Starting off in the basement of the Roxy Headquarters in Durban, the Roxy Invitational 2010 kicked off at 5am on Sunday. Ten bleary eyed surfers arrived in the pre-dawn light to strap board bags to trailers, cram their backpacks into boot space and set off on the long journey to Maputo in Mozambique. This would be the half-way point on the epic that is the trip to Tofinho Point, an insane sand-bottom point break where these talented surfers are going to spend 6 days surfing their brains out.
It didn't take long for the girls to wake up and the basement garage on Stamford Hill Road resembled a pyjama party. The room echoed with laughs, the noise of flip-flops flapping across the cement was deafening, as were the giggling screams for help as ‘punch me as hard as you can' games became the norm. But soon we were off heading for the Swaziland border.
A very long day with eleven hours of driving, over-taking, dodging potholes, goats and police is what followed - but the eventual arrival at Casa Lisa about an hour out of Maputo made everyone a lot more cheerful. Thatched roofs, wide open spaces with green grass and palm trees, Casa Lisa is a real haven along the rough route to Tofinho.
The surfers selected for the Roxy Invitational 2010 are an awesome bunch. From South Africa we have Sarah Baum (Durban), Tarryn Chudleigh (Cape Town), Faye Zoetmulder (Port Elizabeth), Kirsty Delport (Durban), Chantelle Rautenbach (Melkbos), Heidi Palmboom (Durban) and Holly Armstrong (Scarborough). We have three international competitors to spice things up, Paige Haggerston (Australia), Philippa Anderson (Australia) and Johanne Defay (Reunion). Johanne placed third at last years Invitational, and Sarah came in second so both are looking to up their game this year.
Watching this bunch of nutters laugh their way through two international borders, trading stories, jumping on each other and generally having fun even though the day involved nothing but driving - well I'm looking forward to seeing what happens when they're faced with miles of white sandy beaches and coconut trees, leagues of ocean filled with dolphins, whale sharks and turtles, as well as some potentially cracking surf.
Stay tuned for day two of the Trekking to Tofinho...eish.
Day Two - Roxy Invitational 2010
Trekking to Tofinho
Monday cracked its lazy eye just before 6am as our crew headed off to face the pot-holes on the way to Tonfinho point. They say the road to pleasure is a painful one, and this is certainly no lie - bums were aching after the 7 hour trip north towards Inhambane.
As one heads up through the incredible country of Mozambique, the vegetation changes from the Kruger Park vibe near Maputo to one that is very unique. Palm trees start to appear in clumps, that spread into groves and vast wetlands filled with reeds and birds wave in the wind on either side of the black ribbon of tar. The soil turns from clay to sand, and very soon the tell-tale signs of idyllic beaches get trapped in your slops when you stop for pee breaks.
About an hour out of Inhambane we stopped for one such pee break, and were amazed by an estuary that fanned out on the right of our crew. The water was crystal clear, azure blue and crisp. Luke Patterson pointed out that Sea Horses are found in this river - that's how magical it is. Excitement was growing.
We hit Inhambane at about 1pm, champing at the bit to get to Tofu because we knew it was only 20 minutes further! Coconut trees were everywhere and I marvelled at how skilled the locals must be to climb to the tops to collect the yummy nuts. Some of those trees are about three stories high!
Finally, after a bit of stress involving some rather deep sand, we arrived at Turtle Cove. This surf camp renowned for its yoga studio will be our home for the next 7 nights. In a matter of thirty minutes all bags were unpacked, the girls had ‘rock-paper-scissored' for beds and boards were being waxed. Word was that some fun waves were beginning to appear on the point, and trust me on this - 10 hyper-active surfers will wait for no-one when the surf is turning on, especially after you locked them in a car for two days.
Tonfinho point is something awesome to see when it starts working. Picture a steep headland, covered in grass. Imagine you're standing on that headland. On the left the bay opens up in a wide arc and straight below your feet one finds dimpled shelves of rock. Now, less than a stones throw away pulses of swell move towards the rocks, changing from rolling bumps into pitching lips. You're so close to the break you can hear what the surfers are saying.
