Jeffrey’s Bay, Sunshine Coast, Eastern Cape
Situated just west of Port Elizabeth on the Sunshine Coast of the Eastern Cape, Jeffrey’s Bay, or J-Bay as it is affectionately known, is South Africa’s undisputed surfing Mecca.
Once a sleepy fishing village, founded in the late 1800’s by a cargo ship Captain, Capt. Jeffrey’s, and sustained by the bounty of then non-depleted ocean, Jeffrey’s Bay’s transformation began in the 60’s and 70’s as both beach holiday tourism and surf culture began to grow in South Africa. Its future was set in the 1980’s when the Billabong Country Feeling surf store owner, Cheron Kraak, started the J-Bay Surf Classic. Thirty years later, the allure of J-Bay’s now legendary right-hand surf break at Supertubes, and J-Bay’s place as an international surfing destination is known well beyond surfing circles.
J-Bay isn’t just for the surfing crowd though. Despite the fairly reliable coastal wind that is part of the character of the Eastern Cape, J-Bay is a popular family holiday destination. The aloe-fringed beaches are treasuries of sea shells and many are fronted virtually along their length by rocks that provide hours of entertainment for children. The beaches are long and clean, and Dolphin’s Beach has been awarded International Blue Flag status.
With the exponential increase in surf and holiday tourism over the past 30 – 40 years, Jeffrey’s has turned into a thriving little town with a considerable stretch of urban and semi-urban holiday homes across the flat landscape, surf and factory shops that cater for families and holiday-makers as well as the surfer crowd, as well as a variety of restaurants and cafes, shops, arts and crafts and backpackers.
The area around J-Bay is also popular for various watersports and outdoor activities besides surfing, including windsurfing and other wave sports, scuba diving, sandboarding (dune boarding), horse trails, game drives, hiking and an elephant sanctuary where you can get up close to these gentle giants. In town there is the Shell museum or shopping for factory priced surf clothing brands. There is something for everyone in this laid back little surf ‘spot’ that is also the ‘head office’ of Billabong SA.
Learn more about surfing in Jeffrey’s Bay
The J-Bay Billabong Pro is held annually at ‘Supertubes’ for 10 days in mid July and marks the halfway point in the ASP World Championship Tour. This is a great time to visit J-Bay, even if you are not a surfer. Summer-like July days (thanks to an often prolonged mid-winter low pressure system) and a great vibe are reason enough.
Getting there: Jeffrey’s Bay is situated 78kms west of Port Elizabeth. Take the N2 from PE, turning off onto the R102 at exit 626. Take a left toward St Francis and follow the signs.
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