~ Enggano Island ~
Who's been ?
Would have to be a swell magnet ?
Yes its gets heaps of swell BUT it also gets heaps of wind as gets the last puff of the SE trades which are generally onshore and the reefs are mostly very far offshore(use the measuring tool on google earth) so open to any wind, its been surfed since at least the early 90,s maybe earlier but apart from one or two fickle spots doesn't have the quality of the Mentawai's and islands further north, it does gets visited by the odd charter boat mostly passing by but its not really a destination in itself due to being so far from anywhere hence expensive as you would need to burn lots of fuel to get there and back plus an open ocean crossing not to mention the exposed hence fickle nature of the waves means high chance of getting skunked, i haven't been out there myself but know a local guy and also had friends that have gone out there and seen pics even video etc, id expect sooner or latter someone will open a surf camp but i think its viability would be questionable, due to its exposure and lack of tidy holes and the distances needed to travel to get off shores in SE winds not to mention logistics would be a nightmare, plus plenty of days maybe even weeks where the wind would be a problem especially in year like this year (yes its obviously offshore up North in SE winds but also needs plenty of swell for spots offshore in SE winds)
BTW. I think we can talk about it as was advertised on the Indo odyssey website complete with journal entries and pics, plus its probably going to be the last uncrowded spot in Indo due to its remoteness and fickle nature, plus I'm not exactly giving it a glowing review.
A friend of mine owns land out there where he grows Teak trees. he catches the ferry and says finding spots from land is very difficult and the ferry out there is nuts. Close to sinking every time.
Remember back when they said that wave was enggano ? Tom carroll on a huge left ) for many years I believed it was true but then heard it wssnt . They did a good job of diverting the attention
Was it Iceland Caml ?
First thought was thr country Iceland . But no . U mean the wave icelandS ? Im not going to try and name it but I'm prepared to talk zones ...
Would you say it was another similarly lone island .!?
Glass Bowl Lefts Blowin!
Peaky at the start but then gets nasty.
Roger . You must be thinking the same one southey . No need to say more .
A pretty hard-core bloke I knew spent some time on Enggano. Surf report came back pretty much the same as IndoDreamings: no charter boat, no fun. His lasting of impression of the place,though, was the smell..."It literally smells like malaria". I'm not so sure what he means, but given he has had malaria three times I am going to trust him on it.
Yeah remote as .
<<>>
I look at this way. If boats have been checking out Enggano since the late 80s logic says, if there's no surf camps, or regular charters by 2017...it's a fair bet to say Enggano is fickle :) Everything mentioned above is true, and heres a bit more info. It's one of those places that, on its day, has world class waves, if only for a couple hours at a time, when tide and wind direction are in alignment. I've been out there few times camping. With each trip you learn a little bit more. Theres no hotels, mod cons, doctors and your possibly days away from getting help if something seriously goes wrong. You need to be 100% percent self sufficient I reckon..take all your supplies of food, water, first-aid, fishing gear etc with you on the ferry, twice as much as you think you may need. You catch ferry from Bengkulu..which has a world class beach break from jan -june. I've been here in Bengkulu 4 years, Enggano is part of Bengkulu province. Theres a couple other expats that surf...a small crew of local surfers. Sometimes I curse the joint thinking I should be in Bali or java, or anywhere else..other times I'm pinching myself..bengkulu is a bit like east coast Oz..pine trees on the foreshores..theres sand dunes at the harbour mouth..and variable wind and weather most of the year..not like other parts of Indo. would you come here and do an Enggano mission if you only had 2 weeks hols and desperately wanted to score waves..no way..ferrys run 2 times a week and stop running when theres a big swell..you can get stranded for days on end (which happened on my first trip) waiting for the ferry to arrive. go to the mentawaiis or g-land if you want consistency and travel deadlines met..far safer bet. Would you come here if you had a cruisey 2 months travelling around Indo??..for sure. you could do krui and stopover here while you overland it to Padang..the few travellers I meet here are usually doing something like that. theres lots of surf exploring to be had between krui and bengkulu. In 4 years I can just about name all the surf travellers that have been through here..maybe 30-40 guys:) For those that want to visit Enggano..hope this helps...it's not as hard as you think.. for those that get pissed off at me for giving away the secrets of this mysterious spot..who cares..the locals out there could do with some tourist revenue, and the reality is its a really remote part of the world :) malaria is a real threat anywhere in indo..Enggano no exception..but locals I know out there think its not so bad. On the other hand nextdoor neighbours kids here in town have had bouts of malaria..takes ya chances. Enggano first came on my radar in the late 90s when i met a dude in krui who was talking about that hoax tom carrol video--quiksilver surfers of fortune. i put it off for years-kicking myself. I enjoy the place, fishings awsome..waves are a bonus when u get them...there you go!!