Just before I paddled out to join the girls Tamara Westbrook. Roxy's Marketing Manager, let out a very manly yelp and said "SHARK!" I came stumbling from the 4x4 with one leg in my shortie and my eyes as big as saucers, "Where, where??" True's Bob a black fin was cruising past backline! "Ladies, relax, it's a Whale Shark..." We stopped panicking and I zipped up my suit to join the pros, a little less energetically than before.
Awesome warm water, two to three foot smooth-faced waves and some very annoyed male surfers set the tone for the afternoon. The girls were having an absolute blast, hooting and hollering, ripping and bailing...just having a jol as the moon rose over the sea and the sun set behind the hills. I love watching the young guns surf; it's great to see the camaraderie and the support that the girls offer each other. But I also know what happens when the scene becomes more competitive, so this will be interesting to watch.
I must say, the happening of the day for me was when two British guys swam out to the back with snorkels and goggles. One of them popped off his mask and in the most Brit accent you can imagine, turned to Holly Armstrong and said "Sooo...are you the Foxy Roxy ladies then?"...I nearly slid off my board I was laughing so much. Foxy Roxy? Seriously? Haaaa ha! Clearly the word is out that the ladies are in town...
Keep checking in for more updates, the comp could run at any time and the swell forecasts are looking good for the next couple of days.
Day Three - Roxy Invitational 2010
This is why we come here...
After an awesome chow last night (fresh sushi, grilled fillets of fish with the Mozambican side dish of cashews, coconut cream and spinach) it was off to bed for the young surfers. I'm staying in a grass hut with a cold shower so I snatched a hot one from Johanne Defay and Holly Armstrong who are doubling up in one of the bungalows. When I came out of the bathroom Holly was passed out face first on her bed, and the Reunion local was dozing happily with a book under a swathe of white mosquito net looking for all the world like a magical surf-bum fairy.
6am rolled around and the early risers gathered in the soft light of the morning to take advantage of the fun surf at the point. The waves weren't big, but running down the point in mellow lines with some nice outside sets. The treat of the morning was seeing a small pod of dolphins cruise into the line up, their shadowed arches curving in and out of the water almost in slow motion. One playful slap of a tail-fin, and they were off to cruise the Mozambican coastline for breakfast.
Later in the morning a second surf was had at the Dragon's Head, a peak found further down the bay. This time all the girls were out even though the surf wasn't exactly cracking, but there were several different peaks breaking, which meant everyone had their fair share. Johno Hutchison is one of the head judges for this event, and since he's a shaper it's logical that he brought along a couple of his latest designs...these being the much talked about Alaia boards. Made from very thin wood with no fins, these boards go back to surfing's traditional Hawaiian routes. All the girls got a couple of waves on the boards, despite it being a completely different style of surfing!
After a massive lunch of Portuguese rolls filled with fish salad, violently red tomatoes, fresh lettuce and juicy cucumbers the surfers decided it was time to check out the market in Tofinho village. Every conceivable craft is on offer in the market, from wooden rings to drums to beautiful stone necklaces. But it would have to be the brightly coloured Afro-Kitsch pants and bags for sale that grab everybody's attention! You can choose any material and have the pants made specifically to fit you. I went and drew some money today, so we'll see how my creation comes out at the end of the week shall we?
When the tide began to drop again in the late afternoon, the surfers headed out for one last paddle before dark at the Dragon's Head. As the light dropped the silhouettes of 10 girls boosting, turning and driving down the line, squeezing every bit of juice out of the smallish sets was something pretty special. Philippa Anderson from Oz was really on fire, and Sarah Baum was pulling off some vertical turns of note, I'm watching these two closely should we get the right conditions for the comp to run.
Tomorrow sees the possibility of an Ocean Safari organised by Turtle Cove. We hope to see Whale Sharks and turtles close up, Neptune willing! Take it easy, and stay tuned for Day Four's update!
