We did indeed get picked up at 8am by a minibus that took us to Bangsal Harbour. Well it took us to a restaurant about half a km from the beach, we were then unloaded into the restaurant and asked if wanted to order breakfast. They then tried to sell us all sorts of onward tours for about 40 minutes then we where told to walk down to the beach. When we arrived we all waited on the beach for the correct boat, where we met a very nice Irish couple, Fred & Brenda. 20 minutes later we were bundled into a very overloaded unstable looking boat, and 35 minutes after that unloaded into the water at Gili Air.
We had no accommodation but being four people soon got picked up by one the guys from Mantahari, who assured us he had very cheap rooms on a quiet strip of the beach only a short walk away. In fact it was 35 minute walk in 30 degree heat, but well worth it.
The Gili Islands are situated off Lombok, East of Bali. Over the last few years the tourist industry has really picked up here with the (supposed) fast boats from Bali. There are 3 Gili islands, Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili T. Gili T is meant to be a bit of a crazy party island, popular with the gap year crew. Gili Meno a little older crowd, more expensive and lots of resorts. Gili is Air the quiet, budget island with good snorkelling, exactly what we were looking for.
When we arrived at Mantahari which is on the sunset side of the island, Fred took a look at the rooms and we got offered them for 150,000 rupiah each which is less then i had expected at the beginning of the peak season. The rooms were really nice, with fan, net and outside bathroom, set in little gardens just off the beach
The next huts on either side are about 0.5km away so there is effectively a private strip of beach with little wooden day beds, and a bar and restaurant just behind
It really is a stunning spot as you can see from the pictures. The view from the beach is open ocean one side and on the other Gili Meno, then you can see the Mount Agung volcano on Bali behind Meno on a clear day.
This island really is the perfect place to do nothing, as besides snorkelling there is not a huge amount to do. After nearly 8 months on the move and the last couple of months seeing quite a lot of cities this was perfect. So there were many lazy, lazy, lazy days on the beach, as well as Fred and Brenda, we met an Ozzy couple Pete and Joanne and the Crazy Belgium's Brit & Luca. This resulted in quite a few late nights on the beach drinking rum. Being that the next stop is Nepal and probably going to be pretty wet, so we settled in for a couple of weeks chilling in paradise.
Gili Air is a really tiny island and the only modes of transport are push bikes and horse drawn carts.
We looked into the snorkelling tours offered on the island but they took between 20-25 people at one time. As you may be aware we don't like big tours, and luckily neither did the other 6 people we were hanging out with. So due to Joanne's fantastic negotiation skills we managed to score a boat for the day with snorkelling guide and all equipment for 800,000 rupiah. With 8 of this was 100,000 rupiah each, exactly the same as the price of one the bigger tours, happy days.
So on the day of the tour the 8 of us hopped into our private boat at 10am and set off. During the day we went to about 4 or 5 different snorkelling spots around Gili Meno and Gili T, stopping for lunch on Gili Meno. Some of the spots were quite shallow, but most were pretty deep and we were swimming along the drop off. The coral was ok but there weren't a huge amount of fish, but my main aim of the day was to see the turtles. We saw about 7 or 8 of them in total, a couple of them I managed to swim along with for quite a long way. It was totally amazing, they are really big and they look like they are flying through the water.
Indonesia is one of the world’s most important countries for marine turtles, particularly for the Leatherback turtles and for the large remaining rookeries of Green turtles. Running between the island of Lombok and Bali, The Wallace Line is the meeting of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. A great number and variety of turtles are found visiting this part of the world, from as far away as Mexico and South America, due to the meeting of theses two great bodies of water and the various ocean currents within with the turtles swim. All species of turtle have been specified as endangered as per International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). In recent years the turtle population has decreased due to global warming, over fishing and the development of the beaches where the turtles lay their eggs. The largest threat to turtles is man. They are caught for food; both their eggs and their meat. They are the harvested for the oils produced from them to be used in the cosmetic industry and in the manufacture of medications. The shells are sought for the making of jewellery. They are drowned in fishing nets and are victims to pollution in many forms. The increasing waste of plastics offers a big threat as the turtles mistake the discarded plastic for food and once ingested it blocks the turtle’s breathing and digestive passages. Otherwise, natural enemies for the adult turtles are a few and include some large fish, killer whales and sharks.
On Gili Meno there is turtle sanctuary and nursery to save the turtle eggs from predators; permit them to hatch naturally and then to raise the young turtles for one year before releasing them safely into the sea. Injured turtles will also be cared for until they are well enough to be released back into the sea. In the wild mortality of the eggs and hatchlings is very high. Besides man, nest robbers include ghost crabs, dogs, cats, monitor lizards, foxes, monkeys and birds of prey. This project must be working because it was just off Gili Meno that we saw the most turtles I felt very privileged to be able to watch them in their natural habitat and swim with them.
The tide goes out a long way on Gili Air, so we got dropped off at the reef and had quite a long walk back.
Although I cant complain, these people were working on the house being built next door to Mantahari, and they had to do this most days, twice a day. The morning delivery was high tide so they rode right up to the beach, not so easy at low tide.
Definitely one of the best things about where we were staying on Gili Air were the sunsets, everyday was different. How amazing are these.........
Most days on the island were perfect for sunbathing, but on those that were not a little wandering around the island was in order, cycling. The island is pretty quiet and underdeveloped, there are cows, chickens and geckos everywhere.
Talking of nature Fred and Brenda got very unlucky finding in their room - cockroaches, spiders, a mystery bug that bit Fred, and then to top it off there were 2 scorpions in the room. One of which stung Fred, luckily not deadly, but pretty scary all the same especially as it was just as we all going to bed.
Other entertainment on the beach included the very cute kittens, and helping the local boys working in the restaurant add to their every expending repertoire of foreign catchphrases and perfecting that cockney accent (this i have learnt is essential for any Indonesian boy).
And a little go at paddle-boarding, actually quite good fun!
I have loved Indonesia and two months is just not enough, i would love to come back one day. Sumatra especially was amazing, so wild. So the aims to see the Orungutans and the turtles were well and truly met and to top it off the Gibbons - I am one lucky girl!!!
Now the adventure continues to Nepal, I am very excited about this next step.........
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