Surfing in Muizenberg

Wave riders have been heading to South Africa's beaches for many years. The many different breaks along our shoreline and our almost year round swell thanks to a latitudinal wind called the Roaring Forties, have made South Africa a popular surfing destination.

But it was here in Muizenberg in 1910 that surfing is thought to have begun in South Africa, when a visiting Australian took a plank of wood and started riding waves much to the amusement of onlookers.

3 years later the Muizenberg railway station was opened and quickly it became a popular seaside destination with people starting to take to the waves.

In 1918 a brochure advertising Muizenberg said "Ask a man who has enjoyed a season at Muizenberg what he considers its greatest attraction to be, and, after due reflection, he will reply "The surf bathing." It is - with the surfboards - a practically new sport so far as South Africa is concerned; but it has gripped everybody who has tried it. The wild exhilaration of it is infectious. In the Pacific the islanders have made it an art. At the Cape it has become a cult. All classes of the community men, women and children enjoy its exhilarating pleasures in hundreds day after day... The exhilaration and excitement forbids worry and thought, other than how to go faster and gain greater pleasure. It steadies the nerves, exercises the muscles, and makes the enthusiast clear headed and clear eyed. Life and good spirits are the outstanding and dominant qualities of the surf bather." Clearly not a lot has changed.

The first person photographed riding a wave in South Africa was a woman called Heather Price who borrowed a board from two US Marines making their way back to America after World War I. Most surfing at the time was done riding body board style, but the Americans had brought Hawaiian boards with them and introduced stand-up wave riding.

Tony Bowman, a pilot in World War I, returned to Cape Town and after reading a book by Jack London where he described surfing decided to try build a board. So he contacted the Honolulu Tourist Association and asked for photos to try figure it out. Together with his friends Bobby Van Der Riet and Lex Miller they started building boards and became known as the Three Arcadians.

Surfing grew in Muizenberg over the years even attracting the Irish writer, George Bernard Shaw, to take to waves when he was visiting at the age of 75.

In the 1960s the hippie culture was popular and Muizenberg was one of the epicentres in South Africa. Surfing became a symbol of independence and attracted many to the sport.

The wave at Muizenberg is not the biggest or most impressive, in fact it's quite a gentle wave suited to beginners looking to learn the sport. It is one of the most chilled surf spots in South Africa with none of the competitiveness that others have attracted. Here everyone is just looking for a fun good time with old and new friends.

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