Over under Ocean Adventures: enter NAISH!

The last few days I have been walking on clouds... and water! Naish have given me a beautiful, brand new, fantastic STAND UP PADDLE BOARD! She is yellow, 9 foot tall, quite slim- and I have named her Beastie.

About to enter the water at Kommetjie for Beastie's virgin paddle... and many laughs!

I tried SUPping (as Stand up Paddling is fondly known as) for the first time last year at Earth Wave in Muizenberg, and from the moment my feet touched that deck, I was hooked. I have been a passionate (yet amateur) surfer for a couple of years, but this was something altogether different and magical. It is like walking on water. Back straight, knees slightly bent, chin up... one paddle and you glide along the surface as if you're an ancient Ocean Goddess or River Queen!

Wilderness lagoon, sunset paddle... magic!

It truly is an exhilarating experience! As the board is bigger than a normal longboard, you can catch waves further out and have a longer ride. But I must say, it's the moments between the waves that are transformed into the most incredible ocean encounters...

I intend to use Stand Up Paddling not only as a way to catch waves, but another way of exploring my greatest love, the ocean. I ended 2009 in Wilderness up the east coast of SA where we SUPped at Buffelsbay catching sweet little waves, up the Kaaimans river to the waterfall, family paddling around the lagoon and catching dodgy waves under the bridge.
This is truly an exciting way of approaching the sea!

Family paddling on the Kaaimans River! The more the merrier!

I plan to do all manner of aquatic adventures together with new friend Beastie: catching waves, longer river paddles, expeditions out to sea visiting islands and sea friends- strap a mask to your board and the ocean is your oyster!

The unforgettable day Jeannie and I met the friendliest Dusky Dolphins in all of the Atlantic Ocean, paddling off Glen Beach

Bring on 2010, not only under- but on top of the water!

For more info on boards and learning, check out www.sup-culture.com

The Most Perfect Day

Two like-minded ocean-loving girls, two boards, two paddles... a plan to do a long paddle from Camps Bay around to Sea Point... but the ocean had another plan for us...

Filmed on my Olympus TOUGH

Golfinos! Golfinos!

Saturday saw a sleepy Hanli drag her weary body out of bed at 5 in the morning, still dark- cold and a little misty. Quick shower to wake up... fins, suit, weights and water. Let the adventure begin!

Together with Danish diver friends Morten and Astrid I arrived at Steve's house, bundled into his bakkie and headed north, his big beautiful ANIMAL OCEAN boat behind us. We arrived at Yzerfontein on the West Coast just after sunrise, kitted up, launched the boat and headed into the mist.

As we sped over the green-blue water, I remembered my first real dolphin encounter, on the Azores, the beautiful Portuguese Islands slap bang in the middle of the Atlantic on your way west. I spent a magical month there some years ago, diving with a passionate oceanman called Norberto. And every time I see a dolphin I hear Norberto's voice echoing in my head- 'Golfinos! Golfinos!' Portuguese for Dolphins. And from that first cry of GOLFINOS to today, I just love these happy, friendly, crazy, athletic, smart, lively, naughty, intuitive MAMMALS!

So as the first cry went up- 'There they are!' I was ready! Dolphins all around us. My first experience of Dusky Dolphins, beautiful, small agile little friends coming up close, scanning me up and down, double take 'who are you, funny girl'? And so we play. Until they decide to continue their mystical mission and leave us stranded silly in the middle of the sea, still smiling sheepishly, harldy believing that yes, once again I've had the privilege of encountering some of my favourite friends!

Video taken by Steve from ANIMAL OCEAN, check his site for more pics and ocean adventures!



We start up again and headed further out to sea.
Dassen Island.
A small flat island covered with seals, penguins, pelicans and other smaller birds. The water around the island teems with shark-life, fish and kelp forests. The visibility was over ten meters- glorious! Steve shot a yellowtail and a Hottie, and Danish Morten shot his very first African fish!