Day Four - Roxy Invitational 2010
Waking to the sound of cockerels crowing at 5:30am, I lay in bed wondering if the semis were going to run today.
Peering through my mosquito net at the light drifting through the palm fronds of my grass shack, I had a chuckle thinking about the events of yesterday afternoon. I mentioned that the girls were going to try a bit of tow-in surfing, and I watched them boosting airs further down past Tofo village aided by Devyn and his jet-ski. It's amazing just how fast you can go on a surfboard, and also amazing just how hard you fall when you're going that fast! Despite having surfed all morning, the girls played in the waves from 3 o'clock to 5:30 - Surf Rats are invincible!
The high-light of that afternoon was when Tamara Westbrook spied a young American who looked suspiciously familiar. "Do you watch Private Practice?" she asked me. "Well I've seen it a good few times, but I'm not a fan". "Okay, sell do you know the receptionist guy Del?" "Ja I remember him...". "Look! I am sure that's him!" Obviously I turned around and stared straight at the guy...but I wasn't as bad as Tamara! She got Paige Haggerston to go and ask him if he was Del, and indeed he was! I guess even famous people go to Mozambique, poor dude...
Anyway, back to today...the judges came back from the beach and declared that we would have breakfast first and then head to the point for the semis as the waves were going to turn on when the tide swung. Pancakes filled with banana, cinnamon and honey were the fuel for the morning and then off our motley crew went with boards, towels, wax, fins, bikinis, slops and a whole lot of noise!
The first heat had Philippa Anderson and Tarryn Chudleigh up against each other. Philippa is surfing really well back at home and is known for her sick aerial technique, so Chuddles definitely had a tough match up. They both surfed really well, but in the end it as the goofy-footer Chudleigh who took the heat by a narrow fraction.
Sarah Baum and Johanne Defay were in the next heat, and it seems like Miss Baum has found her form! Laying down some excellent lines banging waves almost all the way to the beach, it seems she really wants this trophy! Johanne fought back admirably but Baum seemed to have better wave selection, managing to garner a 9.5, 9.8 and a 10 for one of her waves! Needless to say, she is through to the finals.
The last heat had Kirsty Delport and Heidi Palmboom jumping off the rocks to get ready for their turn to shred some waves up. Unfortunately, with a bit of poor timing Kirsty decided she would rather shred her thighs up! The poor kid has razor cuts all down her thighs before she'd even started surfing! Heidi and Kirsty both surfed well, but unfortunately got the dud-end of the swell as the tide came in, and in the end it was Kirsty gained entry to the next round.
The judges have decided to wait until the waves pick up again for the final, which could happen any time between now and Sunday night. That means the trio of Sarah, Kirsty and Tarryn have to wait for an indefinite amount of time until the butterflies in their stomachs can finally be released!
The girls have just chucked off to the market to buy colourful pants and bags, and it seems that it's a full moon tonight which only means one thing in Tofo...PARTY TIME! We'll be heading off to see how the locals get loose tonight, and I am sure I'll have some funny tales for you tomorrow...AAaarrrrooooo!
Day Five - Roxy Invitational 2010
Waking to the sound of cockerels crowing at 5:30am, I lay in bed wondering if the semis were going to run today.
Peering through my mosquito net at the light drifting through the palm fronds of my grass shack, I had a chuckle thinking about the events of yesterday afternoon. I mentioned that the girls were going to try a bit of tow-in surfing, and I watched them boosting airs further down past Tofo village aided by Devyn and his jet-ski. It's amazing just how fast you can go on a surfboard, and also amazing just how hard you fall when you're going that fast! Despite having surfed all morning, the girls played in the waves from 3 o'clock to 5:30 - Surf Rats are invincible!
