We made all the arrangements for our G-land trip in Bali. We had a choice of three surf camps; Bobbie’s Surf camp, Jungle camp and G-spot and we decided to book with Bobbie’s Camp. We also had a choice of a 10-hour overland trip with a bus or a 2-hour one hundred-dollar speedboat trip. Needless to say we chose the bus. After all we are from “Efrica” and we “is mos ruff en tuff and in Efrica the people drive mos in taxis”. Why wouldn’t we go in a bus? What a blunder!!!
We were picked up from our hotel at 11 o’clock at night and the bus turned out to be a glorified South Efrican taxi with hard seats and sagging back rests. We left Bali heading for the port next to the Bali strait. Here we got onto a ferry to Java, and took the “bus” again to Grajagan Village where we arrived at 7am in the morning feeling very miff. We were supposed to get a 45-minute speedboat ride from here to G-land. There was only one problem. The swell was too big to go through the river mouth. Well, tell any surfer travelling to the legendry G-land for the first time that the swell is too big, and he will say “get me out there mate”. I also said a couple of prayers not to stay in this malaria infested fishing village that looked like it was straight out of the Asterix and Obelix comics. We also hoped the fishermen caught enough fish so that we did not need to be on the villager’s menu for that evening.
Some of the fishermen use small canoes with bamboo outriggers as fishing boats. I mean, I would not like to go out 100 meters into the sea with those boats, never mind 20km out to sea like these people do. There were bigger and beautifully decorated Viking-like fishing boats as well.
Eventually our prayers were answered and we boarded the speedboat. I think our captain did not want to be shown up by the fisherman with their small boats, so he decided it was time for us to leave as well.
We started to go fairly easily over the first waves. It was quite amazing to see the fisherman in the spider boats going through the waves. They are truly amazing seamen with big gonads, if you know what I mean. A set came through and our captain decided it was time to give us value for our money and to take us on a wild Ratanga Junction ride.
We raced to the first of 4 waves and slowed down as we went over it. This however wasn’t good enough. The last and biggest wave of the set he decided to ramp. I saw it coming and stood up to try to absorb the impact a bit better. We hit the wave with so much speed the whole boat was airborne. When we landed again I hit my hand so hard on the side of the boat that I think I cracked my thumb. Everybody behind me was soaked. The rest of the boat trip was pretty uneventful.
Arriving at G-land we got a lift in a tractor-like truck through the jungle to the surf camp.
When we eventually arrived at the camp I felt very rough and as strong as a mouse but I was amped to see the waves.
My first sight of these world famous waves was fantastic, 6-8ft waves reeling down the point with a couple of guys out.
Most of the guys went to sleep to regain some strength but I thought I wanted to get out there and break the ice.
My first surf, I went out at Speedies because it looked like the easiest spot to paddle out and the waves looked all right for my first surf and to get into the spot. At high tide you paddle about 600m over the reef and then you can basically paddle around from the bottom of the point. Getting out was quite easy but as they say in the classics “looks from the beach can be deceiving”. Speedies is actually the most unforgiving and most hardcore part of G-Land! What I thought was a mellow 6-8ft wave turned out to be grinding 8-10ft waves!
The first thing I noticed was that everyone here was wearing helmets. I knew it wasn’t for mortars or falling rocks. The waves were 8-10ft plus and the guys were getting axed left, right and center. The only other guy without a helmet took off on a wave, got axed and surfaced with a hole in his head. I paddled for a couple but at the end of my short surf all I succeeded in was to put a dent in my ego.
The water temperature was also a big problem. It was about 20C degrees but with the wind chill factor, it got very cold. This was a big problem for the rest of my stay in G-land since I did not pack a wetsuit because I packed for tropical Indo surfing. This limited our time in the water. I never thought I would say this in Indonesia, but I really missed my wetsuit. The wetsuit also protects you somewhat when you get bounced over the reef. From now on I will travel like a businessman and I will always have a suit (wetsuit) in my bag. Lesson learned!
It is a very intimidating spot and to arrive at 8-10ft is a very humbling experience. Respect is the word. Don’t think you are going to arrive and make your mark here. Instead you might find you will be marked for life if you arrive too cocky at this spot.
G-Land is a very long left point break starting at the top at Kongs, which picks up the most swell and is surfed more on smaller swells. Further down the point you will find upper and lower Moneytrees. The waves are “slightly” easier and the reef is a little deeper here than further down the point. This leads into The Ledge where you can get barreled off your head. This is a section were the lip squares out, but beware; if you don’t make it you can also lose your head !
This is followed by Launch Pads and Speedies, where you have long walls followed by a dik barrel section of the wave. This is the most intense part of the wave with quite a shallow reef and is only surfed on high tide. It can get quite busy here since the photo sluts hang out here because there is a photographer on a boat out there for most of the day.
