Before we take you on an unforgettable kite safari, we are obviously going to test out all the kite spots and do the drive ourselves. So that's what we did at the end of March.
After working a full season in a kite school in Langebaan, we set off towards Jeffreys Bay. We skipped Langebaan, as we'd been kiting both Shark Bay and Main Beach for a few seasons, as well as the Cape Town Spots. Scarborough / Misty Cliffs is definitely on our list for the next road trip, though!
Our only stop was in Melkbosstrand, to pick up some harnesses from Mystic. From there, we drove straight to Hermanus. It took us a while to find the spot. Not the lagoon itself, that one was obvious, but where to set up. Mainly, because storms caused the lagoon to open into the ocean, making it now tidal and smaller than on the famous Instagram videos by pro riders.
Shaun and I were in too much of a hurry to get out on the water, so I didn't even get any pictures of either of us kitesurfing. Honestly: don't date other kitesurfers, date photographers!
Despite the wind being fairly light for his 11m Airush Ultra and my 10m Airush Lithium, we had a great session. The access to the ocean meant having a choice between perfectly flat water and some fun kickers, which we both took advantage of.
After spending the night in Knysna, we left early to continue our trip towards Stillbaai.
Our first stop: Gansbaai. Although it looked like a fun surf spot, neither of us felt the need to kitesurf sharky waters, so we only had breakfast there.
Unfortunately, we had no wind that day, so although Struisbaais Beach looked gorgeous, we didn't get to kite it.
As a big fan of lagoons, I insisted we went looking for the next spot: De Mond. Even if it was just to take a look. We ended up spending at least two hours on dirt roads for nothing. De Mond is located in a nature reseve, that is not only currently closed due to structural damage, but also bans kitesurfing in general. So yeah, skip the drive and remove it from your list.
By the time we got to Stillbaai, we were exhausted and frustrated. But the views of Stillbaai and Jongesfontein definitely cheered us up, even though we still didn't have enough wind.
Our biggest regret on this trip was skipping Witsand, so we'll make sure to stop there in June, but after spending the night in Jongesfontein, we drove on towards Knysna.
As Mossel Bay felt too unsafe to leave our combined lives of five months as well as 75% of a kite school in our trusted van, we drove straight through to Sedgefield. Myoli Beach was one of the spots we were most excited for.
Unfortunately, there was zero wind and waves that were a bit too high fo us (okay, for me. But Shaun was very nice about it by insisting he needed side shore and stronger winds for waves that size). We couldn't find anyone who kitesurfed, so when Shaun asked the lifeguards if they've ever seen any kitesurfers around here, we were told to go to Buffelsbaai.
Back to the car and back on the road. Right as we got into Buffels, we saw Goukamma lagoon on our right side, looking very promising (yeah, I'm a sucker for a good looking lagoon. What kitesurfer isn't?). But the wind still didn't play ball. By now, we were getting a bit frustrated.
Maybe more than a bit. Still not wanting to give up, we drove into Buffelsbaai and towards the beach. Unfortunately, it was the same as in Segdefield: awesome beach, pretty cool waves, zero wind.
Being surrounded by mountains on 3 sides also made us doubt how much wind this spot really gets, especially since the lifeguards told us kitesurfers usually went around the Bay. What's around the Bay? Myoli Beach.
We started to realize how much Langebaan has spoiled us: a huge natural laggon that works in anything from 10 kts SE due to it's Venturi effect. As we were driving towards Knysna, I frantically googled kite spots in the area. There had to be something! And old Kite Mag article mentioned Brenton-on-lake, a spot on the Knysna river. As we drove down the hill from the main road towards the place, we both spotted it at the same time: kites! Granted, they were pretty big Flysurfers, but whatever. We decided to give it a try with Shaun's favorite kite: 11m Airush Ultra Team and our 139 Core Fusion board (did you know that you can change the rocker by twisting the handle?).
Yes, we were to impatient to even put on wetsuits. But it worked! The incoming current wasn't in our favor, but the Venturi effect (thanks IKO training) helped us enough to have some light wind fun.
All in all, Knysna ended up being our favorite stop: best Airbnb, best Italian food and a fun kite session.
The next day, we drove on towards Jeffreys Bay. I insisted on a quick stop in Plettenberg Bay, and I have to say: what a gorgeous lagoon.
Even in low tide, some spots would have been deep enough for kitesurfing. But, once again: no wind. Maybe we should have done this trip during the season, but we'd both been working then. Knowing that the forecast looked promising for Kabeljous, we had a quick breakfast and got back into the car.
Anyone who's seen Langebaan in January or other busy spots will consider this empty, but it was the busiest we'd ever seen Kabeljous or Jeffreys Bay in general. Shaun set up his Airush 9m Ultra Team kite and took his Naish waveboard, while i set up my favorite: 8m Airush Lithium and 135 Liquid Force Legacy. Maybe we're biased because Jeffreys Bay is our home spot now. Maybe it was just luck of all the conditions (wind speed / strength / direction, sunshine, water levels) coming together. Or maybe this spot is just awesome! Our session certainly was.
We're already starting to plan the next one in June. Which still isn't windy season, but should give us a better idea of the spots and conditions and allow us to visit the ones we skipped this time, like Misty Cliffs and Witsand.