Several hours of flight, quite a long time of waiting, 2 different airlines, I set foot in Denpasar, the lively capital city of Bali. The 4-letter enumeration of this bit of land announces some idyllic holidays on a heavenly island for a lot of people. My family picks me up at the airport with a large smile. Quite 2 months we haven't seen at each other. Everything seems to go by so fast. We negotiate a bemo (local van) to rush to the Legian district. The Legian and Kuta area gathers a great number of tourists and all the relating economy. Succession of hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, craft and surf shops. The urge is too tempting. Several years Jo and I have dreamt of breaking waves, tubes and gliding. Being at one with the ocean. Alone with his board to stroke the element. More than a sport, the surf enthusiasts consider it to be a way of life. Perhaps it will be ours in a few hours after our introductory session. On the beach, every 50 meters, stalls offer boards for rent. Longboard, mini-malibu or thruster, we quickly learn the terms. We book a 2-hour lesson. Private coaching on the beach, our instructor breaks down the moves to stand up. Then, the board wedged under the armpit, we cheerfully walk towards the waves. A set of advice later, a special pleasure-tinted feeling overwhelms me. I keep standing on the board! The road is still hazardous before turning in the giant waves but the joy is definitely here, as an obvious fact.
But the learning will be still long, very long... Because before being on the front cover of the surf magazines, We entered for the greatest fall competition.
Armelle and Magali join us and the entire team is gathered for a 15-day Balinese adventure. Loving reunion.
To extend the soft and gilded Kuta life, We go to visit the south of the island. Balangan, Dreamland or Padang-Padang, a coconut-trees-fringed or cliff-flanked paradise. Something in common goes through these light-sanded strips watered by shapely breaker. While we look at the surfers and body-boarders who compete for a wave, a leitmotiv constantly comes back. Dumbstruck, our look doesn't come off these heavenly expanses any more ; last shangri-la for the people stressed by the urban hubbub.
Our eyes decipher the waves in the distance. Only a board is missing...
At the end of the day, we visit the Uluwatu temple. Sanctuary of more-or-less-aggressive monkeys which have the unfortunate tendency of grabbing everything that juts out from the pockets. The sun goes down on the horizon, our eyes leap from the ocean to the reddening sky. The twilight sweeps away the last rays of this wonderful day.
Keyword - paradisiac beaches -
Tuesday 12 August 2008
Discovering the surf at Bali
By dorian on Tuesday 12 August 2008, 18:19 - RTW2-Indonesia
Thursday 24 July 2008
the magical reef of Sodwana Bay
By dorian on Thursday 24 July 2008, 20:53 - RTW2-South Africa
the shock absorbers shake on the stony road. Kids wave at us in passing. The ordeal ends on a tasteless village out of hand. On the other side of the dune, a long sand beach and some great waves that seem intended to surfers. But at the entrance of the village, signs announcing guest houses and dive centers titillate us. What does this tiny bay, northeast of Durban, hide in its depths? We get off here to discover it.
Far from the almost industrial bustle of the Coral Divers center, we opt for the Amaury Diving club. Colin, the founder, greets us and we make an appointment for tomorrow morning on the beach.
The inflatable boats lie on the beach and a crowd fidgets around. Big tractors push them onto the water. Dive briefing. Armed with a mask and a tank we hop on the boat. The skipper avoids the breaking waves before dashing towards the dive spot.
We slowly sink into the big blue. The first patterns loom. Soft and hard corals decorate the reef formations and shelter an astounding diversity of submarine life. From the clown triggerfish to the boxy, from the harlequin shrimp to the emperor angelfish. The colors harmony of the nudibranches drive us speechless. The diversity of this kind of slug is so amazing that it became the Colin's speciality and plan to write a book on it. He shows us a species, unknown from the scientists' world so far – a nudibranch which still waits for its Latin name. Spotted, Striped, yellow, blue, white, purple and seldom exceeding the 2 centimeters, they embellish the miniature world of the reef. But the chromatic high point covers the harlequin shrimp which is savouring a starfish. Blotches trim its pearly shell. A few flaps of fin further, the grace of a swimming turtle.
We will repeat this ritual 5 other times with always the same dose of fascination. 6 dives in total and as so many unforgettable moments. Speckled crabs hiding in the cracks of a spiny coral. Open-mouthed morays in front of us, dumbfounded. Disks of majestic corals enveloped by orange shoals. Pimply nudibranches and stingray taking off from the sandy bottom.
Saturday 24 November 2007
Paddling in Marlborough sound
By dorian on Saturday 24 November 2007, 21:29 - RTW-New Zealand
Time goes by and here we are again at the north end of the south island. A little bit less than three weeks we live at a high rate. But how could it be in another way when we thing about all the activities and the diversity of the landscapes that form this island?
From the landing stage of Picton, we distinguish the endless comings and goings of the ferries. Two companies, Blue Bridge and Inter Islander share the juicy business of the cruises between the two islands. But before driving northwards to Auckland, we decide to spend a few days here. Not to vegetate in the quiet streets of the village but enjoying this time in a kayak.
A 3-day short expedition. We fill the waterproof compartments with some food and camping gears and we leave the beach to venture on to the fjord. The first part consists in crossing the sound that separates us from the opposite bank. Trees and shrubs brush against the water. The shore is a heaven of curves, twists and creeks. A delicately chiseled scenery where numerous small beaches interrupt the greenish tangle of the vegetation. A brown rock sometimes breaks through the green curtain and displays its set of mussels which delights us more than once. One of these short beaches welcomes us for the lunch.
With the stomach full, we start again for a short stage towards another creek and another beach where we set up the camp. First night in the greenery of Marlborough Sound.
The next morning, we take down the tent, we divide the load into the waterproof compartments and start again for the coastal discovery. A slight ripple sprays us and a morning breeze makes our paddling more difficult. We explore the jagged coast outline and row up to the end of the fjord where we set up our tent on a new beach. A relaxed night sandwiched by the calm water of the sound and the emerald fence of the forest.
Third and last day, we paddle into every creek that leads us to Picton. The coastal contour sometimes belongs to rich Neawzealanders where a big villa looks over a private beach and a wooden landing stage. We hop off the kayak on a last beach for a delicious lunch. Pleasure of these last spots of nature before going back to the pier.
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