Well I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but I really can’t think of a better way to describe this place! You know the postcards, the ones that make you want to go on holiday? I don’t doubt that most of them have been taken here! But first to get there we hopped on a big ferry doing some island hopping before arriving at our destination of Nusa Lembongan.
After surfing the friendly, if large waves on Lombok, Nusa Lembongan brought with a whole new set of exciting challenges for everyone! The first thing is that the water is really clear, no really it’s crystal clear, which is incredible but also means that you can see the reef you are riding over clearly which is quite intimidating and scary! We arrived in the evening just as it was getting dark, so when we woke up in the morning to see where we actually were it was a very pleasant surprise! Based right on the beach with a swimming pool overlooking a lagoon and then the reefs out the back with nice head high waves peeling away! The waves here are very tidal though, with different spots working only at certain times, and when the tide is low on the spring tides it literally looks like a lake! Needless to say, we jumped on a boat and headed out to go surfing, choosing Shipwrecks and Razors as our spots for the first session.
The names of the surf spots in Nusa Lembongan are also something else! Shipwrecks, Razors, Lacerations and Playgrounds are the four main breaks, sound enticing? The looks on everyone’s faces when I said we were heading to Lacerations the next day told a story of their own, but actually on a higher tide it’s a really fun and friendly wave, but on a lower tide, it turns into one of the most perfect barreling waves in the world! Playgrounds on the other hand, is where I have seen the most people hit the reef! It isn’t called Playgrounds because of the wave, but rather the raft-based sea playgrounds with slides going into the sea.
As the days passed and we got used to the names of the waves everyone’s confidence went up! The first few days had also been the biggest we were likely to get, with the full moon and a good sized swell. But the wave machine wouldn’t quite let up and sore arms and sunburn coudn’t stop us from heading out for two surfs a day! To take a break we also went snorkelling to see the sea life below the ocean’s surface and the thousands of multi-coloured fish that inhabit it. It s a spectacle well worth experiencing if you ever get the chance!
And then before we knew it we were on the ferry heading back to Bali for our final night in Kuta before the 4-week trip and Island Hopping adventure came to an end! It’s amazing how time flies in a place like this, even though most of our days were just spent surfing, eating and relaxing to get energy for the next session! A massive thanks to everyone who came on the trip and was involved, you made for an incredibly fun trip!
A special congratulations to Charlotte and Andy as well who got engaged while we were in Nusa Lembongan, nice work guys! Your energy and positivity was a great addition to the trip!
We’ll miss you all, until we see you again!
Chris and Max
Next stop… Bali Road Trip!