A Vignette of Mikey February.
Or 3000kms across South Africa in a Hilux with one working door.
Oh Cape Town! The traditional begin and end spot for any South African adventure, the last stop in Africa before Antarctica and what a fabulous stop it is! Where to begin! Effortlessly stylish. The most glorious of settings. An Atlantic coast for swell and wind, and an Indian ocean to sedate it. The most friendly of locals, all the conveniences of a capital city with the greenery and situation of the Garden of Africa. Incredibly multicultural, with a plethora of people, food, drinks, art and all the good times that that brings. The beaches, the waterfront, the gardens, the mountain and the center. Penguins, whales, baboons. A very questionable bar called Van Hunks. Oh cape town how you have it all and me. In terms of Cities, I can’t think of a better one.
It is here we meet Mikey Feb, a man who needs little introduction. The man over the past years who stole surfing’s collective heart. Equally stylish in and out of the water, M Feb as he is affectionately known has long been a friend of WT, and when the opportunity presented itself to spend some time in ZAF in celebration of Mikey and his new Vans capsule we were on the next flight.
Now South African swell chases in season are quite the affair, namely because there are too many, a true plethora of options to choose from. Leaving Cape Town in the rain, which short circuited the car’s central locking and left us with one operational door (read, inconvenient) we roped in AVG, Alan Van Gysen to guide our adventure, pointed the nose towards J Bay and the rest, as they say is History!
And 2 weeks later we’re back in Cape Town. What have we learnt? We’ve driven 3000 kms in a Hilux with one working door and returned it to the wrong airport, 16 hours away. We’ve learnt that honey badgers will chew off their own feet to escape bear traps and that wind forecasts will always shit themselves. We’ve learnt that Castle Lite is the best beer in the world and after 5 days of drinking them, they have screw tops. We’ve learnt that the techno scene in Cape Town is alive and well, and in a word, terrifying. We also learnt that Mikey Feb is a very nice bloke and quite good at surfing, and if you ever happen to be anywhere in Africa, AVG is your man and takes lovely photos.
Thank you SA, we love you.
