WINDING DOWN AT GADING BEACH

Gading Beach Hotel was a fair distance from town, maybe 20 – 30 minutes, but the driver and lady from the hotel were so nice they even took me back through town to visit a fishing tackle store.  More a ‘bit of everything store’ really, but I grabbed some gear (where was this stuff 3 weeks ago!) and we headed off to our new slice of paradise. 

It really was too, the rooms were nice and the whole place was set right on the beach, with a great ‘restaurant' and upstairs bar overlooking the ocean.

I think we paid 250k for the room, which included breakfast, and spent our last 2 nights on Flores there, the perfect place to wind down from all the rushing around it felt like we had been doing since we arrived.  More so for me, as I hadn’t really stopped with the constant moving since arriving on Lombok. 

The food was so good and fresh that it really felt like we were just eating all day!  We would just keep ordering and washing it down with a cold beer, the ocean and sunset our front lawn.

We borrowed a bike from one of the staff at the hotel (so nice and friendly) and went cruising even further afield, through tiny little fishing villages and winding roads that hugged the beautiful coastline, never seeing a tourist.  

There are some islands offshore which you can see that you can do boat trips to, but we were really just enjoying chilling out in our piece of paradise.  There was nothing wrong with Maumere, but why would you stay in town when you could be here.  The staff were great, helpful, friendly, the food was amazing and so was the view, highly recommended from us.

Gading Beach Hotel even provides free transport to the airport and early the next morning we were on our way after 2 glorious nights out here on the beach.  We were flying into Bali for 1 night, Patty would continue on back to Jakarta and I was heading to Thailand to catch up with a mate I hadn’t seen in almost 3 years.

  He had left town before I started my journey, to pursue a career further north and it had been a huge success, but he was now ready for a holiday.

We checked into my new regular, for the odd occasions I stop over in Bali, The Grand Bimasena, right in the heart of Legian Street, but just down a quiet lane.  Also has a pool and comes with breakfast, hard to find better value in the center of town at under $30 a night.

  I was really starting to hate goodbyes, but with Patty having a very free schedule and a love of travelling, we planned to meet again and continue our adventures.

We went to the airport together the next day as my flight was only a couple of hours behind Patty’s and watching her go was like de javu and really had me thinking about how hard it is to get so close to really great people, only to have to leave again….     It really is the only downside to travelling like this. 

Sunset at low tide

Our awesome little bar on sunset, we ate every meal up there

The bungalow, meters from the ocean

MAUMERE, UNIQUE TO SAY THE LEAST!

From Moni it was a local bus onto Maumere, our final stop on this whirlwind tour of Flores, a 3 – 4 hour bus ride costing about $2 or $3.  Indo rarely fails and it was quite scenic as always, not overly comfortable as is par for the course, but we made it. 

The driver and a couple of the locals were helpful in finding us accommodation for the night, it was pricey, but after the last 3 weeks of not a whole lot going to plan, we didn’t care, it had hot water! Yoo yoo!

The place was Hotel Pelita and we paid about 300k rupiah I think, but after cruising the town and surrounds by bike for a few hours that afternoon and the next morning and having some mixed interactions with the locals, we opted to head out of town the next day to a beach side getaway to catch our breath. 

This was the first time I had travelled on a schedule and it was bloody hectic!  I had to meet up with one of my best mates back in Thailand in a few days and Patty and I already had our tickets booked.

It seemed to be common on Flores, even having Patty there didn’t seem to make a difference, some of the people are just outright shifty bloody scammers, neither of us had really seen it anywhere else in Indo. 

As with most places though, they were the exception, not the rule and we certainly did meet a lot of great locals along the way.  I think with tourism being so new there, they are simply seeing us as dollar signs at the minute but hopefully will learn that with great experiences come more tourists and more money.

