A walk along the beach in Jeffrey's Bay

What good is a morning meeting in Jeffrey's Bay with perfect early summer weather if one can't leave a little earlier and go for a walk on the beach? Yeh, says me too.  Early morning and not a breath of air in Port Elizabeth so I took a chance and left just after 7am to give myself a bit of time for a walk along the beach at Kabeljous.

The tide was low and water was flowing out of the lagoon through the Kabeljous River mouth.  The stream flowed quite strong but I noticed others crossing through where the river and sea met.  I tried it and found that it was no deeper than my knee.  The walk was on.

The Kabeljous Lagoon, not quite as full at low tide, with the Jeffrey's Bay wind farm in the distance.

On the far side of the lagoon where the dunes start I found this pyramid of stones.  Curiosity got the better of me, it usually does, and I decided to investigate.

A lot of the rocks were painted and has beautiful messages, some actually very inspirational, written on them.  It makes one even more curious about who placed it there.  My guess, either the local school or youth groups that often have weekend camps in the town.

The view over the Kabeljous Valley from the top of the sand dune...

... and looking back towards Jeffrey's Bay.

I always urge people to not just look for the big stuff but also the little things as well.  There is often as much, if not more, beauty in the little things than the big stuff.

Plough snail trails

Now you tell me you wouldn't want to do this on a warm windless morning.  I wonder when my next meeting in Jbay is...

A quick stop at Supertubes in Jbay

A week or so ago I attended the Kouga Baviaans Surf and Safari Marketing Association's AGM in Jeffreys Bay.  It was a perfect winters day and I decided to make a stop at Supertubes before heading back to Port Elizabeth.

A deserted beach that was packed during the Jbay Open just a few weeks ago

Enjoying one of the best right hand point breaks in the world

Aloes on the coastline at Lower Point

Aloes and Supertubes

Jeffreys Bay is seen as the surfing capital of South Africa with Supertubes being rated as one of the top 10 surf spots in the world.  Supertubes is one of the best right hand point breaks in the world and one a good day can break over a distance in access of 300 meters.  Swinging past there the other day the conditions were flat with no real break.  The coastline is still stunning and with the aloe in picture its exactly as one is supposed to imagine the Kouga region coastline, an area where beach and bush meet.

Supertubes on a calm day

Jeffreys Bay is famous as a surf destination and one of the reasons is Supertubes.  Supertubes is said to be the best right hand point breaks in the entire world both in consistency and quality.  Generally Supertubes break for about 300m or more but if conditions are right and the surf is big enough then it links up with the surrounding surf spots and result in a ride of about a kilometer in length.  I'm not a surfer and have never had the opportunity to try it, but I enjoy scenic views so on my last visit to JBay I stopped by the Supertubes view site.  It was a beautiful day although not one with big surf.

The JBay Shell Museum

Jeffreys Bay has always been know for two things.  Surfing and shells.  These days surfing in the town is bigger than ever but unfortunately shells aren't.  I remember when I was small we always visited my grandparents at Paradise Beach close by over school holidays.  You could go out early morning just after high tide and pic up the most beautiful shells.  These days there are very few left.  Lots of small ones but no more big and beautiful ones although you can still get lucky every now and then.

If you do want to see beautiful shells though the best bet would be to head over to the Jeffreys Bay Shell Museum.  It located behind the Jeffreys Bay Tourism office just off the main drag through town and is well worth a visit.   This collection was started by Charlotte Kritzinger, a local shell collecting spinster, in 1945.  She pursued the hobby till her death in 1965 and later the whole collection was donated and the museum established.  Close to the museum you will also find the Shell Booths where local shell craft can be purchased.