The small island of Nusa Lembongan is a popular one for those heading to Indo for the first time, and it is obvious why. It really is that tropical paradise, there is no other way to describe it. The colour of the water is out of this world, the island is small, the people are friendly, the waves are amazing, and you can walk everywhere. What more could you want?
Arriving in Nusa Lembongan was a treat indeed. We set foot on land and were told to put our stuff in the back of one of the very few cars on Nusa Lembongan (I saw about 5). We headed over to our accommodation and were greeted with prime property overlooking the most consistent wave in the area, shipwrecks. Situated literally right in front of the break (although it is quite far out to sea) I would hate to imagine how many hours were spent mindsurfing the perfect waves as they kept rolling in over the next week.
The week ahead was spent jumping in the boat and shooting off to whichever spot was deemed best for the day. Our trusty boat driver Tony would take us to the waves and wait while we surfed, tell us what time we should surf next and in general made our lives very easy. The beachfront in Nusa Lembongan is littered with great little restaurants and acccommodation, so we sampled them all until we settled in on our favourites, which happened to be just behind where we were staying! The evening were spend overlooking the ocean sipping a Bintang and recalling the days waves, the scrapes on the reef and what the waves were going to be like the next day.
We lucked into some good swell with the right tides and had some good but challenging conditions which turned what had been 'fun' but small surfs into something a little more treacherous. In order to improve in surfing one has to be challenged, and there were a few days which provided just that. It is the satisfaction of conquering it and getting that one wave which makes it all worthwhile!
Check back in soon for the final blog and photos from this amazing trip.
Terimah Kasih
Chris