Surfing
Incredible surf spots
Located deep within the mystical Alas Purwo National Park, G-Land consist of a variety of classic waves.From the famous left handers such as Money Trees and Speedies to right handers such as 20/20’s and Tiger Tracks, from reef breaks to beach breaks and miles of untouched white beaches, there is a wave suitable to all levels of surfing.
Year-round, during the dry season from April to October, where swells swing up across the Indian Ocean combined with south-east trade winds, but also in the off season when the trade winds swing to the west, G-Land offers perfect uncrowded surf.
The drive from Bangsring Breeze to the Alas Purwo National Park, in which G-Land is situated, takes between 2-3 hours depending the time of day. This national park is one of Indonesia's oldest parks, the flora and fauna is pristine and the forests smell of history and mysticism. Deep within the park you will see your first glimpses of the unfurling barrels. Not until you stand on the reef looking front-on does the scale of the wave become apparent.
Furthest out to the far left is Kongs, which is often the messiest section of the reef, peaking up in a slightly haphazard way and capable of more shiftiness. West swells will see it slab and barrel while South swells will give more wall and shoulder. It is the call when swell drops below head high (very rare) and the extra water depth makes it less sketchy than other sections. Kongs still has enough power to snap boards on the smallest days, it’s hard to stay lined-up and it’s a long walk or endless paddle.
Money Trees is the default setting for most G-Land sessions, attracting the bulk of the campers to what looks like perfect peeling barrels for 2-300m. Depending on the tide and swell direction, the tubes can undulate from cavernous pits to tight, high envelopes and getting caught behind is guaranteed, so time any cutbacks carefully.
Getting in early and at the right spot is essential and shoulder hopping is often punished, so fight the urge to spin and go and keep paddling. It’s shallow at low, prompting many to wear helmets and there are a couple of holes in the featureless reef that ease the entry / exit scramble between sets. Money Trees gets better at size and is probably ideal at 12ft faces, but will handle up to triple overhead.
Launching Pad is the least defined section, because it only really appears on moderate to heavy swells and is rarely in the mood to transport surfers between Money Trees and Speedies. Wider rogue sets will hit the patch of reef beyond the normal whitewash line and look like tapering into nothing, but as the name suggests, it suddenly jumps up again and starts the pedal-to-the-metal section known as Speed Reef.
Undoubtedly the champagne ride of them all, Speedies requires all the skills in spades. Just making the drop is an achievement, while drawing the right line and maintaining velocity are crucial as it doesn’t let up or offer an easy escape for 200m of precision peeling. The reef whizzes by in clear menace, and is the sharpest, shallowest patch so surf it on the push from quarter tide.
Beyond what people are lead to believe, G-Land offers a lot more breaks than just the world famous main point, not as heavy, but just beautiful, and regularly empty.
20/20’s
The left is an amazingly great quality wave, a mere twenty minutes stroll down the picturesque empty white sand beach. Always smaller than the main break, it can throw out forgiving barrels and fun playful walls that wind down the 100 m long reef, before filling up in the deep channel. The right is not as long as its sister facing directly opposite, and generally needs a bit more swell. On the right swell it will throw out perfect horse shoeing barrels.
Tiger Tracks Lefts
An hour-long walk from camp leads you down a pristine deserted white sandy beach to Tiger Tracks Lefts, an assertive left that walls and occasionally tubes down an ill-defined reef. Also needs at least mid tide to clear the sharp coral and a bigger swell, preferably a west swell, to wrap into the bay. The pay-off is small numbers in the line-up.
Tiger Tracks Rights
On the other side of the sandy bay is Tiger Tracks Rights, a super-fun, forgiving right-hander. Picking up almost the same swell size as the main point and breaking over forgiving sponge reef, Tiger tracks can make your trip to G-Land to remember on its own. The reef is exposed from mid tide down. Best time to surf is 2 hours on either side of high tide.
The Unnamed Spots
The mystical Alas Purwo National Park consist of more epic surf spots largely unknown to the surfing world. There are hardly any roads leading through this dense jungle, where panthers, monkeys and snakes are still roaming freely around. Local folklore says that the forest spirits will only let those with honest and clear intent in and out of their grasp..
Please contact us if you would like to join us to some of Indonesia’s least known right-handers, just outside of Bali.
Located along the fringes of the mystical Alas Purwo National Park, its a near guarantee that you will surf these spots just by yourself. Pristine white sandy beaches, abundant wild life around you, dense jungles some footsteps away, what else could you wish for?