We met up with Taylor Steele (Legend surf movie producer from Poor Specimen & Drive Thru South Africa Executive Producer) and Matt Beauchesne (Cameraman & Editor) in J-Bay who got there earlier to film the J-Bay Billabong Pro. Dave Emgy our one camera man left us in J-Bay to work on one of Taylor's other movies.

The Billabong Pro surfing competition was still running and the surfers in our group weren't interested in hanging around in J-Bay where (if there were waves) they would only be able to watch other guys surf it.

They wanted to fly to Durban. I tried in vain to convince them that we should head back down the coast to meet the giant swell and follow it back up the East Coast to J-Bay and then on further up to Durban. There are countless epic surf breaks between Cape Town and J-Bay and all would be cranking in the solid swell that was predicted. We could hit more than one spot in a day and stay in a different town each night...

Nope. I was out voted. The surfers decided to visit the Lion Park outside Port Elizabeth and after that wanted to fly to Durban. While on the road to the Lion Park, Adam and I called the various airlines, car rental companies and Durban hotels to set up the next leg of our trip.

The Lion Park was amazing! We saw lots of animals in the reserve and even got to play with young lion cubs. Donny, Blakey, Noodles and I climbed in to a cage with some of the bigger lions! They were the size of very big dogs and already incredibly strong for their age. You had to be quite rough with them to keep them in their place or they could definitely take you out! The guides told us to say "No!" loudly and push them away if they got to friendly/rough.

Donny tried to be bold with his "No!" but the lion didn't take him seriously and he got bitten on the ass! Next Pat got electrocuted buy an electric fence! You have to check out the DVD!!! It was a hilarious experience!

We went through to the airport and ate there before flying to Durban and moving into a great hotel, right on an excellent beach break!

Pottz and I shared a room with an insane view right over the beach! He's telling me loads of awesome stories of his life as a pro surfer and his memories of South Africa in the days of the Apartheid.

I have realized from the way that the guys talk about the pro tour, that being a pro surfer is definitely not as cool as I thought it would be. It's a hardcore job! They spend most of their lives in airports and on airplanes and very little time at home with their families and girlfriends. They surf a shit load but the dream of scoring perfect surf that we see in the videos, doesn't happen nearly as often as you think. Surfers on the World Tour spend most of the time being forced to compete in small, shitty surf in foreign countries. Sad - but it still beats most other jobs!