Sumba is a spectacular island, an amazing mix of stone age animist culture, villagers fighting against poverty, malaria and lack of water, a high end eco resort and an array of surf breaks unrivalled anywhere else in the world. We were privileged to spend the first part of our Christmas holiday on this barely discovered Indonesian island and it will be a destination to which we will return.
The villagers of Sumba have a fierce pride in their traditional culture and until barely 40 years ago still practiced brutal tribal war and headhunted their enemies. Many of them have now converted to Christianity but retain strong links with the traditional culture, including their incredible thatched roof huts with the vaulted roofs, where ponies and livestock live on the ground floor, the family above on a raised wooden level and the grain sacks above that again. We had the pleasure of visiting a village, seeing the Ikat weaving in process, meeting the kids and seeing village life in action. Watching kids with hands full of chickens, fishermen stringing fish on poles of wood, watching women and children carrying huge earthenware jars of water on their head as they made their way to and from wells was an otherworldly experience. We also attended the local weekly market and saw all manner of things being bought and sold, including great swathes of marijuana and betel nut along with live produce. Cassy bought a live chicken from a little girl, then promptly donated it right back to her when we realised we were supposed to slaughter and eat it: I’ve never seen a happier kid! We visited a medical clinic run by the generous benefactors of the island, the Sumba Foundation, who are doing superb work in treating and trying to eradicate malaria. Donations from foreigners, including a large slab of the fees we pay to stay at the resort, sustain this very worthwhile program.
The surf was just sublime. I have never before witnessed such mechanical perfection. The glistening water, pristine coral reefs, light off shore winds and good sized swell just didn’t relent during our stay. At the end of the week, I was totally exhausted after 3 sessions a day in the water. The only thing that saved me from collapse was the need to eat and the assurance that on rare occasions the tide wasn’t right, even though it still looked fantastic to me! On the first two days, I travelled with the only two other surfers staying at that time to Wanakaka, a 30 minute drive away. Here we pulled up at a traditional fishing village and were quite the hit, then paddled out to a right hand reef break about 200 metres off shore. Wave after wave just rolled in, hit the reef and barreled, making it out to a deep channel where village fishing boats lolled…I could feel every bit of tension just melting away in that first morning. The famous Nihiwatu left hand break, sometimes also referred to as “Occy’s Left” of even “God’s Left” certainly lived up to expectations. The wave while a fast sectioned left hander was also amazingly forgiving, almost looking after you if you got your feet in the wrong spot, or misjudged a turn or two. I got a lot more confident with my surfing as each day went by: if only I could wrap this wave up and take it with me wherever I go!
The resort was astounding. Cassy and I both gave it 10/10 on all levels. The “bungalow” accommodation was 5 star stunning. The size of our bungalow and the appointments were beyond anything we’ve experienced before, but the hardest thing to get used to was the service. There just seemed to be people around to do anything you wanted at any time. We could eat our meals at any time we chose. We could request private dining by the pool or at a deserted beach. We could order from the menu, or just request anything else within reason if that didn’t take our fancy. We found it very hard to get used to, but by the time we left, we were getting into the swing of things! Every meal was gourmet, lunch and dinner 3 course (plus anything else you wanted) and breakfast buffets were just the start before you ordered your eggs how you liked them, or perhaps your mango pancakes? They had a little boutique shop, where Cass bought a beautiful silver pendant in the logo design, made by French jewelry designer Lorenz, who was staying at the resort with his family and was a great guy to surf with. There was a book exchange, two pools, 2 spa huts (where we both had a full body massage…wow!) and yoga hall. When I got out of the surf, a man came and took my board from me, racked it for the next session, then got me a drink from the bar after handing me a towel: it was a little unsettling at first, but we realised soon enough that it was a way to employ lots of villagers and give even more back to the island community.
The week was very, very special. We have so many memories, so many highlights; I can barely scratch the surface here. Suffice to say that after returning, we’ve been quite content to just potter around home with a few little outings through the week, really chilling out and letting our Sumba experience sink in and take hold. We don’t think anything they throw at us at work this week could possible dent our spirits: Or could it?!
Photos are courtesy of our slide show (without surf). For surf shots, check out pointyhat and also this movie I made, which has some video and stills Cass took as well as some experimental video I took with a little camera strapped to my head…interesting! It was a lot more interesting before YouTube stripped off my audio track…something about copyright: who knew you couldn’t use the latest Wolfmother tracks on your own video!
