Notes from a Road Trip to East London: Part 1

Hagen Engler wrote a story about PE and East London being Siamese Twins separated at birth and I finally get it. The main difference between them is waves and bars. Slummies has more of one, while PE has more of the other. Back when Turtle Morris was doing the surf report, he’d give a brief synopsis of the conditions in EL, after confirming that PE was still flat.
“What’s he say?” my brothers or friends would ask once I’d put the phone down.
“God hates PE surfers,” I’d reply, “Slummies is 6 foot and perfect.”
“And what about PE?” they’d ask, knowing in the heart of hearts exactly what the waves were like in PE.

This weekend Zok and I made an impulse decision to visit our older brother, Rokso, in Slummies. As we passed the turd factory near Blue Water Bay, I looked over and saw a group of kids playing on a windsurfing board near the river mouth. My dad had a board just like it when we were little. I remember doing the same thing with my brothers on days when we couldn’t surf, because the waves were too small.

No trip up the coast is complete without a Nanaga Pie along the way. My heart nearly stopped when I noticed the store locked up, like it’d been condemned. “Where’s it gone!” bellowed Zok. There were no signs of life. We shook our heads and moved on, mourning the loss of a great institution in a world gone bananas. With our bellies full of lost hope, we pushed on towards an imminent storm, brewing clouds like steam engine smoke.

At the other end of the freeway we found a pot of gold only South African leprechauns would appreciate: The New Nanaga Mega Store! Holy snakes. We had no idea they’d moved. The good people that gave us Lamb and Mint pies have reopened a shopping mall-sized farm stall, with a variety of original flavors that will make you cry. The new building looks fantastic and the pies as magical as ever.



By the time we reached Port Alfred rain was pelting down like gunfire from above. We decided to park the car at East Beach and wait for the weather to calm down. The wind was howling cross shore and the swell was small, but the sand banks at East Beach still looked immaculate. Although we couldn’t stop for a surf along the way, we’ve sworn to do so on the way home tomorrow. PA has some of the best waves in the Eastern Cape. Thanks to the popularity of Jefferies Bay, it’s not over run by tourists and surfing piggies— although you do have to watch your manners and pay the locals their due.

We got to Slum Town on Saturday afternoon around 4PM, at the same time a lightning and hail storm rocked the little city. Instead of dropping our bags off and going for a surf before sunset, we scrambled indoors and cracked a few cold ones, whilst the horizon lit up like a fire cracker.


It seemed as though PE had followed us to EL, as Sunday morning’s surf check reminded me of home. Eastern Beach and Nahoon Reef were gutless and small. Zach sampled the goods, but got out very quickly. “Like pipe,” was the exact expression he used to describe the waves. Even though I expected to feel cheated by the flat ocean, I couldn’t help having a good day with my brothers.



The three of us live in different cities, so the times we get to hang out are as rare as a 6 foot day in PE. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving up the coast to spots like Yellow Sands, Glen Eden and Queensbury Bay. The waves were rubbish everywhere, but walking up and down the beach and picnicking in the hillside was as much fun as anyone needs to have. The stuff you do while waiting for waves is important to remember, like playing in the river, on a dusty old windsurfer, with your brothers.

I’ll have more photos and a comprehensive entry tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on how caught up we get in PA on the way home. The waves are shocking again today, so we’ll have to carry on making the best of what’s around.


***

The O'niel World Cup of Surfing continued this weekend at Sunset Beach. When the round of 64 continues this week, we'll see the likes of David Weare, Ricky Basnett (who kicked so much ass in his previous heat it wasa frightning), Jordy Smith and Greg Emslie. you'll find the live feed on www.triplecrownofsurfing.com.