6. SIMEULUE ( SWINGING ALONG TROPICAL WAVES)
This largest island in the westernmost part of Indonesia is a frequent victim to earthquakes. Floating in Indian Ocean, Simeulue was the epicenter of an earthquake that rattled Nanggroe of Aceh Darussalam’s mainland in late 2004.
Many suspected that Simeulue had drowned to the bottom of the sea when tsunami occurred. Simeulue is Aceh regency consisting of 41 big and small islands. Its beauty has captivated many visiting travelers. Most travelers love Simeulue, the outermost island in the group of islands. The 199000 hectare island is also a favourite to foreign surfers because of its high waves and clean seawater.
The northwestern part of Aceh is indeed rich in waves that many surfers have yet to enjoy. Aceh’s coasts are indeed the only area that is most exposed to waves compared to other areas an mainland Sumatra.
With lots of beaches facing the west, this coastal area has a good shape to reflect waves from the south with trade wind blowing from the southeast. Located o touch the west coast of Sumatra , Simeulue directly touches the raging waves of the Indian Ocean . The western coast of Sumatra is famous with its most consistent and long waves that are spread out uniformly and evenly from the south to the Northwest.
With waves up to 5 meters high, Simeulue Island promises a heaven to surfers. Moreover, not too many people have visited this island, so surfers can swing freely, riding waves. There are at least eight spots for surfing: Mincau island Teupah Island, Nancala beach, Alus Alus , Salur, Batu Berlayar Island , La’ayon and Matanurung Busung.
You can also dive to enjoy the scenery of underwater park wallowing in beautiful sea critters. Dive sites are located in almost every Simeulue beach. Favourite dive sports are on Siumat Island, East Simeulue and west Teupah. It is hard to access Simeulue despite the fact that it is adjacent to the mainland and many ship captains acknowledge the potential of the island.
LOGISTICS :
You can reach this regency through a direct flight from Medan, the capital of North Sumatra . It takes 60 minutes to fly from Medan to Simeulue with Susi Air’s Cessna aircraft. You can travel to Medan from Kuala lumpur on Singapore Airlines, Air Asia or Malaysia Airlines or from Jakarta on Garuda Indonesia. All flights are available everyday and directly head to Medan.
If you want to travel by sea, try to use a ferry from Medan to Tapak Tuan , Aceh. The trip may take 12 hours. You can continue your journey afterwards by riding a ferry to Simuelue for another 8 hours.
NIAS ( EXPLORING THE BEST SURFING SPOT)
In 1975, 3 surfing adventures found a legendary location in South Niad, or Lagundri Bay to be exact .Slowly but sure , the island has since become a magnet to surfers willing to try the most exotic waves.
Nias, especially Lagundri Bay, appeals to surfers like Monte Carlo Circuit does to Formula One racers. Every surfer wants to ride the waves here at least once in a lifetime.
Amazing Lagundiri Bay perhaps is the best surfing spot surfers have ever explored, with a number of accommodations available for surfers. Off Nias Island, Hinako Island has the best 2 types of waves in terms of characters, with one of them being big and heavy like the one in Hawaii.
Banyako and Batu ( Tello) Islands have just recently listed in a surf destination map.
Surfers recognize Batu as Tello because the administration office is located on Tello Island. The most favourite topic to talk about here is smithereens of “left waves” that are sucked into reefs surrounding this small island.
Waves are known for their natural challenges. Waves can form a wall that can collapse one day and roll very fast. But they never thrust too much toward reefs.
Located not far from Lagundiri , there lies Sorake beach with high waves that may remain intact while rolling to the shore. Waves at this beach may have 11 smaller waves at 5 meters high before they break into 3 meters high.These waves have 5 levels that surfers can ride on their surfing boards in different styles. Surfers can also ride waves as far as 200 meters – a kind of waves whose character is rarely found in other places.
Sorake beach is quite unique, with coral stones everywhere. The tip of coral stones directly connects to the sea to 2 to 3 meters deep. This may spoil surfers because they do not need to take a long swim. Surfers need only to walk among coral stones from the shore and then swim for 2 to 3 meters before reaching a spot to wait for rolls of waves to slide.
LOGISTICS
By SEA
The Trip covers a distance of 85 miles by sea or takes 12 hours on a ferry from Sibolga city, North Sumatra , to the port of Gunung sitoli, the largest city on Nias Island. Another 4 hours of road trip maybe needed to get to Dalam Bay from Gunung sitoli on a car.
BY AIR
You can take an airplane from Polonia Airport , Medan , North Sumatra. It may need around 1 hour to reach Binaka Airport, around 20 kilometeres south of Gunung sitoli, from Polonia. You can get to Dalam Bay within a 4 hour drive from Binaka Airport by renting a car. Langundri is located 13 kilometres from Dalam Bay.
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