First Time Kitesurfing in Cape Town - A Mind Blowing Experience

I can finally understand why all the big air kiters are crazy about Cape Town returning there year after year. Spectacular place, amazing food and scenery and insane wind conditions almost every day.

We kited at:
*Blouberg (Kite beach, Dolphin beach etc)
*Misty Cliffs - 1 hour drive from Blouberg
*Platboom beach - Cape Natural reserve (€20 admission fee and open until 7pm or 8pm depending on the season)
*Hermanus - unreal location 2 hours drive from Blouberg
*Langebaan - It's beautiful but there was no wind despite the good forecast so I didn't kite there during this trip. Also I am a huge fan of big waves and kickers so it's not my first option :)

Blouberg has various spots like Dolphin beach and kite beach.
Just find the spot that is the least crowded to begin with. Then you can start paying attention to the waves and learn how to time them.
Usually Dolphin beach was the busiest although there are always places with less people.
My favourite spot with less people was the west side of the beach close to High Five kite school.

Be mindful that 30 knots in Cape are not 30 knots. The forecast was always lower than expected so when you see 25 prepare for more than 30 :)
At the beach parking lot it usually doesn’t look as windy as it really is. Make sure to observe the other kiters and what sizes they ride with and walk down to the beach to feel the actual wind.
The sunset session is usually the strongest one.
Save some energy for the golden hours!

Remember where you parked
Everything looks the same from the water so keep a landmark as an anchor point.
You will be surprised how easy you can loose the point of reference

Leave your 12m at home!!
I brought all my kites but never used my 12 and barely the 10m.

-- Useful tips for wifi and working remotely --
Load shedding can be a nightmare especially if you are not prepared for it.
Download the Loadshedding notifier APP and add your area of interest.
This way you will know when to expect the power cut off.
Buy a SIM card and always charge your devices when you have electricity.
When searching for accommodation make sure your landlord provides a separate power supply for the router ;)

-- Driving --
We were nicely surprised to see great roads everywhere in the cape and chill drivers overall. No stress on the road at all even though they drive on the opposite side than what we are used to.
Avoid driving at night - we heard plenty of stories about people throwing stones on your windows or oil on your windscreen for you to stop and hijack your car.

-- With Kids --
We loved the Waterfront in Cape Town as it was easy to keep Nefeli busy.
We also visited Bugz twice as it’s one of the best playgrounds / theme parks I have ever seen. The Giraffe house was nice to spend a couple of hours and bring your own lunch but I wouldn't place it as a highlight.
Overall we spent a lot of time in malls that have playgrounds as public playgrounds were very limited.

-- Food --
Try the grilled ostrich at Kloof street house in Cape Town is by far the highlight. Hard to describe in words you just gotta try it.
* The Biscuit Mill (Open market during the weekend. Great people and lovely vibes. We had a great time visiting for a couple of hours)
* Catch 22 - Delicious Seafood make a reservation for a great sunset view
* Blowfish - Excellent Sushi and great seafood - make a reservation for a sunset dinner.

-- Good to know --
UBER works great in the country. The rates are very good and the drivers reliable. Airport to Blouberg cost €12,00.
It's kind to leave a tip. Waiters don’t earn much and heavily rely on your tips.
Most of the times the service was exceptionally good. Friendly staff and the food was arriving quite quickly.

Overall it was a 5***** trip. We learnt so much about the country and the people and we loved the interaction with locals.
For kitesurfing it's just the place to be. An important school if you want to advance and push yourself outside of your comfort zone.
I personally feel that I improved and became a better rider in many ways.

-- What were the cost --

* €710 - Great flight with TurkishAirlines from Athens. Short layover of 2:45' hours in Istanbul. 40kg luggage per person allowed without including the kite gear. +€180 for a 32kg kitesurf bag roundtrip.
* €48 / per day for a 2 bedroom apartment in the WestBeach (booked via AirBNB)
* €22 / per day for car rental (HYUNDAI i10) (https://www.rentacheapie.co.za) - Enough space for 2 people to travel around with kite gear.
* €10 per person for a very good meal in a restaurant (Burger price with fries €6, Fish and chips €5)
* €1,20 / liter of gas
* €1,20 for a cup of coffee and €2,50 for a beer in a bar

With a €2000 per person budget you can easily visit CapeTown, drive around and eat outside most of the days.
Super market was also quite cheap so if you take advantage of the fully equipped kitchen in your Airbnb then you can further cut some costs.

Thank you for watching!