Bobbie’s camp is in the jungle with comfortable huts between these huge amazing trees and is very well kept. There is a fantastic relaxed and friendly vibe in the camp and you can rub shoulders with some of the world’s best surfers here. G-land was hit by a tsunami in 1995. The camp was flattened and although they had to pick the surfers like grapes out of the trees nobody died. The camp was rebuilt into today’s position and is set back about 500 m in the jungle for safety reasons.
The speedboat arrived at about 10 o’clock that morning with a fresh looking Mark Paarman (Johnny’s Brother) and big wave charger. They had a short 2-hour trip from Bali. This is definitely the way to go to G-land. He was placed in the honeymoon suite which he shared with Jack Smith another Kom and Crayfish Factory charger. Mark was one of the few people who did not use booties here. The only people to dare not wear booties at this place either don’t have booties, are really stupid or really hardcore. Mark had booties but just refused to wear them.
Walking over the reef at low tide was a mission without booties and I would have shredded my feet many times going in and out if I didn’t have any. At low tide the reef is actually higher than the wave. It is therefore quite critical for self-preservation when you paddle in or out. My booties saved the day and my skin on many occasions when I had to put my landing gear down when the white water was pushing me at a rate of knots, and I was on a collision course with the reef.
My wave of the trip was on my second day when I hooked a 6-8ft wave at Moneytrees, it walled up as far as I could see. I had so much speed I didn’t even know I could go that fast on a surfboard.
Luckily I had a highline as I approached The Ledge because as it hit The Ledge I could drop down with the lip and I could hear and feel the lip exploding just behind me. I got around the section and the wave slowed down for a second and after a cutback I had to put on my after burners again because the wave just walled up down the line again. I raced through Launching Pads and as the wave hit the reef at Speedies the lip just squared off in front of me. I had a split second to decide whether to pull in or straighten out. I straightened out and I still regret it to this day. I got worked, but I wonder everyday if I could have made it if I’d pulled in.
It was great to sit around at night sharing war (surf) stories with everybody. You always meet characters on these trips and you could listen all night to some of them. It seems that some people are permanently traveling around the world. They normally work for 3-4 months and travel for the rest of the time. Their jobs include carpenters, lifesavers, fishermen, postmen and restaurant manager’s etc. They use these jobs as a ways to a mean, and that is to get enough money to travel around the world. They might not have big important jobs with fancy titles but they certainly have more fulfilled lives and are more alive than many, many people with big houses and high-powered jobs.
I had mixed feelings about leaving G-land because I did not want to leave this amazing place, but I was looking forward to seeing my family since I hadn’t seen them for a month.
The trip back was an absolute nightmare. Yes, even donkeys don’t bump their heads twice on the same thing, but we went and we bumped our heads again by returning over land.
There were 2 busses and 1 bakkie for the boards. I tried to get in with the driver that I thought looked the most responsible. I got into the front seat of this taxi/bus so that I would have a better view. We set off. About 10km down the road we started slowing down and I thought that we were stopping, but we just kept on drifting towards the bushes. I looked at the driver and he had glazed eyes and drool was running out of his month and he looked like he had just been sparring 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. I jumped over grabbed the steering wheel and got us back onto the road. I had to pull the handbrake to stop the bus. The driver was just sitting there with glassy eyes with the drool running out of his mouth. Turns out he’d had some sort of a seizure.
He recovered after we tried to get him out of the car. Now he was as innocent as Jacob Zuma… “What did I do, I did everything right” After trying for about 20 minutes in vain to get the keys from this punch drunk innocent man we realized that he wasn’t going to budge. He wanted to drive come hell or high water and nobody was going to get the keys off him. I promised the rest of the guys that I’d keep an eye on him.
The rest of the trip to the ferry was an absolute nightmare for me. I had to try to talk to the driver to try to keep him conscious and every time we slowed down or started turning I tried to grab the steering wheel. At this point we were ready to pay a 1000 dollars for the speedboat never mind 100 dollars. I was relieved to arrive at the ferry but decided to jump ship and to got into the other bus.
The driver had another seizure after we left the ferry. Another Zuma act and another 30 minute argument, but this time nobody was prepared to risk their lives with this guy. Eventually they got another driver and the fleet was on its way again. The rest of the way was reasonably uneventful for Indo with some beautiful landscapes and rice paddies along the way. We were relieved when we finally arrived back in Kuta.
My trip was epic, but I think I picked up a serious bug on my travels. The diagnoses is: Travel Bug! The only way to cure it is to do lots of traveling. I suppose I’ll have to start planning soon…
