Learn 2 Surf

Top tips for tip-top travels

Thinking about becoming an MBC volunteer? Or just looking to travel to Cape Town? Here at MBC, we’ve created a list of top tips to make your travels smoother, safer, and even more fun!

caitlin Name: Caitlin
Been in South Africa: 6 weeks
Position: Volunteer
Advice: There are so many incredible independent cafes in and around Cape Town. I love Bob’s Bagel Cafe in Kalk Bay, Monicle and Mermaid in
Simon’s Town, and Empire in Muizenberg – just round the corner from MBC!

 

ANT Name: Ant
Been in South Africa: 40 years
Position: Director of MBC
Advice: Stay for as long as possible, there’s so much to do. Just a couple of weeks won’t be enough – you’ll have to come back another time! Make
sure to explore the surrounding area as well, and get out to the Garden Route if you can.

 

philaName: Phila
Been in South Africa: 19 years
Position: Former MBC member, surf instructor at Learn 2 Surf
Advice: Be safe! Cape Town is an incredible area, but there will be some people out to spoil your fun. Keep your belongings in your sight, be vigilant, and don’t let anybody stop you having a good time

 

TembaName: Temba
Been in South Africa: 14 years
Position: MBC member
Advice: On a rainy day, Grand West in Cape Town is a great place to go. It has everything, from cinemas to an ice rink to bowling, as well as loads of restaurants. There’s enough there to keep you entertained for hours!

 

AsiName: Asi
Been in South Africa: 15 years
Position: MBC member
Advice: There are so many amazing surf spots here. Muizenberg is great for beginners, while Long Beach is good for more experienced surfers. The water isn’t as warm as you’d expect, so a wetsuit is a good idea to keep you comfortable

Kids surfing party

Last Sunday we had a kids birthday Surf Party on the beautiful Beach of Muizenberg for Learn 2 Surf. We the Volunteers and interns Friedl , Felix, Samy, Flo, Amber and Phila a member of MBC helped instructing the kids surfing.

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Phila a passionate surfer, filmer and editor helped instructing and filming the Birthday Party.
The morning started with cleaning the famous Muizenberg beach huts preparing the gazebo and bringing the Boards and wetsuits to the beach.

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After this we started with the warm up and the basic saftety instructions of surfing. Before we went in the water the famous photographer Friedl took some good shots from the birthday group and the instructors.

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On this day the kids had a lot of fun in the water and a really good surf session. The parents had a lot of fun and all the people were on the sunny side of life.

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Surfing on the Wild West Coast of South Africa

Last weekend a group of MBC volunteers, one of the Learn 2 Surf instructors plus some of the Muizenberg crew headed on a road trip along the west coast of South Africa! The wave forecast looked promising along this stretch of the Western Cape and we certainly weren’t disappointed! We camped pretty much on the beach for three nights and surfed at Elands Bay (Elandsbaai) and Lambert’s Bay (Lambertsbaai). The waves were more challenging than at Muizenberg and considerably larger, which was good experience! It was quite awesome to watch the more advanced surfers do their tricks out at the point at Elands.

Surfing the point at Elands

During our trip we had braais (South African BBQs) overlooking the beach and an incredible all-you-can-eat seafood dinner at Muisbosskerm, the famous open-air restaurant right on the shore that was featured in the cult surf film ‘The Endless Summer II’ – a perfect place to watch the sun go down and refuel for surfing the next day.

Road tripping!

Road tripping!

We had some impromptu yoga sessions at sunset and dusk – it was pretty special looking up at the darkening sky and watching the full moon and the stars come out one by one over the sea, especially as there’s so little light pollution there.

Surfer at Elands

This particular section of coastline has a rather wild, untamed beauty which is quite stunning. Ancient rock paintings, dating back to the San Bushmen, are located in a nearby cave up in a cliff face and we did a mini hike up to the cave to see them. The rock art includes paintings of elands and hundreds of red handprints thought to be connected to ancient rites of passage. We also saw some cool wildlife during our trip – seals, dassies, flamingos, ostriches, baboons, lizards . . .

Ancient rock art at Elands Bay

Ancient rock art at Elands Bay

Muizenberg is a perfect and safe beach for learning to surf and for practising your skills while you’re working on the MBC project but there are so many good surf spots here in South Africa and Elands Bay makes an amazing surf trip from the Cape Town area for MBC volunteers.

Spot the birdie at Elands

 

Maddy, volunteer from England