Two Month Surf Trip in Indonesia

This past fall, I spent two months on a surf trip in Indonesia. It was an absolute adventure. The purpose of this trip was simple: to spend as much time in the water as possible, really get into the groove of surfing, see more of the world, and live a little bolder. Although my life in Austin is absolutely wonderful, and I have the most amazing support group, I knew I was itching for more. Just so happened, my boyfriend was finishing school and another summer working on the lake. So this fall, we packed up and left with two surfboards, a foil, and way too many bikinis.

Wilson and I started out in Uluwatu, where we spent most of our time foiling. We foiled Temples in Uluwatu and foiled with a friend of mine who works at the Rip Curl School of Surf in Sanur.

When the swell died down in Uluwatu, my boyfriend and I headed to a lovely spot in Ubud for the night. However, we made the mistake of driving our scooter from Uluwatu to Ubud. Wilson drove, and he ended up getting strep throat from inhaling so much exhaust and fumes. If you’ve been to Bali, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Our next stop was the Mentawai Islands. We splurged and made plans to stay at Kandui Resort, a place we’d been dreaming about for ages. We were more excited about this spot than anywhere else in the world. However, before our flight, we spent all night in a clinic where the doctors were worried Wilson had dengue fever. I ended up checking him out of that clinic. There were more bugs in that place than in the jungle we’d end up in weeks later. We now joke about the “dengue fever” scare and can clearly see they wanted to keep him there to ramp up his medical bill. But my boyfriend survived two days of travel, sick as a dog, and we eventually made it to paradise.

Mentawai Islands

From Bali, we flew to Padang in Sumatra, spent the night there, and then ferried over to the Mentawais. We quickly learned that it takes two days to get anywhere in Indonesia.

Upon arrival, we ate and immediately jumped into the water. I hopped on the panga and was dropped off at an A-frame break with crystal-clear water and a tiny island with a few palm trees in the distance. Truly an unreal sight. I quickly made friends with the other women staying at Kandui. It was the perfect start to a wonderful surf trip.

The other ladies and I would head out together with our Brazilian surf guide, Guto. He was an extremely kind man who knew the Mentawai Islands like the back of his hand. We’d give our “see you laters” to our boyfriends and husbands, most of whom were on the hunt for barrels, while the ladies and I decided we didn’t need to chase those. Guto took us to some decent-sized surf, and some days, we’d return eight hours later with videos of us riding much larger waves than the boys. It was such a hilarious and special experience. The women in the water gave me so much confidence. We spent hours getting to know each other, always encouraging each other to paddle into waves outside of our comfort zones. We got pummeled together and laughed it off. This was when I really started to fall in love with surfing.

Every evening, I’d go surf with Wilson at sunset. Each session, I was so excited to show him my progress I made with my new crew that day. It’s truly a euphoric experience to surf in one of the most beautiful places in the world alongside such fabulous people from all over the globe. This was an experience I will forever cherish.

Asu Island

After saying our goodbyes in the Mentawais, we headed to an island off North Sumatra called Asu (which means "dog" in Indonesian). There were only 50 people on the island. We stayed at Puri Asu Resort and were the only guests for most of our ten days there. Asu Island is part of the Hinako Islands off Nias. I was expecting Asu to look just like the Mentawais, but it surprised me how different it was. First and foremost, the Hinako Islands are much less crowded. They’re more exposed than the Mentawais and get some pretty insane surf. The water was the most shocking deep turquoise I’ve ever seen. This place felt like it belonged in a movie.

It was nearing the end of the surf season in Indonesia, so we were battling some wind and funky swell. But lucky for us, there was a break called “Bawa” that still picks up swell when the rest of Indonesia doesn’t. I had some long, fun rides at Bawa. The Hinako Islands had plenty of waves for us and empty lineups. I would travel from island to island in a dinghy. The boat driver and go-to guy at Puri  Asu Resort was a young man named Olo. Olo was 27 and usually took pictures of the surfers after dropping them off, but he ended up surfing with me. Olo and I would surf Bawa totally alone, both trying to improve our surfing.

One afternoon, we were going to drop off the only other guest on the island to Nias so he could catch a flight home, and we planned to hit a surf break on the way back. We ended up getting caught in a gnarly storm. The swell was too big for us to get back, and we couldn’t see anything in front of us. We had to wait out the storm on another island before we could cross the channel. I was barefoot in a bikini on a stranger's porch with some other women who were dressed differently from me (mind you, Indonesia is predominantly Muslim). After Olo felt confident he could navigate the water through the storm, I had the most wild ride of my life. It was so intense, I could only laugh. We made it back to Asu safely and in time for dinner.

If I wasn’t surfing Bawa, I was taking pictures of Wilson surfing alone at Asu. Asu was a consistent beast of a wave—pretty shallow reef below, and it was a bit tough for me to navigate. Wilson truly thrived on this wave. I’d hike to the end of the island through the jungle with my camera and watch him surf for hours. He truly blew my mind every session I got to watch him. He got barreled at Asu and even broke his favorite surfboard. It fired me up to see Wilson going after it at Asu. It was one of those moments where I knew that younger him would think he was so cool. It was very special to witness.

This trip flew by way too fast. We spent the rest of our time in the jungle... turns out, I’m not as tough as I thought. The mud and bugs really tested me. After the jungle, we spent some time in South Sumatra checking out Krui. We had a few good days, but the surf season was really over by then in Indonesia, so we flew to Singapore to end our trip.

I am forever grateful to be young and have the opportunity to travel the world. I am even more grateful to have Wilson by my side on these adventures. To all the people we met along the way, thank you for the laughs and wonderful experiences. And to all the girls who complimented my bikinis... you made me blush. Stay tuned for my new SPRING SURF LINE, inspired by my most recent surf trip. This trip gave me so much confidence in and out of the water. I can’t wait to share my next adventure.

With love,  

Weez