Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine December 2017 | Page 131

Travel | Morotai
1 Tabailenge Island is completely
surrounded by beautiful sapphire-blue
water and fringed with white sand.
2 Catch a local longboat from nearby
Bere Bere to Tabailenge Island.
3 For as long as anyone in the village can
remember, the surfers of Buho Buho have
carved surfboards from their parents’
wooden boats.
Batu Lobang doesn’t disappoint: a beautiful white-sand beach
framed by an emerald crescent of palm trees. Two large rock
formations project out into the blue Pacific.
surfboards lie beneath the shade of a palm tree.
Shy at first, the students light up with excitement
when we start talking about surfing. take-off spot. Within minutes, Febi catches a nice
wave, letting out a whoop of joy as he angles his
surfboard into a wall of crystal-blue water.
“Where’s your favourite spot to surf?” I ask Febi,
one of the oldest members of the group. They spend an hour trading waves, huge smiles all
around. Soon, the late afternoon sun is slanting
through the tall palm trees and it’s time for the
Buho Buho surfers to head home for dinner.
“Here in the village, but today the waves are not
big,” he replies, pointing towards the waist-high
waves breaking about 200m out from where
we’re standing.
“Is there another beach where the waves are
better today?” I ask. Febi nods, pointing north
up the coast. “Batu Lobang beach.”
And with that, our improvised Morotai surf road
trip begins. We load up the van with a collection
of handmade and hand-me-down surfboards,
and this smiling crew of Buho Buho surfers are
ready to get some waves and show us their
favourite spots. Nothing beats the chance
to learn from the locals, and I’m excited
to see the best of the island through their eyes.
Batu Lobang doesn’t disappoint: a beautiful
white-sand beach framed by an emerald crescent
of palm trees. Two large rock formations project
out into the blue Pacific. Febi and company waste
no time, waxing up boards as they run excitedly
across the sand, pointing to the waves breaking
nearby. The group paddle out, navigating the
currents and contours of the reef to reach the
5 Senses – Taste
FRESH COCONUT
ON THE BEACH
After an afternoon of surfing,
our crew of Morotai surfers
climbed a coconut tree and
chopped fresh coconuts for us to
drink. Accompanied by a Pacific
breeze through the palm trees,
a refreshing draught of coconut
water is pure perfection.
Setelah beraksi di ombak, para
peselancar Morotai memanjat
pohon kelapa dan memetik
kelapa segar untuk diminum.
Ditemani angin sepoi-sepoi
Pasifik yang berembus di antara
pepohonan, rasa air kelapa yang
menyegarkan menjadi sebuah
kenikmatan sempurna.
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Dropping Febi and the other surfers off at their
homes, they ask, “Where will we go tomorrow?”
Frinco and I haven’t finalised a plan yet, and the
prospect of finding more secret waves with the
local surfers sounds like the perfect chance to see
the best of beautiful Morotai. We agree to meet at
the Buho Buho waterfront the next morning and
see what the surf conditions look like.
Frinco and I are up early the next day, looking
forward to another Pacific Highway road trip.
Arriving at the village, we find that the surf has
dropped off significantly and the waves are almost
totally flat in Buho Buho.
After some consultation with the surfers,
we have a plan: head north. The northern shores of
Morotai are more exposed to the ocean swell, so
there’s a better chance we’ll find a rideable wave.
The beaches are also rumoured to be even more
beautiful than the ones in the south. Word seems
to have got around the village after our trip to Batu
Lobang, and we have even more surfers who want
to join today’s adventure.
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