A Surf Safari: Part One

A surf safari? Yes, a surf safari. Why? Well, it sounds better than “surf trip,” and since we’re in Africa, we figured it fit quite nicely! If you’re still wondering why we’d call it this… I don’t have any further explanation. Maybe as I tell the first part of this epic surf safari in Africa, you’ll start to understand. Let’s head to Tanzania, shall we?

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On the Plane

Welcome to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. This is where we’ve spent the last few days packing, playing paddle ball, and prepping to leave Happy Days for three weeks. On the night of our departure, we’re hurrying to finalise the board bags and make sure everything is ready. We down some dinner and jump into bed for a solid two hours.

The alarm goes off at 1 a.m. and six excited people sleepily get dressed before loading our stuff onto the taxi boat. We make it safely to shore, manage not to slip on the low-tide ramp, strap board racks on the airport transfer roof, pop our two board bags up there — and then we’re off.

Squished between the little two, I read, watch a movie with them, enjoy an airplane meal, and then watch the sunrise as we descend. Four hours later, the flight is over — and it’s time for stage two.

In the Car

The car section was a lot longer than the plane ride — and we hadn’t even started yet. We landed cold, pulled on jumpers, found our surfboards in the oversized baggage area, and made our way out to find another hot drink.

Entering South Africa was super smooth, by the way. Literally we were like: “Is that it?”

Soon enough, Mum and Dad had the rental car. We threw everything in, got the boards roughly tied on the roof, and pulled out of the airport. Then we stopped in an industrial spot to fix things up properly: the little two were squished in the back, us older two in the middle, and Mum and Dad up front.

We were away.

Only eleven hours to go! Let me just tell you now — I do not recommend sitting in a car for that long. But hey, it was cheaper than flying, and it turned into a serious adventure.

Back on the road with bread, cheese, and tomato, we realised we didn’t have a knife. So in the next town — another 20–30 minutes away — we found one. By then, it was dark.

We continued on, turned left, and made sandwiches as we drove. Just as we finished eating, the road suddenly turned to dirt. Had we taken a wrong turn? Google Maps said it was right — even the shortest way. So we carried on.

Then something ran across the road ahead. We slowed a little, but it was fine. Until Mum screamed. We hit something. Dad slammed the brakes and jumped out. Water was spilling everywhere. Had the radiator gone? Were we going to make it?

A car came down the road — the only one we’d seen. We waved them down, and thankfully they stopped. After checking under the car, the lovely guy asked Dad to squirt the windscreen fluid. Praise the Lord — that was it! The radiator was fine, but the washer tank had a massive hole. We could still drive.

Finally, after countless dirt-road kilometers, we hit tarmac again. What a relief. We sped up a little but stayed alert — those glowing eyes were still everywhere. Eventually, we reached a town and could drive faster than 40. Only about an hour left.

I woke up from a squashed nap to see lights on the headland ahead. JBay!

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Arriving

We rolled through the industrial area at midnight and pulled onto Pepper Street at quarter past twelve. We’d made it! Quietly unloading our bags, we slipped through the gate, amazed by the surf house setup and board racks.

Then we ran down to the deck — the deck we’d soon know so well — and saw them: the waves, peeling right along the beach. We’d actually done it! As much as we wanted to stand there frothing until sunrise, we were wrecked. Boards off the roof, beds ready — we finally crashed.

Next Morning

Summary

This was a wild beginning to our Jeffreys Bay surf trip. We definitely didn’t plan on hitting an animal, or arriving at midnight, but that’s how adventures go. And this was just the start of our surf safari. Stay tuned for Part Two — because it’s pretty special surfing one of the world’s best waves, and we might’ve even scored a swell!

Have you been on a surf safari? Or surfed at Jeffreys Bay? Drop a comment below — I’d love to hear your stories!