Sea Otter is swinging gently on a mooring in Medana Bay, Lombok, under the shadow of Mount Rinjani after nearly four months of cruising in Indonesia. There is a green beard of seaweed along the waterline, but apart from that she is looking in remarkably good condition. A few other vessels are moored around us, mainly catamarans, along with a low-key marina facility ashore. The black sand shoreline is ringed by palm trees and local boats. The whole place has a very relaxed vibe, which is very welcome.
We arrived this morning after spending the last week moving from the Komodo area. The more time we spend in this part of the world, the more we like it. Since the last post, we have spent the best part of two weeks exploring the Komodo region and another week making our way across the north of Sumbawa and then to Lombok.
As we already mentioned, Komodo is fantastic — and probably all the more special when you get to experience it in your own vessel. You can avoid the crowds, explore further afield, and spend more time at the spots you like. We found a beach called Long Beach, off Padar Island, and anchored there for five or six days. It was a beautiful spot that could get busy during the day but cleared out by late afternoon, leaving us alone. We could go ashore, buy a beer from one of the local vendors’ shacks, and enjoy the sunset once everyone had left. On our final day there, the Elrora Phinisi turned up and we were happily reunited with the crew.
At Padar we also managed to complete the small trek to the high point with no one else in sight. This was the trek I had flagged during the Phinisi tour because there were simply too many people. We also saw deer on the beach? Who knew?
The
ranger station on Rinca Island was our next stop. We checked in and organised a
tour to see the dragons the following day. At 0700 we were assigned a guide,
Ridwan, and set off on a four-hour walk through the forests. This was such a
great tour — far better than our previous trip on Komodo. Some dragons were
hanging around the visitor centre, giving us close and personal encounters.
During the walk we also came across buffalo, deer, and monkeys. From Rinca we
moved slowly through the park, stopping to snorkel and hike at interesting
spots. At one snorkelling site Nik was lucky enough to see a dugong. We also
enjoyed a spectacular drift snorkel at the top of Komodo.
From Komodo we pushed on to Sumbawa, stopping briefly at a remote island called Gili Banda. Within a couple of days we reached the eastern end of Sumbawa. We probably should have lingered longer on the journey across the top of Sumbawa, but we were both keen to reach Lombok. We did stop at Pulau Moyo to visit the Mata Jitu Waterfall — a great side trip. We had seen very few other yachts on the whole journey, but after we dropped anchor another yacht arrived: Miss Juniper. The next day, as we prepared for the walk to the waterfall, her crew had the same idea and joined us. Steve, Kylie,
and their daughter Zoe are Australians from Melbourne. We hit it off immediately and spent the day together. Zoe reminded us of Calley when she was on Dulcinea — very confident and entertaining.
The waterfall was really pretty, with the main falls feeding a series of swimming pools. Being able to swim in fresh water was a real treat after so long on the boat, especially with our watermaker down and
water being used sparingly. When we got back we had a good look around each other’s boats. Miss Juniper is a Hallberg-Rassy 46 — very comfortable and beautifully finished. I could see Nik being tempted to jump ship! We all ended up having dinner together with a few beers.
Steve had heard about a small island on the way to Lombok called Pulau Bedil, home to a rudimentary resort with a bar. He had been contacted by the manager via a sailing social media app and decided to
stop in. It sounded perfect, so the next morning we sailed the 20 NM with Miss Juniper.
Pulau Bedil is tiny — about the size of a big football oval — and they are building a basic resort on it. The restaurant, bar, and infinity pool are finished, along with critical services, and accommodation has started. We went ashore for drinks and dinner to watch the sunset. A phinisi arrived and disgorged a crowd of backpackers, so it got quite busy. The sunset was spectacular, and we all had a really enjoyable evening. Also moored off the island was a $500 million superyacht called Nord — apparently owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch and kept in out-of-the-way places to avoid impoundment. Very impressive, if a bit over-the-top.
The next day we made an overnight stop on the north coast of Lombok before arriving in Medana Bay the following morning. Miss Juniper has continued on to Bali but will be back next week, and we hope to catch up with them in the Gili Islands.
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