The "D-day" beach landing of the fast boat ferry at the Sanur 'Harbour'. Prepare to get soaked while boarding!
We have been to Bali several times, we've stayed at Jimbaran, Semiyak and Ubud. We've been to the usual tourist areas, Sanur, Canggu,Kuta, Uluwatu, and the few places of interests in the north.
Hence the search was to the other islands around Bali. Picks included Lombok, Gili, while Komodo was a little far etc. Nearby were 3 Nusa Islands. Initial search yielded Nusa Lembongan as the more visited island, with flourishing hotels along a 'main stretch' etc. Further searches ended this swiftly, we were certain that we will head to Nusa Penida.
Getting to Nusa Penida wasn't straight forward, boats left only ~730-9am or 330-5pm from the Sanur Harbour. Our flight landed 730pm and it meant that we could not get to Nusa Penida by the first night. This meant spending a night in Sanur and waking up very early the next day, to look for a ferry service to bring us to Nusa Penida. We opened for Mola-Mola express as they ferry to the harbour recommended by our accommodation at Nusa Penida. There are a few harbours there and it's wise to see which is nearer to you acommodation.
the chaos at Sanur beach each morning. Locals pay ~50% of what foreigners pay for the ride. We paid ~450k IDR for a 2 way ticket (around SGD45)
We stayed at Roja Bungalow resorts, costing ~110K IDR (SGD$110) a night. Book via https://www.booking.com/s/34_6/perqjo53 to get 10% off! We stayed in the budget room while the Bunglow (facing the pool) would cost around double. It's a small place with `16 units only with a tiny pool. We really liked the white-wooden-washed decor. Breakfast each morning is generous too. Receptionists were ultra friendly too. Only issue: walls are thin and we usually sleep early and whatever your neighbors raise a noise...it can be heard! Also, Roosters start their call from 3-4am! (no they are not from the hotel but can still be heard!)
We got a young chap as our driver +62 831-1409-7959 Teja, cost 600k IDR a day and off we go to Nusa Penida West for our first day in Nusa Penida. The main roads are paved by narrow and bumpy. The off roads were a nightmare, crawling at ~15kmhs and it's akin to horse riding. It's a car's suspension worse nightmare and it would have been wise to pack anti-nausea medication.
The first stop was the Broken beach/Billabong. It's amazing how blue the skies and water could be. Huawei did enhance the blue a little but it was still amazingly blue to us. This is clearly oceanic currents. Big waves were in the order of the day as many crashed into the limestone shoreline.
Lunch was simple with the view above! We had 3 coconuts on the island before deciding that either they are harvested too early or we are used to the Thai/sweet type. The Nusa ones were a little sour with literally no flesh.
After lunch, it was a short drone flight and a short hike to Angel's Billabong, a little pool which fills up when the waves crashes in. Many have swam to heaven via the huge waves, hence please listen to your guide on when/if getting into the Billabong is a good idea.
Next stop ~100m walk to this little sheltered area called Broken Beach. Again amazing blue waters!!
And..it was off horse riding for another 30-40minutes till the bum bum complains...
but when we walked to the STAR of Nusa Penida and set our eyes on this gorgeous wonder of nature, all the D-day Sanur Harbour boat boarding, all the lack of wifi/signal, the poor grade coconut, the impossibly bad roads, the noisy roosters were all worth it.!!
The Crown Jewel of Nusa Penida - the Kelingking beach with at T-Rex looking head. Simply breath taking looking out from ~120meters high, the same blue waters similar to other parts of the island are found here. What comes to mind is the 12 Apostles. I have ye to go there, but looking at images, they do look great from certain angles, but are mostly barren. The T-Rex is so green, smooth and just amazing how nature can carve this masterpiece out of limestone.
If you look close enough, there are tiny human beings bathing in the water.
The journey down is the most difficult of any hike of the entire trip. It's dusty rocks, very slippery. I broke my slipper and it's just too much work to go down. Our driver also advised against it.
Along the way down with the magnificent view!
After Kelingking, it was difficult for any place to match up. The usual end of a tour in Nusa Penida West is Crystal Bay. This is where snorkelling tours would end up and we did bring our gear. The surf was too big and zero boats were parked in the harbour. We simply ordered dinner from a street store and waited for sunset. The fried chicken (sorry no image) was the Best I've tried for a very long time. Coconut was again yikes.
It was back to the hotel with sore bums but with amazing memory of this little island 45 minutes from Bali!
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