One day I stopped the bike to check the beach in town, which was actually really nice and clean, and was invited to come drink some locally brewed concoction with some 'on their way to being drunk' locals.  This was about lunchtime mind you!  It was really only my motto of not refusing interaction with the locals that made me reluctantly agree to a quick couple of shots before I moved on.

 I think I have tasted better kerosene than this stuff, it had quite the burn to it, but we made pleasantries, had a quick chat and I was off again, with a bit of a buzz on actually!  

We had organized to change guesthouse, so I returned our bike to the random guy in the street we had ‘rented’ it from and our bus from Gading Beach Hotel came to pick us up. 

If you book a room there they will come pick you up in town, we had driven out there the day before on our very cool sight-seeing ride and decided it looked like a great place to relax for our last couple of days.  We had explored nearly everywhere around the area, don’t miss out if you’re in Maumere.

For internet, have fun finding ET Shop Cyber Café

The best food we found in town was MyResto, look for this sign

My Maumere machine, just asked some guy in the street to rent his bike 

MONI, MT KELIMUTU AND THE

3 COLOURED LAKES

We awoke early, as seems to be the norm for Indo highlights, and headed out into the cold grey morning on our (un)trusty scooter up the winding mountain road.  From memory it took around 20-30 minutes and then we had to stop at the 'ranger station' to pay our park fee's, when they ask - tell them you DON'T have a camera or you will be hit with another fee.  Gotta love these Indo 'camera fee's'! 

Once at the car park it is a nice, but cold hike up to the summit to view the 3 coloured lakes, maybe around a 20 minute walk, but there are quite a few steps on the last section.  First we stop at one vantage point to see lowest of the lakes, but this is only about halfway up to the top.  A few snaps and we take in the views, before heading to the summit where we will be able to see all 3 from the same spot.

Once we make it past the grueling and agonizingly steep steps (ok, slight exaggeration, but it felt like it at the time) we stand proudly at the viewpoint on the summit, shivering with frosty breath, taking in the 360 degree views  of the famous Mt Kelimutu. 

To be honest, I was expecting it to be grander, to be blown away by a sheer overwhelming display of nature, but I wasn’t.  Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty amazing, it just didn’t have the extreme wow factor I thought it would.

We warmed up with hot coffee and noodles and took it all in, definitely glad we had made the journey, but I guess sometimes the anticipation detracts from the actual experience.  It is still not to be missed in Flores though and I don’t think anyone would ever regret visiting here or the town of Moni itself, a place you could lose track of time in. 

Check out Arwanty Homestay in the main street for some excellent food, try their spaghetti, plus they have icy cold beer!  Also be sure to visit the waterfall right in town, look for the Rainbow Café and follow the track across the road, we had the place to our selves for a couple of hours.

  

Bamboo bridge at the waterfall, Patty was a little nervous crossing it, so obviously I kept shaking it!

 Don't let the crappy sign fool you, this place has great food (and icy cold beer)
 

 Some scenery riding around Moni, I should really have taken more snaps 

The 3 Coloured Lakes of Mt Kelimutu 

That's how cold it was, the mask was to keep warm!

RIDE FROM HELL - JUNGLE BACKTRACK FROM ENDE TO MONI

It turned out to be the ride from hell really, nearly 4 hours of being jolted around on the back of a bike with all our luggage.  It was really slow going and my driver was not very good, I almost told him to get on the back and let me ride, but I don’t think he would have handled having my huge backpack on. 

There were a few really nasty hill sections where we actually had to get off the bikes and walk up the shitty, steep track with our bags in scorching heat, dodging trucks and bikes with gritted teeth and just wishing it to be over.  Without all the nasty sections in the road and without luggage, it would have been an amazing ride, but not today!

The closer we got to Moni the better the scenery got but by this stage my whole body ached and we were too far over this bike ride to really enjoy it, we just wanted to get off these things and put our bags down! 

Finally we arrived in town after the gruelling ride and found a place to stay, Maria Inn, at 125k a night it was not bad, I can definitely recommend it, though didn’t really check out other options in town. 

