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World Travelling with Mark And Lilly
I have been surfing for nearly twenty years and from day one Nias has been on my surf radar for some time now. I've seen it in all the surf magazines and heard stories from the likes of Ande and Jock regarding 50 pence a night places that you can pee in the sea, so when Lilly and I decided to take on the mission of getting to Nias we didn't know what we were letting ourselves in for.
To start with, after being fed up with Bali and in particular Kuta, the mission was set to make it to Nias in one piece. So we booked our flights from Bali to Jakarta, the onto Maden. Well after a lot of hassle with the price and waiting for what felt like a dogs age in Jakarta airport we arived in Medan, tired and hungry. We looked in the Lonely Planet, for a nice friendly hotel in the capital and ended up with stinking hell hole for 60,000 rp, about 3 pounds fifty. I blame the guide, probably our fault, the LP is 4 years old! Our plan was going to fly to Nias and get the boat back, well to cut a long story short, we got the plane out and get the boat back. However the day before we were going to get the boat, it sunk!!! with still about 40 people missing now.. so we thought better and flew back at more expensive.
After ariving in Nias airport, we bumped into a Portugal bloke we talked to in Medan airport. He kindly offered us a lift with him to Lagundri bay in his chartered bus, after a lot of twoing and frowing we setteled on a price and got going on the three hour leg of the journey to the wave. The trip was good passing a lot of really good waves with no one surfing them, they looked a little shallow, but picture postcard perfect!
Arriving around the bay the driver pointed out that the wave in the distant was infact Lagundri bay. I didn't know what to think, i have never seen a wave like it. From the point of take off the wave just peeled down the point like a machine, wave after wave in the same spot, was I dreaming???? or have I come to my paradise?
We pulled into the little village after passing about 6 or more bridges broken down by the earth quake now being repaired by the UN and various other charities that are claiming money from the state. The village itself was pretty unharmed in the tsunami and the quake, but he reef and the whole island rose by about 1 metre. The wave itself is actually better, its breaks in smaller swell, so for the surfers of the world its all good.
Our accommodation was good and cheap, 30,000 a night, 2 english pounds! with a view to die for. Looking over one of the worlds best right handers drinking Bintang and banana smoothies, it doesn't get any better than that.....
We met a lot of good people, Ozzies, Portugeezers, French and digger from NZ, however I wish I could say the sam for the locals. They are under the impression that we have the US doller printed onto our foreheads! We are walking money to them, and they are not affriad to ask for it either. I have been in Indo three times and I have never come accross people like them, not good.
Still having said that, would I go back, dam right. Its a little too easy not to. A quick flight here and there and a quick jump in a taxi and you are there in one of the most beautiful locations in the world with the wave you wouldn't believe exists. What are you waiting for???
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