The Skop of the Donkey

The beast of the North West has awakened: The Donkey. Like it’s namesake, it’s slow to action, almost stubborn, and takes it’s time to hit the sweet spot. But, when it hits, it’s exactly like a runaway freight train.   The knowing whispers begin days, even weeks before the first major west swell thunders its way up South Africa and Namibia’s Atlantic coastline. The phones start pinging, ringing, and either the standby flight is arranged or the van is quietly prepared to haul some ass up the N7.   Of course, there are no guarantees, even with advanced forecasting services at our disposal, and especially when you’re dealing with nature. But, damn it, it’s as much a part of the mission as is letting your tires down, rolling down the sandy track and witnessing the almost mechanical, and terrifying, perfection of the Donkey in full swing. “For us, this trip was quite last minute.” Dale Staples relays in his relaxed St Francis tones. “We’d just got back from Mozambique. Myself, Shaun Payne and photographer Grant Scholtz tracked the swell 2 days before it hit and jumped in the car for 20 hours of overnight driving from Cape Town to Nam. […]