Is There Any Better Place To Surf Than Bali?
by S.G.R.BApproximately 10 years ago the sport that requires dealing with fierce waves was not easily found in Indonesia. Attitude of the local people at this time towards the sea are beginning to change, in part due to a legion of mostly Australian surfers who began experimenting with Indonesia’s copious surfing options back in the early 70s. They usually be bale to show the world that big and intimidating waves abundant throughout the country would be coveted by surf athletes the world over. And although islanders were initially timid about joining in the ranks of the ‘crazy people’, Indonesia are now taking up the sport in ever-increasing numbers.
The traditional ‘take-off’ point is undisputedly Bali where the sport in Indonesia had its beginning. Surfers do understand this is where to procure a wealth of wave-riding intelligence gleaned from around the archipelago.
Another thing which is also important for the surfers begin in Bali is the island happens to be bestowed with some of the coolest surfing breaks in the country. Beginning with an apt indoctrination on Kuta beach and heading in no particular order to the south, southeast and west there surfers will be able to find at least thirty surfing locations. Novice surfers stick to Kuta and vicinity while serious surfers find the distant offshore and shallow reef breaks and ‘barrels’ more what they’re looking for. Here surfers meet conditions only for the physically and psychologically initiated, not for the faint-hearted or the ‘under-gunned’.
On Bali, consider the Bukit Peninsula just south of Kuta where surfers take on such world renown and exotic surf spots as Uluwatu and Padang-Padang. The location of it was on Bali’s dry Bukit; now a place punctuated by luxury resorts, where surfing in Bali truly began attracting the attention of the worldwide surfing fraternity. The first site to receive notice was a left-hand break on the far south end of the peninsula. The Surfers and people of Bali gave the wave name ‘Ulu-watu’ after the ancient Balinese temple nearby.
Wave-obsessed pioneers not long after began to discover a bevy of other great waves, including the latest and apparently considered the best, the Mentawai islands of Sumatera. The extraordinary ‘gun-barrel’ waves of Grajagan off the coast of East Java are also only for experienced surfers. The left-hand gems have been the site of some of the greatest high-performance surfing contests worldwide. Grajagan waves break around a reef fronting a once sleepy and rarely visited fishing village on Cape Purwo on the southeastern tip of Java. The village of Plengkung sits on the south side of a large national park called the Blambangan Nature Reserve.
Then there’s the right hand point wave at Lagundi Island on the island of Nias off the coast of West Sumatera, a coastline often called ‘surf-city’ and for good reason: Lagundi is referred to as the ‘point’ wave due to the “line-up” of surfing walls, some of the finest in the world. Today the bay is reached by air from Medan or via ferry from the coastal town of Sibolga, one of the true “cities” of world surfing.
The island of Sumbawa located in the province of Nusa Tenggara (two islands east of Bali) has always been a favorite surf and cruise destination. Peeling off its western coast are such colorfully named waves as “Supersuck” or the intimidating “Scar Reef”. The waves include ‘Lakey Peak’, one of the few reef breaks in Indonesia that peels flawlessly both left and right. Sumbawa is now becoming more accessible, the reason why the lineups seem more and more crowded every year.
If you take surfing seriously, please consider seriously to visit one or two or three of the locations mentioned above. You do not need to worry about accomodation. Being a world-class tourist destination, you’ll easily find out a proper guest houses or inns, even on a remote site of the island. Of course, a proper accomodation means a place where you can have a nice sleep and shower with fresh water. But do not expect that you’ll find a room with a mini gas-grill like Cuisinart CGG180 for your mini BBQ party or a business center with all-in-one printer. Since Bali is a tropical resort, you won’t also be able to find a room with a vent-free wall-heater like your own Kozy World KWN321.