My first white Christmas- England 2017

On the 15th of November, I wrote my final exam for my BSc Sport Science degree. What an exciting day that was! Two weeks later however, just before graduation & Jord and I leaving for England for Christmas, I sadly broke my leg wakeboarding... It was by far one of my most painful experiences yet. It happened on a Saturday morning, which meant I had to wait until Monday before I could see the knee surgeon & get a diagnosis. I thought that I had definitely torn one or more ligaments by looking at the swelling and bruising on my knee & all the way down to my foot. After seeing Spike though,  I was relieved to hear that I had only broken my tibia & all my ligaments were okay. From the mouth of the doctor: "you either have really strong ligaments, or really weak bones". With no surgery needed, it meant that i could still fly to England & experience my first white Cristmas.😀 However, it would be on crutches and in a wheelchair.  I also had to attend my graduation on crutches.

Jordan & I flew to England on the 6th of December. I tried to prepare myself for the cold but when we walked out of the airport in Manchester, I was still shocked by the icy breeze & burning sensation in my throat when breathing. It felt like I had just eaten a strong minty chewing gum. Suzy was waiting for us at the airport with a much needed sausage butty.  On our way home we stopped off at Sophie's (Jordan's sister) beauty salon to say hello. Suzy made the most delicious duck pancakes for dinner. Later that evening, Sophie & Seb came over for a drink, & believe it or not, it snowed on my first night there! First time that I had even seen snow up close & personal.  I was super excited so of course, we had to have a little snow fight.😉

The next few days we spent chilling & drank ALOT of tea. For some reason tea over there seemed to be tastier than back home. Suzy took me on a little tour around Todmorden & showed me some local shops. They have a huge shop nearby, which is purely dedicated to selling Christmas trees & decorations. It's mad! On the 8th of December, Suzy turned 50!😀 Jordi & I woke her up with tea in bed, singing happy birthday. She had loads of presents & cards to open from all over the world. Jordan then made a big fry up for breakfast. We were heading to the Lake district the next day so we spent the rest of the afternoon chilling & packing. That evening, we went to a very posh restaurant for a 3 course dinner with the family (except Alan & Marcus as they were still in Spain). The food was awesome!

We left fairly early the next morning for the Lake District. We had a pit stop on the way for "breaky"& a coffee. It was snowing very heavily on our way there so I had my eyes glued to the window. As we got closer the snow stopped & the views were absolutely beautiful. There were many large open fields & hills with sheep. Typical countryside view. On arrival we were warmly greeted by their long standing family friends, where we were spending the weekend. I was introduced to everyone (Jeannette, Jo, & Jonny) & immediately felt at home. Jeannette had prepared sandwiches for us, so we had a quick snack & then headed out to see the Christmas market in their local town. Shortly after, Jordan, Jonny, Jo & myself went to grab a drink at a pub nearby. Jeannette prepared a lovely seafood pie for dinner. Sophie also joined us in the evening, and after we sat around the fire place & played cards.

The next morning, I was woken up by the smell of bacon.😍  Jeannette was back in the kitchen & made a fry up for breakfast. We spent the rest of the day walking, well crutching or wheel chairing  around the town looking at different shops, & being tourists. It was really nice to see some of the town. We then stopped for a glass of wine on the lake & headed home after to relax. It was Sunday so of course, a roast dinner was in order at a pub nearby. It was my first roast dinner in England, so I was very excited. Jordan, Suzy & I left the next morning & stopped at the Trafford Center on the way home. Suzy had some shopping to do, so Jordan took the time to show me around. We treated ourselves to a Chinese meal for lunch, & my oh my, it was next level deliciousness.

We spent the next couple of days at home watching movies, jacuzzi chilling, snacking & drinking the occasional G&T.😉  Rob (Jordans childhood friend) also came to spend a night, which was really nice for me to meet him & for them to catch up. Alan & Marcus arrived late in the afternoon on the 17th of December. Sophie & Seb came over & we had Indian take outs for dinner. The next day we went to a big family Christmas lunch where I had the opportunity to meet all the Darwins. We had a 3 course meal, all the food was super tasty. I had roast beef as my main, followed by a mouth watering double chocolate brownie for desert, which put me in a food coma.😍

I spent a day at Sophie's beauty salon (Bare Beauty) to help out. I did a little bit of helping but got a whole lot of pampering haha while Marcus was making tea & coffee on tap. It was amazing! I got my fingers & toes painted, all sparkly (felt like a mermaid). Thank you Sophie.😘

We spent some more days chilling at home, eating ourselves into food coma's with Alan's delicious cooking. I caught up on loads of Disney films, most of which I have never seen before because I was never into cartoons when I was younger. I can definitely say I am into them now!  The day before Christmas, Jordan took me on a walk along the canal to the a pub called The Summit for a beer. The scenery around there is beautiful! We passed sheep, turkeys, ducks & emu's (which was strange because its not actually a bird from there haha) on our walk. Well when I say "walk", I actually mean "piggy back". I crutched for some of the way & then spent the rest of the walk on Jordan's back. We each had a Peroni when we reached our destination.😋  We had to call Alan to bring the wheelchair, as it was too far for crutching or piggy backing to get home.