The high-light of that afternoon was when Tamara Westbrook spied a young American who looked suspiciously familiar. "Do you watch Private Practice?" she asked me. "Well I've seen it a good few times, but I'm not a fan". "Okay, sell do you know the receptionist guy Del?" "Ja I remember him...". "Look! I am sure that's him!" Obviously I turned around and stared straight at the guy...but I wasn't as bad as Tamara! She got Paige Haggerston to go and ask him if he was Del, and indeed he was! I guess even famous people go to Mozambique, poor dude... Anyway, back to today...the judges came returned from their early morning surf check and declared that we would have breakfast first and then head to the point for the semis as the waves were going to turn on when the tide swung. Pancakes filled with banana, cinnamon and honey were the fuel for the morning and then off our motley crew went with boards, towels, wax, fins, bikinis, slops and a whole lot of noise!
The first heat had Philippa Anderson and Tarryn Chudleigh up against each other. Philippa is surfing really well back at home and is known for her sick aerial technique, so Chuddles definitely had a tough match up. They both surfed really well, but in the end it was the goofy-footer Chudleigh who took the heat by a narrow fraction. Sarah Baum and Johanne Defay were in the next heat, and it seems like Miss Baum has found her form! Laying down some excellent lines banging waves almost all the way to the beach, it is clear she really wants this trophy! Johanne fought back admirably but Baum seemed to have better wave selection, managing to garner a 9.5, 9.8 and a 10 for one of her waves! Needless to say, she is through to the finals. The last heat had Kirsty Delport and Heidi Palmboom jumping off the rocks to get ready for their turn to shred some waves up. Unfortunately, with a bit of poor timing Kirsty decided she would rather shred her thighs up! The poor kid has razor cuts all down her thighs before she'd even started surfing! Heidi and Kirsty both surfed well, but unfortunately got the dud-end of the swell as the tide came in, and in the end it was Kirsty gained entry to the next round.
The judges have decided to wait until the waves pick up again for the final, which could happen any time between now and Sunday night. That means the trio of Sarah, Kirsty and Tarryn have to wait for an indefinite amount of time until the butterflies in their stomachs can finally be released! The girls have just chucked off to the market to buy colourful pants and bags, and it seems that it's a full moon tonight which only means one thing in Tofo...the locals get loose, so I'm very sure we'll have some super funny tales for tomorrow!
Day Six - Roxy Invitational 2010
Today I woke up with my headphones crushing my ears into my skull. Somehow I fell asleep listening to Peter Gabriel. I wanted to listen to a cover that he does of Bon Iver's Flume, and I fell asleep somewhere in the middle of it...and then subconsciously listened to another 36 songs. That is a lot of Peter Gabriel. Anyway, despite my numbed ears I tumbled out of bed and made my way to join the giggling girls at the poolside.
Last night we had an awesome view of the full-full moon. It was like someone had paused a ping-pong ball in mid-flight coated in phosphorescence, as it hung by an invisible thread above a surreal lake. Salvador Dali couldn't have created something more impressive. We headed out to a local restaurant on the beach to do some dancing after dinner, and all the ladies had a fabulous time disco-ing it up and frolicking in the sand, hence my tired state this morning!
The wind was not favourable for surfing at the point, so after a hearty breakfast of omelettes we lounged by the pool and talked endless amounts of nonsense as only girls can. Tamara had a thorn in her foot, and Heidi decided to be her co-surgeon in the removal process by the poolside. When the thorn finally popped out with all the gruesome blood and goo, Heidi was the only one going "That's so cool!". I think in another life Miss Palmboom would make a great trauma doctor.
A small crew headed down to ‘back beach', a spot around the corner from Tofinho Point. This area works better in the wind we had today, and the conditions were absolutely beautiful. We surfed for a while, and I met a very interesting Swiss surfer...who would have though that people who live in the Alps could surf? After a lunch of ginger and coriander fish cakes with rolls, butter and salad the rest of the girls found various nooks and crannies to read books and chill out while I wondered down into town to find the internet café where I am sitting now. In fact I wanted to mention this place, it's called Tofo On-Line and I'm utterly amazed it exists! It has wireless, filter coffee and is really affordable - in the middle of friggin' Mozambique! If you come this way definitely hit them up for your internet needs, Pat the owner is also down with all the local gossip and will keep you up to speed!
