than we first thought.
Right, let’s get back to it, shall we?
Related:
Top 5 Surf Destinations We’ve Found While Sailing (So Far)
Leaving J-Bay
After picking up my new (to me) board the previous day, we got in a super fun — if crowded — morning session. As soon as we came in, we deconstructed the boards and packed them back into the board bags along with our wet wetsuits (lovely, I know).
A warm shower and one more sweep of the rooms and we were away… first stop: a café.
After grabbing a coffee and snack, we finally left the swell lines behind, reminiscing on the amazing two weeks we’d been able to spend here. The people, the waves, the town… everything was just so good, and already we couldn’t wait for the next time we came back.
On the highway we had some food and got comfy. Several hours awaited, so we might as well settle in.
First Stop: Knysna
A little while later, we made it to our first real stop: Knysna.
Now, there was a reason we detoured out to stand at Knysna Heads — we’d be sailing through them in a matter of weeks. With that in mind we took in everything we could: checked out the anchorage, wandered the waterfront a bit, and grabbed a toasty for the road.
The view from the Heads was spectacular and it was an amazing day. Not a cloud in the sky. It made you just want to go sailing… but no, we hopped back in the car and kept moving.
The Scenery
A couple of hours later, we were driving through some unreal scenery. Every device went down, the windows rolled down, and we soaked in the fresh air and views.
Fields. Not just any fields — fields of flowers! It was absolutely beautiful. Mountains in the distance, no one else on the road… it doesn’t get much better on a road trip.
We stopped briefly to fly the drone, then pushed on to reach our overnight stay by sunset.
The next section wound through mountains, with vineyards and farmhouses nestled in valleys — picture-perfect.
Gansbaai
As the sun dropped toward the horizon, we looked out for the ocean. When it came into view, we watched the sun sink into it just as we rolled into our destination: Gansbaai.
But before I tell you about it, I have to warn you how NOT to pronounce it. Don’t say gans-bye (like we Aussies did). The locals will just laugh. You have to pronounce it with an “H”: harns-bye.
Okay, lesson over, you’re welcome.
We stopped at the supermarket to grab food for dinner and then found our accommodation. Our hosts were amazing, the rooms cozy, and the view… wow. Straight over the harbour with the sunset still glowing. We were stoked. After the long drive, we crashed hard.
The next morning Dad and I went for a walk to find coffee. The café we stopped at had a glowing fire inside, and we huddled next to it while sipping our drinks.
As we found out later that day, Gansbaai is mostly known for shark cage diving. It used to be all about the Great Whites, but they’ve been chased off by a pair of Orcas (true story as far as I know!) that killed them just to eat their livers. Wild.
Anyways, we walked the coast, explored some caves, and even swam in an underground freshwater pool. Our hosts then went above and beyond — they cooked us our first ever braai (like a barbecue, but over an open fire). And yes, it was absolutely delicious.
Stuffed full, we had another night in town.
Penguins
The next morning we were keen to hit the road for Cape Town. But first: penguins.
Archie had been dying to see them, so when we spotted a sign, we couldn’t resist. It turned out to be way less crowded than other penguin spots too.
We hopped out into more than twenty knots of wind (zipped jackets required), and sure enough, the penguins were there — chilling on the beach. Mission accomplished, and Archie was stoked.
Back in the car, warm and happy, we carried on.
The Coast Road
This might have been my favorite part of the whole drive.
The road hugs the edge of False Bay, and on this sunny day the water lit up. Absolutely mind-blowing.
We even spotted baboons along the cliffs! (How? No idea. But the animal lovers in the car were thrilled — penguins and baboons in one day.)
At one point we pulled over for coffee — from a van parked on the cliff edge. I mean, how often do you get that? Pretty cool.
Cape Town
Before long, the coast road ended and suburbs began. An hour later we were on the outskirts of Cape Town — and it wasn’t quite as magical as the road in.
On one side: slums and overpopulated areas. On the other: fancy houses and the airport. A stark contrast. It was sad, and a real reality check. We’d already seen glimpses of this on our travels, but the closer we got to the city, the sharper the contrast became.
After a stop at the worst toilet of the trip (yes, it deserves the capital letters), we were just twenty minutes out of Muizenberg — our next base.
As we pulled up to the beach, we were a little shocked. Coming from J-Bay, Muizenberg felt… very different. Then we checked into our new accommodation for the week — but explaining that properly would take too long.So I’ll leave you here. Meet me in Part Five, which is going to be very interesting. Think: a surf comp, squished spaces, and our crazy journey home.