After a much needed rest to let our bones go back into place I hired a scooter from the guesthouse and it turned out to be the biggest piece of crap I have ridden on my entire trip!  When I had seen it before it looked ok, but I was obviously too rattled from the big ride to notice how bad it really was.  

Normally I would just swap it and get another one but I guess all the mishaps lately had weakened me and we kept it for a couple of days!

Moni is a great little hillside town with it’s own unique charm about it, I could definitely have stayed longer.  The area get’s quite a lot of tourists judging by the facilities available around town, still very basic but they are obviously used to dealing with the many foreign visitors that come to see Mt Kelimutu and the 3 coloured crater lakes at the top. 

 A couple of snaps from the 'ride from hell'   only the scenery saved it!

 A FORTUNATE MISHAP IN ENDE,  NODDY GOES TO CHURCH....   ALMOST!

The last guy still in the car with us offered a solution and invited us to stay with him and try to organize a way to Moni for the next day as he was also trying to get there.  I was hesitant as it was outside of town and I didn’t want to be stuck with no transport, plus we didn’t know this guy from a bar of soap.

Almost reluctantly I agreed and we continued on with our new friend, I got more concerned the further out we got into the hills, we were miles from anywhere!

When we finally found the place and pulled up, it was actually a huge church and a place where many nuns and priests live (a convent? IDK?!) and I must admit I felt a little out of place!  His brother was in charge and we were introduced and shown to a very small and very basic room where we could stay, separate rooms for me and Patty of course, no hanky panky in the house of god!

After a much needed shower we all shared a meal and chatted, they were both very nice and obviously so hospitable.  They had taken 2 strangers in for the night, given us a room and food and didn’t want a cent in return.  It turned out to be a great mishap and a highlight of Flores for me having that experience.  

We discussed options in getting to Moni, our new friend knew of a back track through the hills that would get us there on the back of a bike and a plan was set.  I was not overly happy with this arrangement as it meant I would have to carry all my heavy gear with me but what could I do?

After an early night we were fed again in the morning, as with dinner it was local, simple and delicious.  We thanked everybody immensely and said our goodbyes as we jumped on the bikes and set off into the unknown.  It started as an awesome ride and we were loving it, but this didn’t last long and the road quickly turned horrible and so the torture began!

  

Some pics from around the home of our good Samaritans, a beautiful setting in the hills

 My digs for the night at the convent

CHAOS IN RIUNG THEN FINALLY

OFF TO ENDE

Hmmm, so packed and organized early the next morning to hit Ende, we are informed that there isn’t a bus until 11am?!  WTF, this was not the only issue we had with management at Nirvana Bungalows, but I think it was mostly just their inexperience in dealing with tourism.  

Though we were pretty pissed off about the fact that they knew the evening beforehand, that the bus wouldn’t be coming and simply chose not to tell us.

So we were packed and ready with nowhere to go, I told the staff I would be borrowing their scooter because of their stuff up and we took off for a hoon around the area and to find a nearby waterfall.  

This whole little adventure did not go according to plan in the slightest either (read - total clusterfuck) but I won’t go into it, as I said, simply a case of tourism only just starting to happen and the locals still coming to grips with it all.  But then, that’s the kind of place I like.

Once we were back in town our ‘bus’ was just a tiny angkot that was taking us along the north coast of Flores to a town further away where we would be getting a car the rest of the way to Ende.  

So we were absolutely crammed into this tiny little van with all our gear, a bunch of locals plus all the goods being transported to the other villages.  The drive was interesting to say the least though with some great and often contrasting scenery that switched between mangroves, beaches and dry dusty almost barren villages. 

We switched transport in ? god knows where, and found that we would be sharing with a few other people, all locals, and were squashed into this little car with no air-con, for the price we paid I was not expecting this. 

