INDONESIA - FLORES - MAUMERE - 4 to 7 September, 2014 - 'THE ISLANDS AND INTO THE ISOLATED'

Info

Ankermi Homestay - 350 000R with great breakfast
Snorkel trip – for whole boat - 450 000R per boat including lunch – shared amongst 4.
Motorcycle - 75 000R per day
Flight Denpasar to Maumere - 2 000 000R
Car Maumere airport to Ankermi - 150 000R

The Journey

The flight from Bali to Maumere was slow as it was a propeller plane. The airport at Maumere is small and easy. The car from the airport to Ankermi was there and after 45minutes I was at Ankermi’s which is approximately 45 kilometres east of Maumere.

The room was good and simple with a small balcony overlooking the ocean. The grounds of the guesthouse was really nice with lots of ponds and places to sit and relax. The restaurant had good food which takes a while to prepare as it was freshly cooked. There is a beach to the west of the hotel which was good for swimming. There was also good swimming off the pier at high tide and fun snorkelling at any tide.

There were three other guests from Barcelona, Spain. They were very friendly and nice. I joined them after dinner.

The following day, we had a snorkelling trip on the boat to the reefs at Palau Besar and Palau Babi. It was a great trip with 3 snorkels and a walk along two white sand deserted beaches. Under the sea, there were corals and lots of small fish. My highlight was two lion fish.



The next day, I hired a motorbike and rode to Blidit hot springs, which I didn’t find. I continued along the ‘road’ driving through wilderness and the occasional village. The kids in these villages ran away like their life depended upon when they saw me and then they would hide in the jungle until I passed.

Eventually, I came to a cross road, where I chatted with some few locals on cocoa, sound speakers and directions. The house I stopped at had 12 enormous speakers thusly the sound speaker topic. I continued towards Doreng and Bola beaches.

Doreng Beach was very ordinary with nothing to offer. The tide was low and the water was about 500 metres away with reef in-between the beach and the ocean. I continued to Bola which was much nicer with some good swimming spots and shops.

The road was much better from Bola to the Trans Flores Highway. It didn’t take long to reach the other side and make my way back to Ankermi’s

The next morning, I had an early morning snorkel out the front of the homestay where there were lots of fish and the early morning light illuminated the rocks so it was like a maze. I had breakfast, packed my gear and off I went in the direction of Moni.

Indonesia - Sumbawa - Periscopes - surf, HIKE, motorcycle - April 2010

Periscopes is a bit of a distance from Lakey Beach. Like most breaks around the area transport is required or else be prepared for a long walk.

The motorcycle ride to Pericopes can go two ways:

1. Along the road – We drove along the main road swerving around the potholes, goats, horses and whatever. Just before the large sign announcing the beginning of Hu’u village there is a dirt track which follows a canal leading the surf at Periscopes. Along this track there are a number of makeshift plastic sheet homes and huts. It is quite a sight passing people living, preparing food, washing and bathing along the edge of the track and canal. Most seem to be itinerant field workers.

The track becomes very bumpy and narrow passing tall elephant grasses and rice fields. Eventually the track ends and the bikes are parked and we climb over a small bamboo fence and walk the short distance to the beach.
2. The second way is via the beach. There is a sandy track to Nungas then it is over the small sand dunes and down onto the ‘hard’ beach sand. The ride is exciting, especially, while holding on to your surfboard. Now and again the bike would spin out when the sand became too soft. There is a small shallow river crossing, where all control of the bike is just about gone. Better to walk this section. It is a cool way to get to the surf and far quicker than the road.

Periscopes is a right reef break. It is a fun, fast, variable and good wave.

10 April 2010 – sunny

We had our first surf at Periscopes late in the afternoon. It was about 1 metre plus with just a few guys out. A great wave though the wind was a bit strong.

11 April 2010 – sunny

We had morning surf at Periscopes at 1 metre. Fun!

The afternoon surf was blown out by onshore winds. We had a walk on the reef during the low tide. Lots of sea creatures!

Looked again in the afternoon but it was blown out so we went reef walking.

12 April 2010 – sunny

Once again a morning surf at about 1 metre plus. There were some good waves.

13 April 2010 – sunny

We had very early surf at Periscopes. There were only two of us out for the first hour. Great waves! After two hours the crowd increased heaps and it became a little intense. Luckily, I was inshore by then and watched the tension and drop-ins mount.

Indonesia - Bali - 1982

Not many photos but it was an age of non-digital. I met lots of people and motorcycled around the island. Travelled on local boat to Nusa Lembongan.