Surfing and Exploring Bali

Padang Padang and Impossibles

Balinese Temple

 As we landed in Bali all three of us strained to look at the waves rolling in next to the air strip. Memories of my last trip here flooded my mind, all amazing, but eager to make new memories. Bali is only a three hour flight from northern Australia but it feels like it is a world apart. Locals still put out religious offerings every morning made of bamboo and flowers, traffic rules are ignored or perhaps do not exist, and rental a vehicle has just plummeted to $5 a day for a sweet motor scooter.

Beautiful Uluwatu

Sweet Mode of Transportation

 With a swell forecasted to arrive the very same day we did, we hustled through customs and caught a cab to our hotel in Padang Padang. Located on the southern peninsula of the island of Bali, Padang Padang has a beautiful beach, a tiny village, and a couple of world class waves. We were hoping to score some incredible surf in some incredible locations here in Bali.

Cliff bungalows of Bingin

Uluwatu Surfing Extreme

 We paddled for a sunset session and an early morning session the next day at Padang. Unfortunately we found that the swell direction was getting blocked by the huge cliffs this region is famous for. So for our third session we rented motor scooters with a side surfboard mount and headed to another famous wave called Uluwatu. This break is known for being ultra consistent, and today was a great example of this. Waves were barely chest high at Padang Padang but steady head high into the overhead size kept rolling into Uluwatu. The crowd is always a factor here but there are several different peaks to catch waves on.
  We managed to catch some steep, big waves during our noonday session here and then some of my longest waves at our sunset session. Both sunsets have been incredible here. Along with all those long rides came long paddles so I think the next thing on the list will have to be one of those $10 Bali massages!