The Tourist

After the completion of the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, more than half of the World Tour hung around longer than expected. With South Africa offering countless tourist attractions, many opted to sight see and take it all in whilst others chose to surf the waves on offer. Two surfers that ticked a few things off their checklists were Central Coast duo Adrian Buchan and Matt Wilkinson. Waves caught up with Wilko to find out what he got up once the World Tour event was wrapped up.

How come you guys hung around for so long after the contest?
Once the contest was over, we drove to the Cape Town to hang out and check it all out. There was a lot of sight seeing done and it was cool to check it all out. We don’t get a lot of time during the contest to head to the tourist attractions and I’ve always wanted to go to South Africa, so we thought ‘why not’. Sean Holmes’ family hooked us up with this sick hotel and were so hospitable. It’s such a beautiful city.

What did you guys get up to?
Basically, it was Ace, his girl, Mick and myself cruising in Cape Town. We bungy jumped off the highest place in the world. It’s like two hundred metres high or something. It was pretty weird doing that, I was super confident before we got to the bridge. As soon as we got ready to jump, the nerves kicked in and I was shitting myself. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any lions or swim with sharks but we did party pretty hard a couple of the nights.

How do you feel you surfed during the contest?
Yeah, I went to J-Bay a week early to get some preparation in because I’d never surfed there before. I surfed with Owen nearly everyday and he was definitely pushing me. I was lucky to find some form during the contest and make it through a couple of heats. I was stoked that J-Bay doesn’t really allow for airs. I was over going to a contest and everyone doing airs. It was nice to open up and do turns.

Wilko: Pre 200m jump. Pic Courtesy of Wilko’s Facebook.

How were your boards feeling?
Yeah, they were actually feeling really good. Everyone was asking me if my boards were a little shorter, but they were basically my normal shortboard. It must mean I’ve got a rogue wide stance (laughs).

You’re heading to Teahupoo soon, are you scared?
I think it’s going to be depending on the swell when we are there. If the waves are going to be 100 foot I’ll definitely be shitting myself (laughs). If it’s only going to be six feet or something, I’m excited. The wave looks like so much fun and I can’t wait to get over there.

Tags: Matt Wilko