Even in a car the trip was hot, uncomfortable and cramped, no point breaking tradition I guess!  The views and landscape were incredible though as we made our way to the south coast of Flores, easily the best I had seen here so far, aside from the islands.

But trouble again once we got to Ende, they had closed off the road to Moni where we were supposed to be heading to, we were stuck and the road was going to be closed for 3 days!  Not good news at all as we were going to Moni to see the 3 coloured crater lakes of Mt Kelimutu, pretty much my inspiration for coming to Flores, plus we still had to get to Maumere to catch our plane.  We were going to be stranded after what had already been a long and frustrating day.

  

Your typical angkot, just a pic I pulled from uncle google

The 'loaner' from the staff after their stuff up (much more to the story than written)

Cool number plate!  I love Nirvana

17 ISLANDS MARINE PARK

The boat trip was an awesome day out and it was great to see some really unspoilt islands that were teeming with fish.  After climbing on board our rickety little boat we were heading out to our first stop, some snorkeling on a nice patch of coral.  About half an hour here and then onto the next stop, some more snorkeling along a beautiful island. 

They told us we were stopping for snorkeling and after we had all jumped in the water the skipper tells us ‘Ok you swim, we meet you up there’ pointing to a stretch of sand that seemed to be a fair distance away?!  

So that was that, we were left to make our own way back to the boat as they took off up the beach.  It was a great snorkel, shallow reef that dropped away sharply and I swam along this section all the way up seeing some serious fish along the way.

Once back at the boat I quickly grabbed my rod while the crew set about cooking a BBQ lunch on the beach.  I was just casting soft plastics over the reef and catching a lot of small fish, but didn’t have any bigger lures to get right out into the deep section where I knew there was bigger fish.  

I was really rueing not having my usual lures once again but it didn’t really matter, I was still wetting a line on a beautiful tropical island in Indo, possibly the first person to cast a lure there.

Lunch was BBQ fish, vege’s and rice (what else?!) and was ok, I’m not a big fan of eating Barracuda but I do get pretty spoiled when it comes to eating fish.  After a very long and relaxed lunch and laze on the beach (for the rest of the group, I fished the whole time) we were off again to the next beautiful island for some more snorkeling. 

I had spent enough time in the water and opted to fish again, just relishing the chance to have a cast in foreign waters in such cool surroundings.  The crew snoozed on the boat in the shade and I could sense they were having a bit of a laugh about the tourist fishing. 

But suddenly I was on…   something decent too and it was fairly giving my 4lb setup a workout.  It came crashing out of the water, leaping and flipping and I saw what it was, a bloody Longtom!  Lol.  They are very common back home and good for absolutely nothing, we don’t even use them for bait!

The crew on the boat had watched all this unfold and were excitedly rushing up the beach to see my fish, I was still fighting it and they were all yelling instructions at me.  The only thing I could understand was ‘don’t lose it’! 

Never fear boys, I got this!  I soon had my Longtom on the beach and asked the crew if they wanted it, silly question, of course they did, so it was soon dispatched and thrown under the deck boards to be eaten later for dinner.

But the boat tour wasn’t over yet and we were whisked off to another location, this time near the mangroves to look at fruit bats that nest in huge numbers in the area.   I could have easily skipped this part of the trip though, didn’t do much for me. 

Then for some reason we seemed to take the longest possible way back to the little harbour, past more islands and fishing boats, although it was nice I really would have preferred to have simply headed home after the last snorkelling spot.

A fantastic day out though and one of the most enjoyable I’d had in Indo, maybe because I got some fishing in, but either way I definitely recommend a visit there, it is vastly untouched and off the usual tourist trail. 

A few games of pool, dinner back at our local and another day was done, we were in bed early as we were supposed to catch a bus the next morning at 6am. Or so we thought....

17 Islands Marine Park

Our beach for lunch and relax

Absolutely magic...

My god,   it's a monster!

Another perfect beach we had to ourselves

Longtom,   somebody's dinner, but sure as hell not mine!

Fruit bats