Hard to believe that over half of the year has
gone by already most of which,,, for me has been spent on the boat.
The last couple of weeks has been having a look around the
west coast of Lombok which has been high on my to do list ever since I was
turned off Bali due to the fact that it had become so busy. Nik still enjoys Bali and usually goes once a
year but with her sister, not me. I had briefly
visited Lombok about 10 years ago when myself and two friends hiked Mount Rinjani
- great trip - and always wanted to return.
First order of business as always was fuel,
water, trash and provisioning. I also
had to get my visa renewed at the immigration office in Mataram. We hired a driver – Sahar - for the better
part of a day to take us shopping in the capital Mataram and points in-between. It was a good day out and we stocked up on
all the essentials and some not so essential items. Although we did not spend a lot of time in
Mataram, the city looks reasonably clean and orderly. It was busy but nowhere near the level
experienced in Bali. Driving from the
marina to Mataram and back took us through the hills one way and then via the
coast for the return. Scenery is
spectacular along the drive. We managed
to find almost all of what we were after in the supermarkets and shops we
visited and we can now start using electronic payment again for most things.
The Medana Bay Marina is a fairly low-key facility
with only moorings but with haul out and hard stand capability and, as such, there is a bit of a cruiser community there and you get to meet different
people just in passing or at the bar/restaurant. More than likely you will bump into the same
people further on the journey. There
were a few boats getting ready for the southern run to Cape Town. I was going to haul Sea Otter here but have
reconsidered and will now do it in Malaysia. That gives us a few more days to have a look around.
We left Medana Bay after three days having
completed our chores and headed across to the northern Gili Islands which are
very close offshore. The Gili’s as they
are referred to comprise three separate low lying islands Gili Trewangan (the
Ibiza of Indonesia) is the biggest, Gili Meno (the quiet island) and Gili Air
(the laid back option). They are all supposed to be really charming in
their own way. We picked up a mooring
off the waterfront of Gili T. It was
pretty chaotic with small boats and large ferries moving in, out and through
the mooring field. There is no such
thing as reducing your speed to reduce wake effects which makes for a lively
anchorage. We got ashore and managed to
confirm a mooring for the next three nights which left us free to explore all
three islands.
The waterfront area where the ferries come in on Gili T is pretty built up with shops, restaurants, bars and tour operators. There are no cars on any of the Gili’s but lots of electric scooters and push bikes or walking is the way you get around. There are also small carts pulled by ponies used for tourists and to carry any cargo or baggage around the island. They are fitted with lots of small bells and so you can hear them jingling around the island. It’s pretty busy but once out of this harbour front area it calms down. Behind the waterfront is a myriad of small streets with homes, homestays, small resorts, AirBnBs etc and more restaurants and shops. The island coast is ringed by bigger hotels and resorts.
We hired an electric scooter on Gili T and spent the day slowly touring around exploring the island and enjoying the access to good food and drink.
The next day we took Wee Otter across to Gili
Meno to snorkel the reefs and visit a turtle sanctuary. The snorkeling was disappointing partly
because we have come from some spectacular snorkeling in Raja Ampat and Komodo
so our bar is set quite high. We beached
the dingy and then walked around the island to the turtle sanctuary which was
very basic but nice to see the conservation work going on. Gili Meno is definitely very much the quiet
alternative - there are still resorts
and homestays but just low key.
For the final day we used a fast boat to cross
to Gili Air and hired a couple of push bikes to get around. Gili Air has a really laid back feel to it
but it is still quite busy. There are
lots of beach bars and restaurants but they seem to be a bit more personal than
those on Gili T. Again the interior of
the island is a maze of narrow lanes lined with various interesting shops and
restaurants.
It was great to see the Gili’s after hearing
about them. The islands are small but
would certainly be a nice spot for a few days if you need to get away from
everything and slow down. Gili T was a
bit full on for us but certainly Gili Air was really appealing. The lack of motor vehicles on all three of
the islands is a real positive. We would
have stayed longer but the anchorages are limited and not that appealing. Instead we headed 20NM to the Gilli’s in the
south west. During the transit we ran across some kind of local boat regatta - there were over one hundred local boats on the water crossing from Bali to Lombok.
The southern gili’s are a group of islands off the southwest coast. The main ones being Gili Gede and Gili Asahan. These islands are no where near as developed as the northern three but still have a few low key resorts dotted about them. There are numerous protected anchorages around the islands all within a short distance of each other. We anchored in a couple of different spots and spent nine days relaxing, exploring, snorkeling, walking and utilizing the onshore facilities for sunset drinks and meals. It was like being on holiday.
We also visited a famous surf spot called Desert Point – not to surf but to watch the surfers and take in a spectacular wave and the sunset. There is something about sunrise and sunset here in this part of the world and we rarely miss one now. The light is surreal and in west Lombok you have a sunrise which frames Mt Rinjani and then the sunset silhouettes Mt Agung on Bali. Its sensational and made more special with a drink (at sunset only of course).
We are now back in the marina – although a different one. Marina Del Ray is on Gili Gede. We have taken a mooring here and the boat will stay here for the next 4 weeks while Nik and I spend some time onshore in Lombok and Bali.
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