Uncle Jaffa Heads to Lombok!

[jaffa1949]

The trip is booked but since I am doing it freestyle ( not through a surf travel company)
I am running into a few minor glitches. They are worth sharing so you can avoid them on your trips.
Flying Garuda to Bali and then a short hop flight with Garuda to Lombok.
Surfers from Western Australia, Singapore, Jakarta or connections from other places through those can then fly straight to Lombok on a flight that will carry long boards.
The trick in Indo is to always check the board capacity of the flight. Garuda is the one to use.
The further out you go in the archipelago the more you have to check.
In order to link up I have to stay overnight in Kuta no problems hope to meet up with two of our forum guys for a Bintang.
The challenge here is to find transport which will take my long board.
The travel agent couldn't , she was getting quotes for 1million rupiah each to have a private van pick up and bring me back to the airport next day , 1million rupiah about $100 aussie dollars. No way
There are three solutions There is an Airport board storage around 40,000 rupiah per day
$4.00 Aussie but not sure whether they take longboards at all or for that cost!

There are two board storage companies that can arrange pick up and storage even the storage is 40 to 50,000 rupiah and they do longer periods.
They charge you extra to pick up and drive the boards to storage and that would be negotiable

They were both extremely helpful so I am happy to recommend them as a a useful aid in your trip.
Mark at www.baliboardstorage.com
and Stijn at www.balistoreluggage.com
Sadly I would have used my regular driver and just kept my board with me at the hotel, but he seems to have disappeared!
A tip for regular Indo travelers build relationships with local service people drivers etc, get their card and use them each time you come, keep the small guys in business with your help and they become firm friends.

[Tudeo]

In order to link up I have to stay overnight in Kuta no problems hope to meet up with two of our forum guys for a Bintang.

Maybe even two Bintangs

[benjl]

Super jealous of your trip jaffa!

I had an awesome driver when I went to Kuta who was also a surfer himself and had no problems strapping my board to his minivan when he drove us around.
I can see if I can get his details for you? (might have a contact somewhere or written down on the old itinerary).

Just found some old emails, it was booked through a company called 'oceana biru bali' and the number I had here was +62 361 270 052 and his name was Wayan.It was on the 1st october 2014 if that helps.

[dtc]

his name was Wayan.

That'll narrow it down

Sounds like a lot of fun Jaffa.

[jaffa1949]

Thanks Benjl I have it all sorted, rang a couple of other people I knew and all is good. It makes me wonder how first timers through ordinary travel companies get on beyond the voucher system!

[jaffa1949]

Just a heads up on travel insurance ( which you should have BTW) they will avoid paying out if you book tickets for a flight whilst there is a volcano alert on. You had the choice then to delay. Check your fine print about natural disaster delays and also make sure you have full medical evacuation cover!
Hospitals in Bali insist on payment in advance!
Sure you'll be safe! You might end up saved but bankrupt, here is a clue most resort require a sighting of policy papers, and if you have credit card covered Insurance have the booklet with insurance contact numbers in Indo and check that you covered before you go!

[Tudeo]

Om, I'm sure u already know some vulcano in Java is causing a lot of troubles for Bali airport again these weeks.

[Big H]

Worst case scenario you have friends here who could lend a hand in a pinch.

[jaffa1949]

Thanks H, I intend it to be as good as it always has been for me.
Looking forward to a Jam bintang

[billie_morini]

Hope you have a grand time, Jaffa! It amazes me where some of you guys go!

[glandjoyos]

Lombok is the beautiful place... One tips again if you wanna come to Indonesia..
"Always ask how much you must pay??" (First you must know the real price)..
More good driver in Lombok or Bali.. Follow your heart.. Keep your money for another thing..
Welcome to Indonesia...
Now.. Indonesia have trouble with volcano.. Unpredictable.. Schedule your trip.. Coz, sometimes the airport is closed..
If you want flight for domestik.. They will include on "Waiting List"..That mean = Who be the first register for the flight, they will get the flight..