It really is cool to walk in flip-flops down a sandy road, checking out what people are selling (like the lethal looking chilli sauce in the picture), getting distracted by the light in the coconut fronds...I think it took me 30 minutes to walk just over a kilometre. Such is life in Mozambique, everything slows down.
Tonight there is not a whole bunch on the cards, rumours of bands playing in the village but I think a quiet evening watching DVDs and reading is what a lot of people will go for...unless it's reggae! Tomorrow there may be a ‘just for fun' comp with some of the local kids, so we'll need to be up early to find the best place to hold it. We only have two more days in which to hold the finals of the comp, so keep checking here to see who the final winner is! Peace out...
Day Seven - Roxy Invitational 2010
Saturday in Tofo. It's kind of like every other day in Tofo. Isn't that cool? When your weekends feel like your weeks you know you're in holiday mode. I woke up super early as I'd been told we were going to check the surf at 5:45...there I was ready to roll and not a soul was awake! So I put on my running shoes that I'd dragged all the way from Durban and went for a jog (to work off some of the amazing food that is starting to gather around my belly button).
I ran through the soft sand of the 4x4 track, past a little girl opening her gate who waved and smiled, past the stuck-up red chickens pecking in the dirt, past the granny walking her dogs, past the bread lady with loaves in her basket, on to the ridge that runs along the top of the beach. I looked across the ocean (that was very flat) and straight into the blazing eye of the rising sun that stared me down until I had to look away. It was beautiful, and when I got back to Turtle Cove I felt good. Despite popular belief, running is good for your mood!
Anyway, we were supposed to go on an Ocean Safari today, to find whale sharks. About 15 minutes before we were going to leave a roaring wind came busting up the coast bringing cloud cover and choppy seas within minutes! It's incredible how weather can mess up your plans, but...it also means waves are on the way, so we're holding thumbs for tomorrow morning...the girls are getting itchy to surf...and itchy girls are worse than itchy bites!
We decided to take a trip into Inhambane to check out the main market and get some pictures of the girls. There are some incredible old buildings and shipwrecks in the harbour which make for interesting pics so we wondered around on the exposed sand (it was low tide), while the girls hopped aboard various wrecks. One wreck turned out to actually be the home of a rather strange man, so when the girls climbed up on deck I'm not sure who got a bigger fright!
We haggled in the market, bought second hand clothes and some awesome bags and Sarah Baum bought a bag of doughnuts as big as my rucksack. Seriously, she was feeding all of us for like three hours after that!
The rest of the afternoon was spent flopping around Turtle Cove, checking the waves and taking random trips into town on the four wheelers. A pig on a spit is on the menu for tonight's dinner (it's fresh, like really fresh, like running around the garden yesterday fresh), which kind of freaked a lot of the girls out. However, Peter the chef tells us that it's good to appreciate the animal from which your dinner comes...ahem. This is one way of knowing exactly where it comes from. I think Holly is very happy she's vegetarian today. He he.
One of the other people staying at Turtle Cove is a German surfer called Ben. He has two interesting tattoos (that you can see in one the pics) that I thought you might like to see. On his biceps he has ‘low tide' and ‘high tide' written in German. I thought they were pretty cool, and he explained that it's a got a lot to do with the ups and downs in life as well as the ocean. I reckon tattoos are supposed to be sentimental, so I smaak these.
All is looking good for surfing tomorrow, so hold thumbs that swell wraps around the point and we get some cracking waves. Yee Ha!
Day Eight - Roxy Invitational 2010
I woke up in my bed this morning and cracked one eye open. The wind was still humping. Bummer. I heard Johno Hutchison walking down towards the cars and clawed my way out of my mosquito net to join him and the judges to check the surf out. It wasn't looking good, but they made the call to wait until 10am (before full low-tide) to have another look and make a decision on when to run the finals.
