In early March 2020 when coronavirus was only just hitting Australia’s shores, I was in Lombok chasing waves along the island’s south coast with Muz. We would later learn that Indonesia had been covering up rona’ outbreaks to delay shutting down their tourism industry, but during our fortnight of surfing we joked about catching the Bintang virus, barrels and not much else.
We’d just missed a big swell window and with international travellers dwindling we often found popular breaks were empty of people with just enough pump for two Perth-born kooks to charge. One afternoon we got a boat to Outside Right at Gerupuk Bay and found ourselves frothing for a solid hour alone. The skies were a moody grey, the ocean was vivid green and consistent sets broke right and sometimes left with time for easy paddle outs. While preparing for the next set we sat in silence, smiling at nearby cliff faces and basking in the abundance of warm water. The following morning we arrived first to the Selong Belanak carpark, but another solo surf was too good to be true. I think Jake forgot we were travelling through a tourist hotspot when a bus load of beginners on a surf & yoga safari suddenly rocked up and stunned him into a few minutes of paralysis. Jake’s eyes were glazed over processing the chaotic scenes of selfie sticks, bikini bums and instructors yelling things like “Let’s stretch it out beautiful people!”
Back home Aussies were buying up dunny rolls by the triple dozen, the panic buying on our social media feeds seemed surreal while we cruised around Lombok on a scooter soaking up the tropical sun, surfing until our shoulders ached and eating grilled fish & rice in Kuta every night. I notched up some perfect Indo waves; long, steep and clear glass with a window to pink and purple corals below. It was a relaxing backdrop for Jake who was on his last lad trip away before fatherhood begun. We even dedicated some time to shop for baby clothes and amused the shopkeepers as we bartered for a good price on infant socks & onesies.
Our only mishap of the whole trip occurred when in heavy rain I dropped our hire scooter in a puddle of mud along a dirt road to Seger Reef. That was the first and last time Jake let me drive. Luckily no bones were broken but my board copped some major dings. Jake said it would have tested our friendship if his $50 Gumtree board received the same damage.
The next day we found some board repairers during an overnight adventure to Gili T. We hired longboards and surfed Gili T’s mellow break called Bonkas. Read here Muz’s account of surfing two footers at Bonkas and calling to the Gods like a chicken.
Eventually we returned home virus-free with only reef cuts and toilet paper for souvenirs. Nine days later Australia’s borders closed and Indonesia’s line-ups were returned to locals and serenity not seen since the 1970’s.