We spent Christmas Eve at home with the family, & of course eating some more - Chinese take-outs it was! YUM! My favourite being lemon chicken. Christmas morning was very exciting & slightly different to my normal Christmas traditions. Marcus was the first one up at 6am but waited until 8.30am before waking us all up. Our stockings were full! We came downstairs, & the first thing we did was drink a cuppa tea. Sophie, Jordi, Marcus & I then opened our stockings, which were filled with sweeties (enough to last me a couple of months haha). We then all went upstairs to the Christmas tree where we all opened our prezzies. It was really special for me to meet Nana & spend Christmas with her. I was very spoilt! We spent the rest of the morning eating sweeties & chilling, while Alan was on to making lunch - salmon & prawn salad for starters, roast dinner with pork, vegetables, pigs in blankets (sausage wrapped in bacon) & potatoes for main. It was unbelievably delicious! After lunch, we spent a few hours around the table playing games, eating chocolates & having a good laugh. We then had to get rid of our food coma in the Jacuzzi with a beer.

Two days later, I woke up to snow! Marcus, Jordi & I got our thermals on, & had to go out to make the most of it. We had a snow fight, followed by building my first snow man & then sledging! It was an awesome morning. Family friends (Jose, Kara, & baby Isa) arrived from London. Alan made a boss shepherd's pie. The next 4 days were super chilled at the house & it was really good to bond with them again. We spent New Years at home with the family, & once again ate way too much food! We celebrated with fireworks & LOTS of champagne. It was a lovely change from the usual New Year plans, which generally turns out being a massive anti-climax anyway.

We flew home on the 3rd of January & arrived back in Cape Town the next morning. England was magical & I definitely think it was the best weather for my knee to recover in. I'm going for another check-up on my knee this week, & I'm hoping I'll be off these dreaded crutches. On a side note, I am very happy to inform you that ROXY has renewed my contract for 2018 & am super excited for what lies ahead this year! I am doing my honours in dietetics at UCT so I've moved out of my parents house & am now staying in Cape Town to be closer to the uni. Wish me luck..!🙏

My summer away from home

I once again did my annual visit to Spain. This is my favorite time of the year not only because I can get away from our winter & enjoy the European summer, but I also get to see my Spanish family! The day after I wrote my last exam, I was on my way.

I went straight to Xtreme Gene where I spent the first 3 weeks of my holiday. I had an amazing time there (as always) riding boat, spending time with my boy & absorbing as much sun rays as possible. We took a day out & went to visit a wake park in Seville. I haven’t been there for a few years so it was really good to be back & see all the homies from the cable again. I also celebrated my 22^nd birthday at Xtreme Gene. It was definitely one for the books!  I started off my celebrations at a Spanish festival in town with Jordi & some of the locals. We danced all night until sunrise, took a short nap, & then was woken by the Darwins singing Happy Birthday to me.  I was spoilt rotten all day. We enjoyed a classic Darwin BBQ in the evening & then took it easy as Jordan & I had a flight to catch early the next morning.

Both Jordan & I were invited to take part in a competition in Lithuania called RedBull Wake 2el. I was really excited to go back after my experience there last year, & also because Jason (my brother) was there too. We arrived a few days before the competition so we had some time to get used to the cable. Wake Way is slightly different to other cables as it runs clockwise instead of anti-clockwise. They have added in a bunch of new features since last year - it is absolutely awesome!

The format for the competition was slightly different to any other competition I’ve competed in. It was a head to head format from the start. The day before the competition, we all drew names out a hat, & this was who your first opponent was. The winners of the head to heads moved up to the next round & the riders were slowly eliminated until you had 2 riders in the finals. My first draw was a girl from Estonia, Kristel Soonets. This really put pressure on me as she was one of the best riders there. It was tight but I managed to win the round & move on to the next round. I competed in 3 head to heads & managed to win them all, which meant that I was in the super final against a local from the cable, Dagne. The pressure was on! I had my best ride of the competition in the finals & was stoked to take the win! I was over the moon as it’s the first time that I’ve won a big international event like this one, & I also brought home some moola!!

Jason & Jordan both won their first round of head to heads. Out of all the heats they could have been in next, they ended up in a heat against each other. So for me it was a win-win situation ;) Only one could go through, & I was rooting for them both. They both rode really well, but it was Jason who was boss & took the win, which meant he was onto the quarterfinals. He was up against Liam Peacock who ended up wining the Mens division! Not a bad way to go out the competition.

We spent an extra week in Lithuania after the competition to get more riding in, chill & see a little bit of the city. The weather was not the best, but we made the most of it. Huge thanks to Agne for putting together such a great event & for taking care us, & to Martynas for making it all happen. We had an awesome time at Wake Way & will definitely be back for more.