By 10 the wind had dropped off a fair bit and the conditions, although not as nice as what we had for the other rounds, were definitely contestable. We gathered boards, cameras, umbrellas and sun-screen, and piled into the 4x4's to get down to Tofinho Point. After a short free surf the three finalists were in the water, nervously assessing their best options for the 40 minute heat. One short blast from the siren and it was time to see who was going to win the 10 000 big ones.
Sarah, Tarryn and Kirsty were pushing hard throughout the heat, but it was little Miss Baum on her backhand who stood out for most. Her wave selection was good, she squeezed in tight turns on the faces that she could find, surfed cleanly and accurately to make the best of the difficult conditions. In the end it was Tarryn Chudleigh in third, Kirsty Delport in second and Sarah Baum in the top spot! A well deserved win for little Baum, she's been gunning to win this thing for three years running! After the main event a development surf contest was held with six local surfers, ranging from teeny-tiny John who's been amazing us with his ferocious tenacity all week long (he comes up to my rib-cage in height), up to more mature surfers in their late teens. The dudes had thirty minutes to do their thing, and awards for different aspects of surfing (like best take-off, longest ride etc) were given out with some awesome clothing packs from Quiksilver as the prizes. The boys were super stoked, as were we to see just how hard these young guys charge with so little resources behind them.
The rest of the afternoon was spent munching a late lunch, the girls napped and spoke nonsense for hours (always entertaining to listen to) and looked forward to the celebratory dinner! Actually, while I write this blog they don't know who's won, although I think most have their money on Sarah anyway. I'll fill you in on all the drama tomorrow after the evening is over!
Tomorrow we're off to start the two day journey home, probably at some ungodly hour! Maybe I'll get my act together and get up at 5am to try and squeeze in an hour of surf before buckling up to bounce over a gazillion potholes to Casa Lisa ... hmm...let's see shall we?
Day nine and ten - Roxy Invitational 2010
Winning Isn't Everything...
After eight days of travelling, surfing, eating, sleeping (a little bit), running, walking, swimming, laughing and breaking hammocks the Roxy Invitational had to eventually come to an end. On Sunday night we were treated to a feast of crab curry, prawns and clams; Sarah Baum was crowned the winner and presented with her trophy (a drum from the local market) and that feeling one gets at the end of a holiday crept up on all of us.
I was super-stoked for Sarah because she's wanted to win this competition for four years. Sarah has transformed from a frothing tom-boy grom into a 16 year old with a smooth, powerful surfing style, tolerance for all around her and an understanding of the world of surfing that many only get when they're old and grey.
I sat playing hang-man with my German friend at the bar when Sarah came to chat to us. Ben (the German) congratulated Sarah and asked her what it's like to have a career as a surfer. Her eyes widened and she laughed saying, "I've never thought about it like that, for me surfing is just fun. I mean it's the ocean, and you're playing in it. I like competing because I find that fun too, it's a different type of surfing and it pushes you to be polished. But at the end of the day I only surf because I love doing it, not because it's a career. I think that if you think of it like that it becomes work and you put too much pressure on yourself".
After she walked away, Ben turned to me and said "Did you just hear what I heard? I'm 29 and I can't explain anything the way she explained that!" He then proceeded to kill my amazing score with the word ‘peanutbutter'; I am no longer the hangman champion. Sigh.
Of course I was stoked for Kirsty (who is one of the most infectiously vibrant people you will ever meet), and for Tarryn too! Three such very different people in a final makes for very interesting results, and I hope in the upcoming article on this event that I can give you a better impression of their personalities! I mean Tarryn was cutting her hair with the First Aid scissors in the car mirror just before the final...
I went to bed recounting the days of the last week, all the faces that had become friends and all the crystal clear moments under water in the Indian Ocean. It's a beautiful place Mozambique, and people come from all over the world to spend time in this steamy paradise. If you haven't been there yet, start planning.
I took a walk early on Monday morning down to the beach; I wanted to see it one last time before we left. One of the local dogs was stretching on the steps when I walked out of Turtle Cove, and he joined me for my morning stroll. I got to the beach just as the sun was rising over the ocean, took a few snaps and we carried on along the road towards the point. My doggie-friend found two other hounds to play with, so I carried on alone leaving him to pounce and play fight in the white dust of the 4x4 track. On my return walk he left his buddies and grabbed my towel in his mouth, we played tug-of-war the whole way home.
