MillersLocal
  • Home
  • Latest Shots
  • Blog
  • Comp news
  • Surf Report
  • SurfGuide
  • PHOTOS
  • Vintage
  • Enviro
  • Shop

Blog

1st week in Paradise

12/21/2014

 
Picture
And on the seventh day it stormed. And we rested. Finally!

Yip, it’s safe to say summer in Indo beats summer back home. Just locked in 6 straight days in the surf, and been having some super fun waves. Bit of a mission to get here but well worth the effort. Stayed overnight in Padang as our flight out to the islands was an early one.

One night in Padang teaches you that lots of things are optional in Indo. Wearing a helmet when riding your scooter. Optional. Driving on the right side of the road. Optional. Using lights on your bike at night. Optional. Stopping at red robots. Very optional. Smoking your ciggie whilst on your bike. Definite. Carrying at least 3 other people with you. Definite. Add a dog. Definite. And yet it all seems to work. In a chaotic kinda way.
Picture
The teeny charter plane that brings you over to the resort is just that, teeny. One seat either side of the “aisle” and they take out all the seats on the one side so the boards can stack in. The breakfast snack box consisted of a coke and a chocolate bar. Guessing Tim Noakes diet ain’t big over here.

It’s hard not to spend the entire flight with your nose pressed against the window, cos as you fly over the myriad of lil islands you can’t help but spot wave after potential wave. A guy on a motorbike buzzes up n down the runway a coupla times before you land – to chase off meandering goats and cows and the kids playing soccer on the tarmac.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Baggage handlers island-style
A short walk from the “airport” (hut with a fence around it) and down to the jetty where the resort boat is waiting to whisk you over to the island. The resort is on its own island, with a beautiful calm white sand beach fringed by swaying palm trees. Welcome to paradise.

Latitude Larry, the resident Labrador, gets his froth on when new guests arrive and swims out to greet you.

Days at the resort follow much the same pattern. Wake up early to get on the boats by 7, and head out for the day hunting the surf. The closest wave is about 10 minutes away, the furthest about 1h20. What’s cool is that outta season the resort guests are the only surfers in the entire island chain, so the only peeps you’re gonna see in the water are those on the boat with you.
Picture
Picture
Resort boats can shunt at 30 knots - meaning the whole island chain is accessible
Weather can be a bit inclement this time of year, as it’s the rainy season in Indo. They get more rain in 30 minutes than we probably get a whole year! But the squalls tend to be over as quickly as they start, and the sun’s back out in no time.

The resort consists of 2 big houses with a central restaurant area. Each house has its own surf guide and boat, accommodating 8 surfers a piece. We lucked into a quiet week to start with, as there’s just us and 2 other guests in our house – meaning maximum crowd in the water is four! It means a super chilled vibe in the surf and plenty of waves for everyone.
Picture
Post surf snacks round the pool
Picture
Dry pack with all the essentials - water bottle and neck pillow for the sleep on the way to and from the surf
Also had my Brazilian surfer stereotype turned on its head. Generally the travelling Brazzo’s we’ve encountered on our trips have been pretty hectic out in the water – snaking each other, let alone anyone else in the water. So it was with trepidation we learned one of our crew was a Brazzo. Turns out he’s a lekker ou. He explained to us it’s the Brazzo’s from Rio you have to watch out for, as they’re the aggro ju-jitsu hustle, drop-in and snake eejits you associate the Brazilian surfer stereotype with. The guys from down south, Sao Paulo area, are way more chilled in the water. Was funny to hear him go on about how the southern guys hate the northern guys cos of the bad rap they give travelling Brazilians.

He went banana's when Medina won the world title. He said Brazil was like a morgue after the disastrous World Cup and everyone's hopes were riding on Gabe. We had random shouts of celebration from him all day, and then had to blow the boats horn when we got back to the camp. The Brazzo's are passionate as hell about surfing, so no doubt celebrations would have gone on long into the night in every coastal town in Brazil.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Total crowd for this session - just the 2 you see in the pic
Surfs been super fun, we’ve already had 6 full days in the water. Waves were pretty average the first 2 days, but the last 4 have been awesome. Nothing big, but just a selection of chest to slightly overhead perfect peelers. A smorgasbord of lefts and rights, points and sucky lil reefs. And with only 4 peeps in the water, it’s hard not to catch  bunch of waves. A lot of the time there’d just be 2 of us whilst the others took a break. Reckon have already had more waves in these few days than in the past 2 months at home.
Picture
Surf guide Rob showing us how to do it
Picture
Even the onshore days are fun
Picture
Super mechanical left
Had my first session with my Billabong Surf Capsule, and was stoked it saved my ass. Literally. Bounced on my butt on the reef after ending up in a really shallow section and the neoprene did a good job of softening the blow. Beats picking bits of coral outta my bum. Plus it’s such a bonus to have a bit of padding on your ribs after a few days.

Went left for the first time in about 10 years. Bit like driving a car without a steering wheel as have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, but such a perfect lil peeling left to practice on reckon I might even be able to do a turn backside by the end of the trip.
Picture
No idea how to go left!
Picture
Staying safe from the sun whilst watching the lefts
Picture
Pay to play
Picture
...but it's worth it
Coming back after a full days surfing is usually followed by a jump in the pool, a coupla beers and then some epic chow. By 9pm everyone’s shattered and hits the sack. Just to repeat it all again the next day. Tough holiday to beat!

Hopefully week 2 will be more of the same!
Picture
R10 a coconut - best energy drink in the world
Picture
Picture
One of my favourite right points in the world
Picture
Long walls with a fun end section to do cutties on
Picture
The long ride home - much of it through a channel between 2 islands that looks like a river
Picture
Sun sets on another great day

Comments are closed.
    Picture
    LATEST POSTS
    More posts HERE

    Author

    Millerslocal

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

Picture
SURF GUIDE
Shit you should know
​Surf safe

Da rules
Gear Guide
​
SURF STUFF
The Boardroom
Greg Smith boards
​Surf Centre
DEETS
Contact us
​Terms & conditions
  • Home
  • Latest Shots
  • Blog
  • Comp news
  • Surf Report
  • SurfGuide
  • PHOTOS
  • Vintage
  • Enviro
  • Shop