South Africa

Where to surf in South Africa

South Africa has always been a surfing nation, shadowing the developments in California and Australia and building their own African-flavoured scene, based around some of the finest surfing real estate in the world. It's a nation of contradictions and juxtapositions, spanning wildly differing conditions from freezing heavy mountainous seas in the west to warm, almost tropical vibes in the northeast. Somewhere between these two extremes sits the most famous of righthand points at J-Bay, where perfection peels down the rocks every winter, as Southern Ocean storms circle the planet.

Northern Cape

Namaqualand continues the Namib theme of desert forbidden zone patrolled by De Beers diamond mining security, dense fogs and strong winds. Check around Port Nolloth, Kleinsee and Hondeklip Bay.

Western Cape

Crossing the border into check Strandfontein and Doring Bay. South of the West Coast zone there are plenty of beachbreaks through Yzerfontein, Melkbos and Blauuberg leading down to some of the best big city surfing in the world at on the Cape Peninsula. From False Bay east, via Africa’s southern tip at Cape Aghulas, the Overberg and Eden regions offers some heavy stormy water and it’s the shark cage-diving epicentre of the world. Highlights include secretive hollow slabs, big wave reefs and plenty of good sandbars outside the winter months in towns like Hermanus and Gansbaai.

The Garden Route lures with the promise of empty righthanders, tucked in below the mountains that parallel the coast all the way to Tsitsikamma National Coastal Park.

Eastern Cape

Every surfer has heard of J-Bay, the world’s best righthand pointbreak, nestled in St Francis Bay, a zone that includes the city beaches of Port Elizabeth, which could easily be a stand-alone destination.

Check both the jetty waves at Port Alfred but don’t expect to get it to yourself.

Same goes for the most consistent surf in SA at East London which also has the dubious mantle of most shark attacks on surfers, particularly at the main spot, Nahoon.

The beginning of the former Transkei or Wild Coast sees water temperatures start to rise and late summer or autumn should see the sand and rock symbiosis at its best, lighting up the numerous pointbreaks along this scenic coast and there’s plenty of exploration potential by 4WD.

Kwazulu Natal

Referred to as “The South coast” by Durbanites, Southern Kwazulu Natal is a veritable wave feast of points, beaches and barrels galore, within easy strike distance of the city. The Durban surf scene is centred around the handful of piers and jetties in the Bay of Plenty that provide so many options for the city surfers in both summer and winter, plus there are the gaping tubes of Cave Rock just around the corner.

The elephant in the room is the surf that stretches for at least 400kms into the Northern Kwazulu Natal up to the Mozambique border. Famous competition venues like Ballito are closer to Durban, but beyond lies a sub-tropical playground of summer lefts or winter rights depending on swell angle. Lots of shifting sandbars and further north sees coral reefs taking the wave energy a little offshore, where doubtless many secret spots reside. Access is difficult with lots of reserves and a ban on beach driving but since crowds are minimal, surfers gravitate to the hotspots like Alkantstrand in Richards Bay, where jetties provide wind protection, Cape Vidal’s reefy peaks, or Sodwana Bay rights in big swells and A-frames over coral at Lighthouse.