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