Postcards From Sumatra

The journey starts with a 40 minute flight from Jakarta to Banda Lampung which is the largest city in southern Sumatra.

A 6 hour car ride (if there has been no rain in the mountains, longer if it has ) and we arrived at Ombak Indah our stay for the next 3 weeks. I was here last year in April for 3 weeks with a couple of mates and had the place to our selves this year I went with a mate from Sunshine beach and spent another 3 weeks. The area is what I would have imagined Bali would have been like 30 or so years ago, no nightlife or tourism, just little villages and friendly people.

Ombak Indah is one of 5 losmans situated around the main break. It having the prime location. It was built about 2000 and was the first to open up in the area. You can sit and have breakfast and watch the left peeling down the reef. Magic. The accommodation is basic but comfortable and the food is great, local cuisine of fish, chicken or meat with rice and Veggies’ and plenty of it. Nev and Anne, the hosts, are very welcoming as well as the staff who always make sure your stay is relaxing and memorable.

When you’re sitting in the line up and watching the sunrise over the Volcano silhouetting the coconut palms with the prayers from the mosques floating out over the water you certainly know you are not on the Sunshine Coast getting an early paddle in before work. In fact work is the last thing on your mind. The joys of travel.

The most consistent wave is out the front the losman. A long left with a great racy wall that picks up heaps of swell. It was 4 - 6 ft for the duration of our stay, with a few big days thrown in. Watch out for reef and urchins as they are pretty much the only obstacles in the line up. When it gets too big out the front there are other waves nearby that start to fire. So all options are covered.

The biggest crowd at any one time was maybe 15 or so surfers, which the left handles comfortably. By staying at the losman you have the luxury of picking your times to surf in between shifts. Most of the time you are out there with maybe a half dozen surfers. With the nature of the place, being laid back and mellow, that seems to transfer to the water. Everyone just waits there turn and all seem to get plenty of waves. No major hassling which is a real plus. Not like the mayhem of other areas of Indo.

To the south (a short drive) is WJ. The pipe is an intense left barrel. Hard core when it's on. Best surfed on the higher tides if you want to keep all your skin intact.

 To the north (about 45 min) is a hollow right that goes dry at the end, there again best surfed with a bit of water on it. There is another nice gutsy left a short walk further up the reef. A short drive north of the losman is a left peak and a long fast right that starts working when out the front is huge. There are also a couple beachies nearby, but you have to get in early before the trades kick in.

There are plenty of other breaks in the area, when the conditions are right. There is something for everyone. So if you’re after a laid back surf trip with plenty of wave options but not the tourist nightmare this area is worth checking out. Just take heaps of books, a good first aid kit, spare surfing equipment, some sounds and an open mind with a sense of adventure.

You might be pleasantly surprised and come home with a lot of fine memories of waves, new friends and a taste of a different laidback culture. Like anywhere now in Indo it is becoming more and more crowded, however this little part of Sumatra has been immune to all this but for how long who can say? Not overpriced and very laidback.

Check out www.freelinesurf.com.au for more information.