We travelled all day to get to Casa Lisa, had one more meal of Peri-Peri chicken and with a 4:30am wake-up call everyone hit the sack early. 5am on Tuesday we were on the road home, and I marvelled at the lines of people wrapped in colourful cloth carrying loads of goods to the market on their backs, invisible in the dark until our headlights caught them in a quick flash of life.
By 10am we were through the Swazi border and back into South Africa. It amazed me how happy I felt when my cell phone switched over to Vodacom-SA, and I heard isiZulu clicking in my ears instead of Portuguese. I do love our funny country ☺
At 2pm we rolled into the garage under Roxy HQ, and we were home. Boards were unpacked, bags were rolling all over the ground and 10 very tanned, exhausted, stoked surfers said their goodbyes. The Roxy Invitational is one of the most important events in women's surfing in South Africa. It promotes exploration, pushes our standard of surfing and creates a unique competition environment - it's like surfing with your mates, but somebody winds up with a big fat cheque.
I've been lucky enough to join two of the trips as a journalist, and it's my hope that more international surfers will enter and the event will continue to evolve and inspire all surfers to mission more. You don't have to be sponsored to get a group of buddies together and spend 10 days surfing your brains out in remote, unbelievable places. That's the beauty of travel isn't it; it's all up to you...
News
The crew has been chosen, they are packed and ready to go! :) You can watch the Roxy Invitationals at www.roxy.co.za from the 23rd of May or catch the daily blog upadates on our site.
South African Kirsty Delport showing us what she's got
The chosen surfers are a real box of all sorts: They've got fresh blood, experienced pros and repeat performers, making for an interesting event. These ten spots for the opportunity to surf awesome waves and win R10 000 in Mozambique are in high demand. Taking place in Tofinho from 23 May - 01 June, the local and international entrants are going to experience the right-hand point break it has to offer, as well as yoga, skin diving and much more.
The selected surfers are: Kirsty Delport (ZAF) Chantelle Rautenbach (ZAF) Sarah Baum (ZAF) Philippa Anderson (AUS) Heidi Palmboom (ZAF) Tarryn Chudleigh (ZAF) Alice McGregor (ZAF) Holly Armstrong (ZAF) Paige Haggerston (AUS) Faye Zoetmulder (ZAF)
The Roxy Invitational is not a difficult surfing event. It is the opposite actually, and aims to simplify the way surfing contests are done. The Roxy Invitational is a surf contest where 10 of the best female surfers in the country are invited to surf in an event at a remote location for the first prize of R10, 000. It's unique in format and location, and the remote Mozambican beach, with good waves all year round, is way more different from the small waves and contest vibes of the normal venues along our urban coastline belts. This very uniqueness is what makes the event tempting to local and international media.
The next Roxy Invitational will take place 23 May - 01 June 2010, and will be the fourth year for the popular event. The ten spots available have become the most in demand spots for an event in female surfing in the country. Whether you win the event or not, Roxy promises a holiday to Mozambique like few others, with all surfers guaranteed to have their fair share of the fun.
Entries open on the 1st of March, for more information on this awesome event, go to Roxy.co.za
Tofinho The wave is a sand bottom point break that can offer perfect, awesome walls that wind down along the beach. The water is warm, and the waves are super fun with the occasional barrel thrown in for good measure.
The diving and fishing is top notch too! The wave location is quiet and remote. When this wave turns on it is known as one of the best right-hand points in the world.
The Roxy Invitational is during the prime swell window for the area, so the girls are guaranteed to have an amazing time.
Turtle Cove Turtle Cove is a laid back spot for travellers to enjoy in Tofu. It offers comfortable accommodation a yoga centre horse riding, diving and kayak excursions, sunset show cruises and more.
The food is awesome too with sushi evenings, fresh fish and prawns famous in the area.
