First OS surf trip.

[brendo]

take a $20 first aid kit, and add a few things. southern cross travel insurance are pretty good,
sorted us out no worries when we got stuck in Fiji in the 2012 megafloods. cheapest I could find also.
ill be in contact with you soon about borrowing the board bag.

[brendo]

lent a snowboard bag to a, ahem, 'mate' who was going to japan. 6 months later I asked for it, he swore
he never had it, which was bullshit. but imagine the shame you would feel from your realsurf brothers
if you don't return it...oh the shame...the shame...lol

[marauding mullet]

[quote="Matticus Finch"]Do you have any photos you can share Mentone? I'm still quite keen on South Sumatra if I can afford it, I'd rather see normal photos than the publicity shots./quote]
I can show you dozens of pics like these that I took over the last couple of weeks, but I'm still conflicted about whether I would go back there as opposed to somewhere else. I'll try to explain why as clearly as I know how to help you make a decision.
Firstly, it's the land of the left hander. The 2 pics of a right are Banana Island, a 1 hour drive to Krui then an hour boat ride, and there's nowhere to stay and no warung (food joint) so it's a day trip only. The right was dredging on low tide so we didn't surf it.
The main wave (Ujung Bocur AKA Karang Nyimbor) where all the surf accommodation is, was consistent while we were there. Around 3-4 foot, apparently it's almost never flat. The trouble was, what is normally a quite long wave was sectiony, breaking wide and just generally frustrating to surf. Mixed in with the consistent 3-4 foot swell was a larger (maybe an entirely different swell?) 7-8 foot swell which only came through (to catch everyone out of position) every 15-30 minutes. Getting pushed inside by those clean-up sets meant a looong paddle back out.
Bottom line was, even though the pics look good, in reality it was difficult to score more than a handful of decent waves in any session. There were a couple of young blokes from Ulladulla there for a few days who were quite good surfers, and even they became frustrated with the difficult nature of the wave.

Apparently during the season, things line up much better and the wave is pretty good, but then you've got 35 or so guys out, not my cup of tea.
We also surfed Mandiri Beach a few times, an endless stretch of beach starting about 20 minutes ride from the camp. Very powerful, punchy beachies that come up from deep water, so you don't see much coming.
There are other waves around but we never saw them looking much good, Ujung is the star attraction.

I'm no hardcore surf rat anymore so I was more than satisfied with what we got, but I suspect my 26 year old son was expecting more.

[PeepeelaPew]

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[PeepeelaPew]

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[alakaboo]

Travel insurance direct are good.
As Legion said, read the fine print, it may have changed

[swvic]

After your first stamp, you'll be amping for the 2nd, then the 3rd etc. You'll have a great time regardless of anything

[PeepeelaPew]

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[marauding mullet]

You asked about Nias in another thread, I was there in 1983, but I probably can't help you much.
When I went, just getting there would have had Bear Grylls calling for his Mummy, there wasn't much there, and even the wave itself is apparently different now.
I'm sure there's plenty of Real Surfers who can help with more up to date advice.

I can give a more recent account about Lombok however, I was there a couple of years ago.
Surf-wise I wouldn't cross it off the list personally, it's a great place but the motorbike travelling to the West of Kuta was arduous, for little reward. I was based in Kuta (Lombok Kuta) which is central. I wasn't really back into surfing yet at the time and just hired some old brown dunga. The waves to the East of Kuta are O.K. down at Grupuk, it means boat travel but not far and it's cheap enough. You can actually stay right there at Grupuk too and I think the waves may suit your requirements from what I read at the beginning of this thread.
There is a place you can base yourself called heaven on the Planet, Which may? have it's own waves..I don't know much about it other than it's a bit expensive. Haven't got much in the way of pics, except that the whole area looks like this..

[petulance]

The two breaks directly in front of Heaven on a Planet are Inside Ekas and Outside Ekas. I'm not sure of the conditions in which they break but they are definitely more fickle than the waves in Gerupuk Bay. You would need to get local knowledge on how it breaks else it would be a wasted day trip from Gerupuk or Kuta.

[Beanpole]

Spent a fair bit of time researching this last year but when we got to bali the cyclone off WA had stopped all the ferries to Lombok. Fishermen couldn't go out and the east coast of bali had waves so we didn't go.

Went to Lombok 20 odd years ago. I imagine the vibe is a bit different down south now but I found it a bit unfriendly back then. West coast around sengigi was great and actually surfed the little right reef there. Very shallow with a small reef shark for company and no one else. Didn't really score waves down around kute but the beaches are very pretty.

[offshore1]

While Matty's getting his shit sorted can anyone tell me where the best place to go from Thailand might be?
I'll be visiting my son in Bangkok for two weeks in May when he will have a break between classes. I like what I've read in the Maldives thread.
Reckon that'd be a good call?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Matticus, did you consider the Maldives?

[petulance]

Went to Lombok 20 odd years ago. I imagine the vibe is a bit different down south now but I found it a bit unfriendly back then.

The road from Kuta to Gerupuk is dodgy at night. I have been informed that there are bandits on that stretch of road and foreigners shouldn't travel on that road using mopeds at night. Vans and cars are ok though.

Oh and some Russians are developing an 80+ seater surf/yoga camp near Outsides Rights in Gerupuk Bay. They were only grading the hill and laying the foundation when I was last there but it probably won't be long until you get whole boatloads of Alana Blanchard wannabes being pushed onto waves at Outsides.

[PeepeelaPew]

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[Trev]

While Matty's getting his shit sorted can anyone tell me where the best place to go from Thailand might be?
I'll be visiting my son in Bangkok for two weeks in May when he will have a break between classes. I like what I've read in the Maldives thread.
Reckon that'd be a good call?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Matticus, did you consider the Maldives?

Gonna call in to Oz on your way home?

[offshore1]

If I can afford toTrev. Kinda be silly not to. It's just a short pedal from Terry Hills to Andy's isn't it?

[Trev]

If I can afford toTrev. Kinda be silly not to. It's just a short pedal from Terry Hills to Andy's isn't it?

Pretty much.
All the on-line shit aside, he's a good guy to have a coffee with.
Pity you can't stop by the Sunny Coast.
Between Fong and me we'd have a board or three you could use.

[PeepeelaPew]

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