We approached Indonesia with some trepidation because of stories about boat theft, sailing in convoy for security and corruption amongst officials. As this story unfolds you will see all these worries were for us, unfounded.
We were amongst the boats that arrived in Kupang on the 23rd of September for a pre-arranged meeting with all of the officials who would need to sign us into Indonesia. As a prerequisite to our arrival we had received visas in Darwin together with a cruising permit which we only obtained because we had been “invited” to join the Sail Komodo 2013 Rally, an event that had actually finished before we had arrived! In the event apart from one official who had his beady eyes on Debbie’s Grey Goose vodka (and ended up with a bar of chocolate), the process was smooth and organised. We had four officials on board and then went ashore where quarantine, customs, immigration and port authority had set up stalls to process our entry. We had been helped ashore, as there was only a beach landing for our RIB, by a large group of beach boys who charged $5 a day to haul our dinghy up and down the beach, always smiling. We were legally in Indonesia but Kupang was not for us to hang around. It’s predominantly a commercial area and it’s main claim to fame is it’s where the Japanese formally surrendered at the end of WW2. We were treated to life in the fast lane when we had an half hour taxi ride to a cafe and witnessed the apparent chaos of their traffic systems. It seems everyone in Kupang were not where they wanted to be and were tearing around in scooters and motorcycles to get where they did want to be. Although notionally they drive on the left, to us many appeared to see this as optional. We since learned that no one uses their mirrors, the guy in front rules the road and you need to keep out of his way. Consequently we did not hire a car but used taxis.
Amelie’s washing machine decided to die in Kupang and after hours spent trying to fix it plus cross words, we decided the best use for it was as an anchor. Needless to say, the machine is still on board with the option of replacing it in Durban. It will be interesting to see how we get the old one out and the new one in, hopefully with some help, a strong rope and an electric winch. Watch for further updates on this story.
We embarked on a two night sail to Lehok Ginggo, on the west coast of Rindja. Three OWR boats had a very comfortable 24 hours in this beautiful bay, viewing monkeys running along the beach in the late afternoon, together with the infamous partying. The following afternoon we had a fantastic sail to Leehok Buaja (Crocodile Bay). Swimming here was not an option voluntarily. Unfortunately after a very enjoyable afternoon and evening with others, we said our goodnights and attempted to board our dinghies. A slip produced a domino effect with Debbie closest to the water......yes, she went in. With the crocodile in mind, Stephen, almost instantaneously hauled her out. Everyone sobered up fast. Earlier on in the day Stephen had witnessed a crocodile erupting out of the water to attack a huge sea eagle who for the third time was trying to scoop the fish. The sea eagle obviously hadn’t heard the story about lighting the third cigarette whilst in the trenches. Just as well Debbie didn’t fall in three times! We actually saw three different breeds of sea eagle, red kites and monkeys playing on the beach and on the sand flats when the tide went out. We also witnessed a sea eagle seeing off a beautiful blue/grey heron. The noise was deafening. The heron obviously encroached on the eagle’s fishing patch. We had the most fantastic wildlife experience whilst in this anchorage, understandably we stayed longer. We went ashore at dawn to see the Komodo Dragons in the wild. Ugly, huge lumps of flesh who can run for short distances up to 30mph. Their favourite repast being the indigenous water buffalo whom they poison by scratching and biting and then stalking them for up to a month, watching them become weaker and finally feasting off them, sometimes before they die.
We then set off for Gili Lawa Laut, a small island just off Komodo Island. The snorkeling was fantastic here, beautiful soft and hard coral. Large Napoleon Wrasse swimming close by, showing their sides, which we interpreted as aggressive but we were later told that they enjoy their sides being stroked. One look at their sharp teeth put us off going anywhere near them. Masses of tropical fish in the clear water and sea turtles swimming around Amelie. Geoff witnessed two dolphins following us as we snorkeled, we were oblivious. Once again we fell in love with the place and we stayed for longer before setting sail for Bali. Our fuel supply was low and therefore whilst all the other boats were going north of the island chain, mainly motoring, we sailed south to the forecast wind. The fuel is not only used for propulsion but for the generator and watermaker. It was imperative that we used what was left sensibly. We experienced an exhilarating sail through a narrow strait west of Komodo Island where at one point our instruments tried to tell us we only had 3 metres of water. Bit scary because at the time we were in a rough tidal race and our brains told us we were heading into a shoal. Our charts were correct and we had 100 metres of water. We then had fun with Motor Vessel Srikardi who was on collision course and every time we changed direction to avoid her, she changed direction, seemingly to hit us. At 2 miles distance we called her on the VHF and she claimed to be having problems with her steering, we finally passed her starboard to starboard at a safe distance. We had two nights of sailing to look forward to before our scheduled arrival in Bali. The scenery along the southern coast was unbelievable, some of the best this trip. Huge cathedral like arches had been etched by the sea out of the cliffs and at various points there were Hindu monasteries perched on the cliff edge. We witnessed volcanoes spewing out clouds of ash together with forest fires along the coastline. Dolphins were everywhere during this trip mainly fishing, not interested with playing with our bow waves. It was not only the dolphins that were fishing but we passed countless small fishing boats, mostly at night when the sea and wind were calmer. Night watches required numerous course changes to avoid collision, some were lit and others only switched on a torch when we were close. As dawn arrived you could make out black blips in the waves, the last morning we spent several hours hand steering our way through the fleets of boats. We also witnessed what we think was a humpback whale who dived just in front of Amelie, fluking as it dived.