[312T4]

hi Jaffa,
some more questions for you!
I'm thinking to do my surf trip in december now. The travel agent told me that Lombok is flat in december, however, in the webpage I found this:

A quality surf break, Outside Ekas, is a good left-hander that breaks close to the entrance of the channel that can break for up to 200 meters on the right day and it is just at your doorstep, directly in front of the Sanctuary … you paddle out from Ocean Heaven Beach. Surfing is good all year, especially in the summer season (December to April) when winds are often calm.

What can you tell me?
Will be Bali fine in december?
Thanks again

[312T4]

Sorry, I mean:
Is Bali different? Does it has waves in december when Lombok doesn't?
cheers

[jaffa1949]

Lets cover Lombok and Bali for you. Travel agents of the non surfing kinfd have no idea what a surfer needs having only gained information from generic brochures put out by beach side hotels etc.
December is in the wet season for Indonesia especially Bali and Lombok.
Bali is a verdant green island and has rain even in the dry season, Lombok is nmore prone to be like NW Australia and is a serious two season island a distinct dry season.
The peak season for surf is June to October when the southern Indian ocean is generating near Antarctic low pressure systems that send clean swells all the way to Indonesia.
December is well out of that season, but swells do get sent through and some are generated by systems closer to the islands.
The east coast of Bali Sanur and Nusa Dua are more prominent then.
Lombok gets some wave on the outside of Ekas bay on the southern reefs and there are periods of light winds which can enhance the surf.
I would not recommend Outside Ekas to anyone who is not a strong surfer and swimmer, the waves are extremely powerful and a great amount of water is moving around, making it extremely dangerous to those who do not know their stuff.
Inside Ekas is more forgiving but is less likely to have swell during this period.
Beach water quality on the islands during the wet season is much more suspect in hygiene and crap/plastic/rubbish in the water.
Because of there being less options for surf the crowds are markedly down so that is better.

Bali and Lombok are like chalk and cheese quite different culturally and you probably have more chance to find and access waves on Bali than Lombok during December.

Please if you have more questions please ask and I'll answer what I can

Jaffa

[jaffa1949]

Uncle Jaffa returns, I'm currently sitting the lounge at Denpasar airport waiting to connect to go home.
There won't be many hero shots or photo exposures , most of my time was spent in a progressive knee rehab at inside Ekas. Surf a daily increasing swell. One or two surfs pool ligament stretching , swimming for shoulder strengthening ( in reality I've been out of the water since early May , about 24 weeks) .
The program was successful there was a big swell may inside Ekas double overhead on the bombs.
I finished my training by picking 4 off from 100 yards outside the pack and going fully back hand.

Very happy , ombak besar , !

I checked a littl more about December in Lombok, heaven on the Planet , the only one of two resort bases for Ekas ( the other is Ekas Breaks which is not even on the beach ).
HOTP is closed for maintenance and servicing, and the roads to either would be a a 4x4 nightmare!
You could email either of the resorts above and see what they say!
Good luck !

[Big H]

Your time straddled some good swells for sure....well chosen sir.

[Tudeo]

Very happy , ombak besar , !

Very happy to hear U pulled it off Om!
I hope the weather at ur homebreak will allow u to get some more action!

[dtc]

Did I mention my jealousy?

[jaffa1949]

The medium size days at Inside Ekas rights, the left was a steeper and more difficult take off and no wall to angle the drop at all and if you made it there was a white water wall until you reached the reform.
The rights were like this and the bigger ones were another 150 metres further out.

The final pull out on the rights was in about ankle deep water.
There was a boat from across the baybringing a load of clueless learners for a production line learning.
Three Indo surfers two of whom were aware pushing learners down the wave face so they were catching wave but without any skill whatsoever.
They were keeping an eye for other people taking off inside and arranging and communicating about taking turns , the third guy was pushing the learners into anything no matter what else was happening on the wave. A fair strong discussion ensued after some dangerous near misses.
Very unfair to the learners who had all been promised that they would riding waves ( that they were but blindly unaware of the danger they were in)

This was the quality of the good learners' wave which was totally ignored

Finally a Lombok sunset for atmosphere

[dtc]

Are those all fishing boats in the background?

Was the final pull out over reef or something nicer?