@dogbox thank you for the comments, very interesting.
I have been to krui and bengkulu and talked to some people about enggano and wanted to go, but never made it, since from what I heard I had a similar impression to what you describe...
On the other hand I now see this:
https://airbnb.com/rooms/21906677
And I am wondering if what they write ("Surrounded by world class, yet less discovered quality surf") is just marketing, or true and the only reason why although it is true it is not overrun yet is due to the fact that it is difficult to get and stay there compared to other places...
well, only way to find out is probably to go there ;)
Have been out there last April, the owner of the surf place out there had already told us, our trip wasn't in the right season, but we decided to go anyway.
Out there for 8 days, we had 4 days of decent surf, no big swell, but the ground swell is already enough to have some fun.
This place should be a total bomb when it has the right swell and wind direction.
It is for sure less explored and having been myself now i understand how come this place is a hidden gem.
Charter boats can't see anything from the outside, they can't get in unless they go out and really explore into the channels with a small boat.
Issue is definitely the transport getting out to enggano.
Only a ferry runs, 2 times a week (back and forth), but it's not guaranteed it will leave.
Owner of the surf place is hoping for a small plane to come in next year OR to find an investor for a fast boat.
Nevertheless i had fun, i enjoy not having electricity, wifi, cellphone reception.
Definitely a place for us hardcore surf travelers out there. Not for the new generation i suspect.
I too saw the airbnb listing before, but the owner took it down he said because they got too many kooks who wanted to book and locals who wanted to do camping overnight. He said they only want to focus on the experienced ones and keep it low key for now. They're definitely not in it for the money, for sure the owners enjoy this paradise themselves first
Where are those Indo beach breaks that they surf in Dear Suburbia? It's not Mandiri but looks Sumatra-ish. Sounds like something dogbox might be aware of.
"He said they only want to focus on the experienced ones and keep it low key for now. They're definitely not in it for the money, for sure the owners enjoy this paradise themselves first"
Literally every owner of a surf resort I've met has said the same thing.
Jeez it almost looks uninhabited. 120 odd kms offshore. Hard work I’m guessing but if you had the time...
@Frabom
I reakon they say that to all guest at anytime of they year.
April would be the perfect time of year change of season between wet and dry and best chance of light winds starting to get a bit more swell.
Anytime between May to Oct is going to be blown out most of time by SE trades (especially June to Sep when trades are strongest) then Nov to Feb you are going to have stronger North west winds with minimal swell.
Bit of an eye opener, if you didn't score in April.
Indo-dreaming
Naah mate, the right time is the wet season, SE wind is what this place needs. Depending on what side of the island you surf. We took below and left of the island.
My bud and I were there with no swell in sight, just a groundswell, which the owner had already warned us for, so you misread what i said.
We did 'score', but with a groundswell.
Swell came up after we left, we had no other choice but to take the days before the swell as we had plane to catch.
Have you been and gotten around the area yourself?
Terribly late reply i know, i am not much of a internetter.
This doesn’t really make sense frabom
I agree, wet season and SE wind? A little mixed up there?
I did some well drilling activity here last August for an NGO (can you believe we now actually suspect part of the reason for this was to help the Indo government get prelim geo data for a space launching site, crazy huh?). I was on the island around 6 weeks on and off, mainly in the south but did two brief trips to the northern coast. I can tell you there is one hell of an epic looking left hand wave peeling for 100s of meters. Looks kind of like One Palm on Panaitan Is but more oceanic if that makes sense - raw blue water, not quite so clean. It did look fast but rideable if you have the skills. Just an endless barrel.
It didn’t look troubled by the trades, in fact on both occasions it looked offshore all day long, but who knows, I may have been lucky.
I’m convinced the north coast has quality. There was a long right hander further east but only saw it through binoculars.
I would love to plan a leisure trip.
Ah hey yeah sorry. definitely meant west wind.Got mixed up.
West wind, wet season is their season on their side of the island.
We had the SE at the time and for our location it wasn't very good.
We could've traveled north like the owner offered, decided not to as the travel was a bit long and we were enjoying their place, scoring a bit nearby
Not really sure why you mates make negative assumptions about the owners,clearly you haven't met this couple yet.