Arriving in Bali after sunset was not an option because of the outlying reefs and because the port is closed at night. At one stage in the day with the help of the tide, we were doing 9 knots and it looked like we were going to arrive at around 4pm. That plan was scuppered when at 2pm the tide changed and we were doing 1kt with 15 miles to go. We diverted to Lembogan Island where there was a safe night anchorage. On the way in we came through a tidal race that made Start Point look like the Serpentine. It was exciting and turbulent. We thought we saw above the headland tens of hang gliders but when we spied them through the bins, they were spectacular kites, apparently a local tradition. We anchored up before sunset with our entry to Bali delayed until the next day. A disrupted night’s sleep due to the tide saw us leaving as soon as the tide turned and we arrived in Bali International Marina at 10.30 hours, with 50 litres of diesel left out of our 750 litre tank which is thankfully now full.
Before we could explore Bali we had three days of sorting out to do on Amelie. Stephen had broken a tooth underneath a crown and had developed a dental abscess which was being treated with oral antibiotics which we carry on board plus a liberal quantity of gin. He was seen in the Dental Clinic on Monday and the tooth removed with difficulty. The wounded soldier is repairing nicely.
Together with two other OWR boats, Amelie had developed a crack in the aluminium foil that houses her main headsail. The parts had been flown to Bali from Germany and two days were spent with the able assistance of Eddie from the OWR support team and the lower three metres of the headsail foil were replaced. Debbie spent a while in the anchor locker rewiring the headsail furler, often disappearing out of sight and causing some surprise to Eddie who was working on another foil on the pontoon beside Amelie.
Wally, our hydrogenerator, in trying to claim the prize of our most unreliable piece of kit, had broken down once more, mainly due to poor workmanship in Nuku Hiva and Port Denereau, Fiji, in the previous repairs. Wally was sent off to a stainless steel workshop and is now looking better than when he was new.
By Wednesday morning we were ready to explore Bali and hired a taxi for the day. Our plan was to visit some of the Hindu temples and view some of the internal countryside. We took advice from the other boats and wanted to see the best sights without being dragged around the Taxi driver’s favourite shopping haunts. We did our deal on the price for the day and set off for the central mountains and in particular the sacred Hindu temple on the lake of Danau Bratan. This was a two hour drive from the marina and once we escaped the countless shops and stone carving workshops we saw the fantastic rice paddy fields in terraces circling the mountains. Their history dating back to the first Chinese occupation in 2,500BC. We were also to learn that it was an auspicious day for weddings and throughout the villages we saw decorative evidence of this. Bali is the only Indonesian island which is predominantly Hindu and their devotion to their Gods is evident everywhere you looked. We spent an hour at the temple witnessing various processions and acts of devotion in the most beautiful setting. Slightly out of place were large scale disney cartoon animals for the unmissable photo opportunity. On the way to the Royal temple, we requested to stop for lunch and enjoy the traditional suckling pig. This was the only disappointment of the day. We stopped at a local diner and ate cold food which was not appetising. This was not typical and we will return to enjoy the real mccoy.
We visited the 15th century Pura Taman Ayun temple in Mengwi, also known as the royal temple. The quietness was palpable interrupted by the Cockerels kept in ornate cages surrounding the main temple. We later discovered that these cockerels were used for fighting without the betting. They were used as an offering to the Gods.
Finally we were taken to Ubud, the main cultural heart of Bali but a major tourist destination. Here we went shoe shopping for Stephen as yet another pair of sandals have bitten the dust. His shoe needs are quite particular and at one stage Debbie thought that the whole of Bali could not offer him what he required. He settled on a pair of grass slippers which were hard to walk in. Within minutes we were in an European surf shop buying another pair. The following day during our provisioning, he managed to buy just what he wanted and Debbie insisted that he bought several pairs. During our shoe quest we did enjoy a decent espresso coffee made from Balinese coffee beans but did need to fend off numerous young girls offering massage services, mainly to Stephen.
The Sacred Monkey temple in Ubud was stunning and guess what, there were thousands of monkeys of all shapes and sizes. It was great to get out of the heat and walk through a small part of the temple’s grounds. This must be heaven for the monkeys as they are regularly fed in a jungle habitat. The temple is covered in monkeys, grooming and playing of the Balinese Macaque variety. We watched other tourists much braver than us allowing the monkeys climb all over them for that golden photo opportunity. We gave them a respectful berth. We returned to the marina around 7pm having seen some of the true Bali.
It wouldn’t be our blog unless we said something about food. The onsite marina cafe had reasonable food at reasonable prices and it was cheaper to eat there than eating our precious provisions. We had two very nice dinners at Balinese restaurants, very different from one another.
Visiting Bali it would have been remiss not to have experienced food at Teluk Jimbaran (Jimbaran Bay) at sunset. We arrived as the sun was setting and walked along the white sands with the crashing surf getting closer to the diners, fending off numerous waiters thrusting menus in our direction. As far as the eye could see, the beach was a blanket of candle lit tables along the shore. Eventually after soaking up the atmosphere we chose a seafood warung and chose our fish, how we would like it cooked and sampled the local red wine.....pretty young would be a kind description. The food, company and setting were perfect, a great way to end the day and our taxi driver waited to collect us, which is typical in Bali. The going rate for waiting time is $3 an hour.
Our last night in Bali was an absolute treat and we visited the highly recommended Sardine restaurant in Kerobokan. The restaurant is set in a bamboo pavilion with open air tables overlooking a rice field, torch lit lighting, the atmosphere was elegant but casual. We ate the best food that we have had since arriving in Indonesia.....lobster cooked over coffee wood, baramundi steamed in banana leaves, Grey Goose vodka martinis and puddings to die for. The french chef owner had made his mark. A great send off from Bali.
The following day we had to say goodbye to some of the OWR participants which always leaves a degree of sadness but now we are sailing towards Cocos Keeling very gently.