Table of contents for August - September 2017 (41.6) in Zigzag

“I t’s so much better here,” I’ve heard more than once. “Move to New Zealand*,” I’ve been told. “Free schooling and medical aid,” they say. That these two benefits – plus more – are paid for by the government, is indeed worth being stoked about, but I don’t want to hear about them. Not because we don’t all get to enjoy these benefits in South Africa, but because inspite of this I’ve chosen to stay put. And why would I leave? Yes, you could argue that the crime is unacceptable, that our president is corrupt, that racial tensions – according to the media – haven’t eased. But I’d counter that with my own experiences, the things I’ve learned living in a place like this, and of course the natural beauty…

S tonefish… sounds rather benign and inconsequential. Standing on a stonefish? How bad can it be? When placing your ischaemic foot (that is a rapidly decaying foot) in boiling water relieves the pain, you know it’s bad. As you’re wading through a channel in the rocks, your eyes firmly fixed on the six-foot sets pounding the point, you should be watching where you place your feet. Stonefish are known as one of the most venomous fish in the world. They’re certainly not endearing, about as ugly as Muizenberg in a gale force south-easter, but they’re incredibly well-designed to survive their lonesome life amongst the coral reefs and rocky channels of northern Kwa-Zulu Natal. Stonefish have a big, broad, flat head and their body is slimy and covered in wart-like nodules.…

THE BEN TROVATO COLUMN If you ever have to go to Bali at short notice and don’t own a high-powered ocean-going hovercraft with a small but depraved crew of hot Swedish contortionists, you should probably fly Singapore Airlines. My contortionists were in for repairs so I had to fly. Singapore Airlines is everything that SAA isn’t. It runs on time, has friendly hostesses and, unlike the rand, hardly ever crashes. The ten hour flight to Singapore was a pleasure. The pilot wasn’t even a little bit drunk. I have experienced more turbulence in hotel rooms. And their meals make SAA look like a soup kitchen for homeless war criminals. Singapore is one of the many airlines that don’t fly from King Shaka International Airport. Hadedas barely fly from King Shaka…

When a once-in-a-decade swell is hammering your home stretch then some choices need to be made, like which spot to ride; what board to use; or even to go with a quad or thruster. Having decided on the first two, Frank Solomon didn’t even need to make the third because his chosen sled has only one option – four fins. “The Paddilac is actually the board John John Florence won the Eddie on in 2016,” Frank tells us in front of his home in Llandudno a few days later. “Obviously his Waimea gun was longer, I was riding a 7’2”, but it’s based off the same shape. I wasn’t sure how big it was going to be but the wave is quite perfect, so I thought I could get away…

T here are two reasons to backdoor the peak, suggests Chad Du Toit. The obvious one is to pull-in as deep as possible, while the other is to avoid getting pitched by the lip taking-off late on the steep apex of the peak. “You’ve got to paddle in committed,” says the charging Durbanite, beginning to list the tips that helped him get shacked on this Cave Rock bomb. “You’ve got to be confident in your ability to make the drop and get that rail in, setting up for the pit.” Chad’s next piece of advice is to duck if required. “You have to predict how the wave is going to barrel. Sometimes they break wide in the beginning then clamp while you’re coming out. So prepare for that exit. Getting…

GUNMEN ATTACK UN TEAM IN NIGERIA DOUBLE SUICIDE BOMBING AT NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY 276 NIGERIAN SCHOOLGIRLS ABDUCTED BY MILITANTS BRITON KIDNAPPED BY ARMED GANG WHILE LEAVING LAGOS AIRPORT “AROUND THE NIGER DELTA, THAT’S WHERE THINGS GET REALLY INTERESTING,” SAYS MICHELETTI, ALLUDING TO THE SANDBANKS, RIVERMOUTHS AND BAYS THAT DENT THE SOUTHERN COASTLINE. “BUT THERE’S NO WAY YOU’RE GOING TO SURF THERE.” Our plane cuts through the layers of cloud as it starts its descent for Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Six years have passed since my first trip to Nigeria and even at 32 000 feet, I’m not convinced returning is such a good idea. Back then we’d come to verify rumours of a world-class wedge that breaks on the outskirts of Lagos harbour. The rumours proved to be true.…

As a package, the surfing lifestyle is hard to beat – combining a feeling that only a surfer knows and is difficult to describe, some good old-fashioned fitness, and the great, wet outdoors. Our search for surf takes us to some incredible places, delivering visuals that are breathtaking, even if it’s simply watching the sun set over the Durban skyline during a session at dusk. Then there are places we visit just because of their beauty, and if there’s a fun little wave about, that’s even better – like this novelty wave inside of Transkei’s famous Hole In The Wall. Rocking up here and catching your first glimpse, you’d be forgiven for imagining it’s the Wavegarden of Eden as you crest the hill and begin to make your way down…

I’m expecting the worst – not for the waves that have been great since we’d arrived – but for the injured horse we’d helped the owner pull out of a drainage ditch the evening prior. Right where we left it, the brown hump of its body comes into focus as our headlights illuminate the scene, and we pull over alongside it. Leaning out the window to look for signs of life, I see none, before being startled as the horse’s eye rolls in its socket and focusses on me. A feeling of hopelessness rinses over as we continue on the track towards Secrets, the rippable right-hander we’d scored the day before. “The Transkei is a tough place to be an animal,” suggests Neil Webster, the videographer for the mission. But…

“Mitch is one of the crew who broke East London’s drought of good young surfers a few years back,” says Louis Wulff. “He is known to his friends as ‘Feathers’ because he is such a lightweight,” continues the veteran photographer with a chuckle. “His dad Neil is an old-time Nahoon local who still surfs, and his step-mom Karen owns the Beachbreak Cafe situated right at Nahoon beach. Strange that he is still a featherweight in that scenario.” Name: Mitch Henderson Age: 21 Nickname: Feathers or BDF. Local spot: Nahoon. Occupation: Plumber. Favourite board: Fishstix 5’8” x 18 1/2” x 2 1/8” Number of boards snapped: About six or seven. Boards are expensive (laughs). Been there, done that: Went to Australia and Bali with a couple mates – that was mad.…