But ye I understand it might be hard to believe there still are people out there who aren't in it for the big game.
All I can say is I've been to enggano have a pretty clear idea of what this place can do. I am enjoyed by travel exploring and surfing and thats what i got. I am definitely going back within the next 3 years.
Cheers guys
Yeah thats what ive heard the issue with is with the place SE are onshore at most places and that far south SE are stronger so expect would get long periods of time in main season when onshore at most spots, plus many reefs being far offshore doesn't help.
Nah never got out there was planning a trip out there almost 15 years ago even got the proper nautical map of the island in Jakarta, but got distracted going to other areas of Indonesia.
No regrets because those other areas are now much more crowded and Enganoo still empty, i think this place will be the last place in Indo to get crowded.
Just because those SE winds are an issue, too far for charters to bother (fuel) and not viable for a year round camp (limited to shoulder to off season)
Hence why im willing to talk about the place here.
How much did you pay per person per night?
I contacted them a while back curious and they wanted 1 million a night if just one person, didn't give me price for more people.(included boat travel, but if waves no good and not going anywhere with boat that big money to pay for what looks like a very basic camp)
BTW. are the owners western or Indonesian?
Im confused never met an Indonesian not keen on making money, but no offence the presentation etc on social media seems very Indonesian, very poorly presented....but their english also seems quite good?
We were 2, we paid 800,000 per person.
However, we had 2 days of where we had bad weather, without us asking for anything they gave us a 1 mil discount on our total price because of those 2 days.
The owner is an Indonesian , names Jack. his wife i believe from the Netherlands if i remember correctly.
From what i experienced talking and hanging with them, they dont necessarily need the business to make money, seems the owner Jack has a good business anyway on the main land. Hes just passionate about surfing and enggano. Definitely 1 ofthe best indo guys I've met on my 16 years of traveling back an forth to indo.
Not sure about their internet presentation, literally met them on the road somewhere between padang and bengkule ny coincidence.They live somewhere in a village there if they're not on enggano.
Where arw you from my friend?
Geez , the old 16 day forecast jumps around a lot.
Perhaps it’s time to upgrade the model ?
Come on , Ben and Craig.....you know that’s funny.
Haha.
With the uncertainty with the Stratospheric Warming Event filtering down and cut-off systems moving in and across Australia this is a very unpredictable period coming up.
The best thing to look for is trends. Ie a swell holding in over updates, or if varying heaps, put low confidence in it until it starts to trend.
The models are doing alright , I was just reminded of those old paper fortune tellers from school and figured it’d be good for a chuckle.
As you said previously, the Indian Ocean storms just truck on over and throw off swells to varying degrees. The models are basically in agreement with each other.
Not that it really matters. Good times regardless.
udo wrote:https://www.thejakartapost.com/longform/2023/07/21/and-there-was-light-f...
Cool article, I still havent gotten out there, i found my proper nautical map I have of the island a while back, i thought id lost it.
Im surprised it doesn't seem like I have shared my story on how i got it, cant be bothered now, but was quite a mission, maybe tomorrow.
Ive been watching the wind maps on the island, i dont think its ever going to be a commercially viable to have a proper popular camp or resort out there, which is cool, as for those wanting a true adventure, this place would be it, ironically this was the gateway to the Mentawais in the 90s and a pic of a very solid wave here with Tom Carroll was the first real pic that sparked more interest in the region north.
Indo. Hi. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
The Barusan Island chain is spread out in a long linear type of archipelago comprised of Simeulue in the north, heading further south to Nias and the Mentawai Group (the 4 majors being Siberut, Sipora, Pagai Nth and Pagai Sth.) and finally at its most southern point, Enggano, with tens of tiny island atolls along the way.
Im a little confused with the information you’ve provided.
You say it was the Gateway to the Mentawai Islands in the 90’s. The above photos are of Enggano is this true ?
Ive been informed (rightly or wrongly) by several boat operators and read that the Mentawais was founded by the discovery of the wave we know as Telescopes . That time frame was well before 1990.
I’d be pleased to hear more from you and to possibly seek some clarity. thanks AW.
@AW , Tim Treasure was heading south of nias in the early eighties. I worked with him on high rises in the early eighties and him and the Henderson brothers had many a tale to tell of gems they came across .
AlfredWallace wrote:You say it was the Gateway to the Mentawai Islands in the 90’s. The above photos are of Enggano is this true ?
Ive been informed (rightly or wrongly) by several boat operators and read that the Mentawais was founded by the discovery of the wave we know as Telescopes . That time frame was well before 1990.