After Lithuania, Jordan & I flew to London for Plastic Playground.  This is one of the biggest wakeboarding events of the year, so I really felt honored to have been invited. When we got out the plane in London, we were shocked at how hot it was! My experience in London last year was completely different, as it was freezing for our whole stay. Rory was waiting for us at the airport, & being the legend that he is, he organized all our camping equipment for us. We arrived at Liquid Leisure in the evening & managed to set up a part of our tent in the dark. We saved the rest of the setting up for the morning. Once we were done setting up, we went to go take a look at the setup. I was completely overwhelmed when I saw it all. A lot had changed since last year, there was so much more plastic in the water!

We had a few days to get used to the cable before the competition. I was really scared at first, the setup was like nothing I had ever ridden before. With the help of Jordan pushing me, I slowly got more comfortable on the cable. It did take a while for me to grow some balls haha. I learnt so much & was really stoked with how my riding progressed from Lithuania to London. I made it through my first heat in the competition & then went out in a head to head against a French girl Maryh, who absolutely killed it. I really hope to return soon & am looking forward to what’s to come next year in the Plastic Playground World Tour.

At the end of the competition, I flew back to Spain with Jordan. I only had 2 nights there before I had to return home to Cape Town. We definitely made the most of our time. Suzy (my other mom) fetched us from the airport. We went home, had a quick shower (it was much needed after a week of camping), & then went to the Mexican for dinner & cocktails. It was really good to eat some proper hot food after eating cold canned food & snacks almost all week in London! We spent my last day on the beach drinking champagne followed by a delicious dinner at Picasso’s. The next morning I got up early to get my packing done & then spent my final hours pool side chilling & taking in as much sun as possible. 

My flight home was smooth & I managed to get a lot of sleep done on the plane. I only woke up when I smelt food haha. I reckon it’s a special skill that I have- the ability to sleep anywhere at  anytime! :D I'm back in Cape Town now & it's freezing! Its time to finish off my last semester of university before I graduate at the end of the year. Hopefully it will be warming up soon & I'll be back on the water in no time!

Massive thanks goes to Liquid Force, Roxy & DC Shoes for keeping me on the water & to my parents for making my trip possible. x

Weekend away to see my girls

Things have finally calmed down at uni. Not for long though because exams start in 2 weeks. But for now I've decided to take some time to chill before it gets super hectic again. On the bright side, we're in October already which is very exciting because its means just one month left before summer holidays! AND summer holidays means Jordy is coming! Also, Faffa gets home this week :D

Emma and the kids (my step mom and little sisters) got back on Thursday after being in Bali for 3 months so Jason and I decided to fly up to Johannesburg and spend the weekend with them. My dad was meant to join us from Mozambique but unfortunately he got caught up at work so he couldn't make it.

Jason and I landed at OR Tambo airport on Friday afternoon. We were meant to hire a car but it didn't quite go as planned. There was not one car hire place that had an available car for us to use. So, we ended up catching an Uber to Lanseria airport in the hope that they would have a car for us to hire and luckily they did! It was a long afternoon of driving but we made it to the house eventually. We were both starving when we arrived so we ordered pizza and spent the evening chilling with the family. I didn't think it was possible, but the girls are even cuter than before! It was really good to catch up with Emma as well.

On Saturday morning, the kids woke me up at 5 am, buuut to be honest I didn't mind. It was just so good to see them again. Somehow Jason managed to sleep through all the noise. Once everyone was dressed and ready, we went to the Harties market and then for lunch. By the time we got home, I needed a nap. We spent the rest of the evening chilling out, watching tv. We also watched South Africa play against New Zealand in the rugby which I won't comment on haha. Emma made her famous chicken soup with noodles for dinner. It was DELICIOUS as always!

On Sunday I took emma and the girls to another market at Jasmyn and to do some shopping. I made play dough for the girls and that kept them busy for a good portion of the day :P Jason and I flew home early on Monday morning. I'm so happy I got to see my girls again <3 Hopefully I'll see you guys in Cape Town soon x

Plastic Playground

On the 12th of July, Jordan and I flew to London. We caught a taxi to the cable where we met up with Faffa again. We dropped our bags off and then got a lift to Tesco's to buy a tent and get food supplies for the week ahead. We found a sweet deal on a tent, and luckily this time it was big enough to fit us as well as our board bags inside!

We had a few days to chill before it was our turn to compete. Jordan rode in Open Men qualifiers, slayed it and made it into the Quarter Finals! The level of riding was insane. He had a really tough quarter final heat with a lot of big names in it and unfortunately didn't make it to Semi Finals but he still rode like a champ. Faffa also did really good. I hadn't seen him ride in ages so was surprised when I saw him competing. He came 2nd overall in the Amateur Men division. I rode in the Quarter Finals but didn't make it straight to the Semi- Finals. Luckily I had a second chance in LCQ's which went in my favour and I made it to the Semi Finals! I was over the moon to have made it through. My heat was super tough in the Semi Finals (and so were all the other heats) and thats where it ended for me. We were all super stoked though because we didn't expect to make it that far.

Sophie and Jay came to spend the weekend with us and watch us ride. It was awesome to have them there and I'm so happy I got to celebrate Sophie's birthday with her! After the competition it was time for me to go to Lithuania. Goodbyes are always hard, especially this time because I had to say goodbye to Sophie and Jay, Faffa and then Jordy...