Travel for Wellbeing

Adventure and variety is a great way to boost wellbeing — even if you travel from your armchair…

Indonesians have a saying they like to use often; ‘jam karet’ this literally means ‘rubber time’. Which is there peculiar, yet very coherent way of describing the flexible time and lifestyle on the islands. And nothing quite says ‘Island life’ like some harmonious jungle palm trees, coconuts, beach monkeys, mountains, waterfalls, crystal clear waters, perfect waves and a whole lot of serenity, accompanied by fresh fruit and produce.

Lombok much like Bali and its surrounding islands is rich with culture. But for this little segment I want to write about a different type of richness; adventure and exploration. Now being an adventure lover and a water baby, I did my research and centred myself in Kuta, Lombok for the first week. Here I knew I had endless opportunities to find some hidden gems and hopefully score some waves to surf with just the husband and I, because for me, happiness and adventure is best shared.

After the 20 minute plane hop over from Bali we hired the typical scooters, which I highly recommend you get used to riding this solo before you try with someone on the back, I learnt this the hard way.

Day one and I awoke with the sun leaking through the curtains and the sound of some seriously hungry roosters. I Opened my curtain to a postcard perfect beach sunrise. We trekked on our scooter through the dirty, bumpy jungle tracks to get a spot called Gerupuk, and the sore bum from the ride was well worth it.

Surfing over reef can be quite scary so we warmed up with a semi beginner’s wave. Gerupuk can only be surfed by a boat ride to the reef. If you are a beginner or just want to surf crystal blue waters, soft rolling waves and with magical mountains as your background, then Gerupuk is the place for you, make sure you go really early to avoid any crowds in busy seasons.

Based at the Novotel in Lombok we had endless opportunities even in our down time. Novotel has some super fun things to do, like some sunset yoga (great for those post surfing muscles and to really switch into holiday zen mode) cooking classes, beach soccer and volleyball, movies on the beach and so many more relaxing things like massages and facials.

Just a bridge walk over from the Novotel is a surf break called ‘Seger’. This was one of the funnest surf breaks with only a handful of locals out. Most of the locals are really friendly, they even nicknamed me “Sheila” after hearing my Aussie accent, and would pressure me onto the bigger waves “Go Shiela, Go!”

After surfing these two spots for a few days, one of the locals told us about a spot about 30 minutes scooter ride called ‘Air Guling’, and that on the way back we should stop on at a café overlooking Kuta Lombok called ‘Ashtari’. Without much hesitation, we took him at his word and were not disappointed in the slightest.

Air guling has a left and right reef break, you can catch a boat or paddle (takes about 10 minutes to paddle) I split ways with husband to chase the left break. With one other guy and a local kid who was butt naked, but hey “jam karet” right?

We surfed this all morning long until our hearts were content, body insanely sunburnt and bellies rumbling with hunger, we made the exhausting paddle in and headed to Ashtari. This café is insane!!! The bottom level is an open deck for sunrise and sunset yoga, and the top is a giant café both overlooking Kuta Lombok, a view I never quite got over. We plonked down onto a giant daybed as we ate our super yummy meals, Ashtari even grow most of their own produce. Safe to say I lost track of how many times we came back here.

Quick side note, if you love healthy foods and are vegan, vegetarian or even love meat, my favourite places that I highly reccomend for price, taste and quality are easily, Ashtari, Milk espresso, KRNK restaurant and El Bazaar.

Okay, back to adventure. After a week in Kuta Lombok we headed to Senggigi. Planning a week of thrills followed by a week of chills was a good idea. Sheraton Senggigi was absolutely amazing, not just for what they offered, but the location for us to chill out and explore.

After chasing waves for a while, we decided to chase some waterfalls and do some snorkelling trips. So we took the hour drive through the winding countryside and up the mountains to see the Sendang gile and Tiu Kelep waterfalls. The first one is an easy walk to, the second a little farther hike and quite tricky for us as it rained for a lot of the time and we had to wade through water and climb some mini falls to get there, I personally loved this all the more and as the saying goes, “no good thing is easy”.

After a sweaty hike in Indonesian heat, a refreshing waterfall swim is most welcoming. We dived straight in and stared in awe at the jungle waterfalls above us. After our walk back through the rain we stopped in at one of the only cafes. The mist settling low in the valleys and traditional Balinese huts surrounding was the perfect view to end our day trip.

Last up on our list was the Gili islands, think real island life. There are only bikes on the island, it took me 30 minutes to ride the island the whole way round on Gili Trawangan. You can take a boat out or just walk straight off the island for some of the best snorkelling the ocean has to offer; turtles, fish, coral and so so much more.

I had previously heard this island described as the “fun, or party island”. They definitely got the fun part right. So so much to do, in terms of waves it was too small on the days we were there, but hire out a stand up paddle board and we could get onto the tiny little half a foot waves. And after a day in the sun the food options are endless.

On our last night here we were riding our bikes around at sunset after dinner looking for something sweet for dessert. We didn’t get dessert, but we found something pretty darn sweet. The most pumping, legit little Reggae club, pictures of Bob Marley everywhere and five Indonesians with their dread locks and incredible voices. The dance floor was packed. So we ditched our bikes, and traded in dessert for the dance floor.

Lombok and the Gili islands really is a rich mix of thrills, relaxation, hidden untouched beauty, incredible food and endless water activities. Thankyou for the rich memories, satisfied stomach, sun kissed skin, reef cuts, new yoga moves, and local sayings. Safe to say, I’ll see you again Lombok, Sampai Nanti (I’ll see you later) for now and Jam Karet!

Chasing waves & waterfalls — by Liv Bosshard

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