J-Bay

So it was good ol’ Captain Jeffrey who stumbled upon this diamond in the 1840’s, which has since been nicknamed J-Bay.
Captain Jeffrey was forced to anchor up his vessel in this secluded spot after a bad case of Scurvy settled on board his ship, so he took it upon himself to build a small but efficient port on what is now the main beach. He went on to build the first house, “The White House” it was aptly named, it is said that much of the building material used to construct the foundations of this grand house came from Jeffrey’s infamous ship.
So now you now why Jeffrey’s Bay is called Jeffrey’s Bay I suppose you want to know what’s so special about this little cove? Well, O.K.

So we all know that ‘when in Rome, you do as the Romans do…’
Well in J-Bay, you do as the surfers do, whether you actually own a surfboard or not . . . the latter in my case!
Through the 60’s and 70’s J-Bay locals witnessed their quiet little fishing village evolve into the surfers sanctuary that it is today. Jeffrey’s is one of the top five most renowned surfing hotspots in the world so it’s no surprise that is hosts the legendary Billabong Pro ASP World Tour Surfing Event every July at Super Tubes.

So, I could take the easy route and boast about one of the best right hand point breaks in the world, with Super Tubes breaking for over 300 meters and waves that have been known to reach up to 12 feet to lure you in to visit this little spot, but I reckon that is just selling J-Bay short.

In-between catching all those hectic waves a girl’s gotta eat. Although Steers, Fish Aways and Debonairs are just around the corner, we fought the fast-food temptation and took it upon ourselves to catch our own dinner.
So hunger led us down to the beach where we attempted to catch something to fill our bellies. After meeting one of the friendly locals who insisted on telling us how abundant the fishing is in Jeffrey’s, we started to doubt our dodgy old fishing tackle (and talent) and headed back to the Surfers Backpackers where we were residing (for a mere 100 Bucks a night, I might add) to get clean and make a plan.

After cruising around town and checking out some of the local spots, it was pretty clear that that is exactly what they were, local spots – if you catch my drift. Beers in hand, we wandered back to our backpackers where we soon discovered that ‘ what happens in J-Bay, stays in J-Bay’. A quiet and tranquil village from the outside, but behind closed doors is where it all goes down. With worldwide visitors from China, America and the U.K, as well as the good old Saffer’s, drunken stories were exchanged until the early hours of the morning.



After catching 40 winks, we walk the 20 meters or so down to the beach to see the local gang of friendly dogs taking themselves for a walk (my puppy in tow having the time of her life).
The waves are ‘cooking’ and the sun is shining, a perfect day for hitting the shops I think!
You can take the girl out of London but you cannot, for love nor money, take London out the girl. So I head out on my solo mission to check out the bargains. It is Billabong, Rip Curl and Quiksilver eat your heart out, with surf shops on every corner, with a couple in between. With surf factory outlet stores, prices are unbeatable, I mean, it would be rude to leave without buying anything – wouldn’t it?
Scattered around these surfing superstores are a couple of African ornament stores and cute little café’s where you can spot the local bare-footed bare-chested talent!
With so many things to do, from surfing, fishing, hiking, canoeing and board surfing, you’re spoilt for choice. However tanning, shopping and braaing are not such a bad way to pass the time in such a beautiful little village.