I’d be pleased to hear more from you and to possibly seek some clarity. thanks AW.
Think Indo was speaking metaphorically, as it was that trip - the one when those photos were taken - that led to surfers travelling to the islands off Sumatra. It was the first documented trip, by that I mean documented in a surf mag, and kickstarted the gold rush.
First known surfing in the Ments was 1980 at Pasongan Bay (Macaronis). Not sure when Telescopes was surfed but it wasn't in 1980.
stunet wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:You say it was the Gateway to the Mentawai Islands in the 90’s. The above photos are of Enggano is this true ?
Ive been informed (rightly or wrongly) by several boat operators and read that the Mentawais was founded by the discovery of the wave we know as Telescopes . That time frame was well before 1990.
I’d be pleased to hear more from you and to possibly seek some clarity. thanks AW.Think Indo was speaking metaphorically, as it was that trip - the one when those photos were taken - that led to surfers travelling to the islands off Sumatra. It was the first documented trip, by that I mean documented in a surf mag, and kickstarted the gold rush.
First known surfing in the Ments was 1980 at Pasongan Bay (Macaronis). Not sure when Telescopes was surfed but it wasn't in 1980.
Stunet. Hi. Thank you. I’ve learnt something today. How’s those ribs ?
All the best. AW
AlfredWallace wrote:Indo. Hi. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
The Barusan Island chain is spread out in a long linear type of archipelago comprised of Simeulue in the north, heading further south to Nias and the Mentawai Group (the 4 majors being Siberut, Sipora, Pagai Nth and Pagai Sth.) and finally at its most southern point, Enggano, with tens of tiny island atolls along the way.
Im a little confused with the information you’ve provided.
You say it was the Gateway to the Mentawai Islands in the 90’s. The above photos are of Enggano is this true ?
Ive been informed (rightly or wrongly) by several boat operators and read that the Mentawais was founded by the discovery of the wave we know as Telescopes . That time frame was well before 1990.
I’d be pleased to hear more from you and to possibly seek some clarity. thanks AW.
Firstly its really hard to know who really first surfed the Mentawais, Nias was discovered by surfers in 1975, surfers then ventured to the Telos & Hinakos by fishing boats etc
I find it pretty hard to believe surfers didn't venture out to the Mentawais from Padang in at least the late 70s, many surfers would have been thinking there must be another Nias or Ullus out there, but without photos and proof who is going to believe anyone who claims to have, and i know lots of surfers from that era move on into different things in life, and not everyone is interested in going to a magazine and claiming this or that.
But yes Telescopes would have been highly likely been the first wave surfed in the late 70s or 80s as Tua Pajet is the closest port to Padang and Telescopes is only a few kilometers away from TP, so yeah you would expect it and other waves in that area were the first waves surfed and most likely kept secret for a long time many say this is the case ive met old guys in the industry that claim to have surfed this area in the 80s, but yeah who knows.
Its probably likely those type of surfers also discovered the South Siberut playgrounds area and possibly even Ht's and Lances left before the Lance story.
I have heard guys say Lance wasn't the first to surf HT's but we will probably never know, it is located in an odd location though.
And of course there is the guys that surfed and have photos and proof of surfing Macaronis in the 80s, and that area even today is remote and not easy to get to.
Its possible south of Thunders wasnt surfed until last though, especially that far south Lighthouse, hole region even today its hard to get too and far from any port (Sikakap)
Anyway I was talking more the discover of the Mentawais by Martin daly and then exposure that came after.
Martin and others were based out of Jakarta doing salvage diving i believe they first did work and surfed Enggano before discovering southern Mentawais.
But when they started doing just surfing trips, and they were actually first based out of Bengkulu on mainland Sumatra well south of Padang and all the first photos that started getting leaked were from Engano and the far South Mentawais.
Tom carroll was one of the first pro surfers taken out there hence you have these photos and then latter you have what i think was the first? Mentawai video "the Hole" that featured Tom carroll and Martin Potter from latter in that period 96.
And then the rest is history.
indo-dreaming wrote:AlfredWallace wrote:Indo. Hi. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
The Barusan Island chain is spread out in a long linear type of archipelago comprised of Simeulue in the north, heading further south to Nias and the Mentawai Group (the 4 majors being Siberut, Sipora, Pagai Nth and Pagai Sth.) and finally at its most southern point, Enggano, with tens of tiny island atolls along the way.
Im a little confused with the information you’ve provided.
