Two Aussie mates, two months, and one wild coastline chasing South Africa's most iconic waves.
African Surfari · Created by Jordy Liackman & Cooper Puttergill · Published on Just A Dream · Running time: 21 minutes
"This isn't your polished, big-budget corporate surf flick. It’s two surfers, a couple of cameras, and the real story of chasing swells across South Africa."
There is something timeless and untamed about a South African surf road trip. With thousands of kilometers of coastline exposed to the full brute force of the Roaring Forties, South Africa is one of the premier wave-hunting destinations on earth.
In African Surfari, Australian surfers Jordy Liackman and Cooper Puttergill set out with a simple blueprint: buy a car, pack the quivers, and let the swell charts dictate the compass. Over sixty days, the duo self-shot their expedition, capturing everything from misty early mornings on the wild West Coast to the roaring speed lines of Jeffreys Bay.
The film avoids heavy sponsor gloss, choosing instead to showcase the true essence of an independent pilgrimage: marathon coastal drives, dusty backroads, wildlife encounters, unpredictable forecast windows, and the overwhelming hospitality of local lineups.
During their time in Durban, the crew connected with Surfers Not Street Children — an extraordinary grassroots organization that uses the transformative power of wave riding to provide mentorship, education, and safe havens for at-risk youth. The bond forged in the Durban lineup was one of the film's most powerful highlights.
Whether it’s carving high lines on the endless walls of J-Bay, tucking into warm beachbreak barrels at Durban’s piers, or wrapping into the boulder coves of Victoria Bay, African Surfari reminds us all why we fell in love with surfing in the first place: the pursuit of the unknown around the next headland.
Follow the path taken in African Surfari. Here are the five key breaks featured in the film, backed by Tide Raider's multi-model forecasts:
The holy grail of right-hand point breaks. When a solid long-period South-Southwest swell wraps past Cape St Francis into the bay, Supertubes, Boneyards, and Point link up into an unbroken freight train of speed and perfection.
Fetching live conditions for Jeffreys Bay...
Etched into surf folklore by 'The Endless Summer', this rugged corner of the Eastern Cape picks up raw Southern Ocean swell. Seal Point dishes out mechanical, ripable right walls over shallow boulder reefs.
Fetching live conditions for Cape St Francis...
A snug cove nestled beneath towering green cliffs along the Garden Route. 'Vic Bay' produces punchy, bowl-like right walls that reel predictably along the boulder point into the sheltered sandy bay.
Fetching live conditions for Victoria Bay...
The crown jewel of the wild Atlantic West Coast. A frigid, world-class left-hand sandspit and boulder point that fires when giant winter groundswells meet light southeasterly winds beneath the cliffs.
Fetching live conditions for Elands Bay The Point...
Durban's bustling surf epicenter. Warm subtropical water, man-made piers shaping wedging A-frame peaks and hollow barrels, and the proud home turf of Surfers Not Street Children.
Fetching live conditions for Dairy Beach (New Pier)...
Surfers & Creators
Jordy Liackman & Cooper Puttergill
Channel / Production
Just A Dream
Featured Organization
Surfers Not Street Children (Durban)
Music & Sound
Independent Lo-Fi Surf Rock & Ambient Audio (Just A Dream)
Format
Independent Self-Shot Surf Documentary
Running Time
21 minutes
Locations
Jeffreys Bay, Elands Bay, Victoria Bay, Cape St Francis, Durban
Sound Design & Mix
Just A Dream Audio