You say it was the Gateway to the Mentawai Islands in the 90’s. The above photos are of Enggano is this true ?
Ive been informed (rightly or wrongly) by several boat operators and read that the Mentawais was founded by the discovery of the wave we know as Telescopes . That time frame was well before 1990.
I’d be pleased to hear more from you and to possibly seek some clarity. thanks AW.Firstly its really hard to know who really first surfed the Mentawais, Nias was discovered by surfers in 1975, surfers then ventured to the Telos & Hinakos by fishing boats etc
I find it pretty hard to believe surfers didn't venture out to the Mentawais from Padang in at least the late 70s, many surfers would have been thinking there must be another Nias or Ullus out there, but without photos and proof who is going to believe anyone who claims to have, and i know lots of surfers from that era move on into different things in life, and not everyone is interested in going to a magazine and claiming this or that.
But yes Telescopes would have been highly likely been the first wave surfed in the late 70s or 80s as Tua Pajet is the closest port to Padang and Telescopes is only a few kilometers away from TP, so yeah you would expect it and other waves in that area were the first waves surfed and most likely kept secret for a long time many say this is the case ive met old guys in the industry that claim to have surfed this area in the 80s, but yeah who knows.
Its probably likely those type of surfers also discovered the South Siberut playgrounds area and possibly even Ht's and Lances left before the Lance story.
I have heard guys say Lance wasn't the first to surf HT's but we will probably never know, it is located in an odd location though.
And of course there is the guys that surfed and have photos and proof of surfing Macaronis in the 80s, and that area even today is remote and not easy to get to.
Its possible south of Thunders wasnt surfed until last though, especially that far south Lighthouse, hole region even today its hard to get too and far from any port (Sikakap)
Anyway I was talking more the discover of the Mentawais by Martin daly and then exposure that came after.
Martin and others were based out of Jakarta doing salvage diving i believe they first did work and surfed Enggano before discovering southern Mentawais.
But when they started doing just surfing trips, and they were actually first based out of Bengkulu on mainland Sumatra well south of Padang and all the first photos that started getting leaked were from Engano and the far South Mentawais.
Tom carroll was one of the first pro surfers taken out there hence you have these photos and then latter you have what i think was the first? Mentawai video "the Hole" that featured Tom carroll and Martin Potter from latter in that period 96.
And then the rest is history.
Indo. Thanks for your concise reply.
Makes sense after hearing from both yourself and Stu.
Sikakap. Surfed great Roxy’s one year. We went for a stroll through the main village drag once. Now theres a place far from the way we live. AW
Supafreak wrote:@AW , Tim Treasure was heading south of nias in the early eighties. I worked with him on high rises in the early eighties and him and the Henderson brothers had many a tale to tell of gems they came across .
Supafreak. Interesting stuff. Treasure is his real surname ? AW
AlfredWallace wrote:Supafreak wrote:@AW , Tim Treasure was heading south of nias in the early eighties. I worked with him on high rises in the early eighties and him and the Henderson brothers had many a tale to tell of gems they came across .
Supafreak. Interesting stuff. Treasure is his real surname ? AW
Real surname yes , well known on the Gold Coast …… edit …… I may have misspelt his name , treasur is his Facebook spelling , haven’t seen him for decades but used to regularly see him at burleigh
Found my Enggano nautical map today i was planing on going out there at the time but never got there, it says 2010 on it which is about the year i bought it, it was a mission to get in Jakarta.
I was staying with an Indo mate in Jakarta very well off for Indonesian and he had to go to work(which was manager of Quicksilver Jakarta at that time just clothing for shops etc)
Anyway i found this place online that claimed to sell these maps but only had an address, so i went on a mission by bus & taxi to find this place thinking it would be a shop, but got there and it was more a house/office so when i get there this old Pak goes we have to go to another place, so i jumped on the back of his motorbike and off we go maybe 15 minutes away, where we get to this big dock area and then go into some big Navy place where you go past a check point and sign in etc like in the movies.
Then we go through a maze of hallways and offices military dudes everywhere (again like the movies) and he seems to know many of them, then we get to this office type place with a counter and some Navy guys bring out all these maps, im thinking they will be expensive so only got one but they only ended up only being $20.
We then get back on his motorbike and he takes me to the bus depot, he didnt ask for money so i try to give him some but he doesn't want to take it? so i just give him big thank you's.
So yeah was weird not sure how he made any money out of it and a weird experience all round, but super nice old Pak.
Groundswell are you out there.....anywhere?
Looking at this place on G/earth makes me drool.