Pacific Indonesia

Where to surf in Pacific Indonesia

Working during the so-called off-season from Nov-March, Pacific windswells arrive from the north and hit a varied selection of reefs, sprinkled across many islands and Indonesian provinces. This NW-NE swell can show up on both the east and west coasts.

This is a very remote corner of Indonesia, exuding a heavy Melanesian vibe, with little in the way of land-based infrastructure such as roads, making it a perfect boat trip destination. The disputed West Papua and Papua provinces were handed over to Indonesia in the '60s and since then, they have been colonizing the region with settlers from the west of the country. Displeased and displaced, the incredibly diverse indigenous inhabitants have been fighting to prerserve their unfamiliar culture and traditions from being absorbed into mainstream Indonesian society. These tensions and a complete lack of infrastructure has kept these regions in the wilderness from a tourism perspective, apart from the world-class diving found in Raja Amput.

Sulawesi

Just below the Philipines, the Talaud, Sangihe and Sitaro Islands pick up the same swells as Maluku and there are some reefs and beachbreak on the NE coast of biggest island in the Talaud chain called Karakelong. Sangihe Island is also worth exploring and they both have small airports serviced by Wings Air. The other 75 islands in these groups are small and herd to get to, so probably only surfed by yachties heading towards the Philippines.

Sulawesi attracts many divers to the Bunaken National Marine Park in the Celebes Sea, which is generally a bad sign for surfers, since divers avoid waves. We have seen some waves on this coast while flying into Manado, but it must be a rare occurence and involve short period windswell from the NW-N. The more exposed E coast has a narrow swell window from NNE-NE and may have a few reefs between the steeper, rocky parts of the coast, but it will always be size deficient. Considering how much swell wraps down the west coast of Maluku, it stands to reason that some other islands further south in the Molucca Sea could be benefitting, but while Morotai remains empty, there is little point in looking.

North Maluku

North Maluku, where the islands of Morotai and Halmahera are stacked with smoking waves and volcanoes, is the most exposed region in Pacific Indo. North Maluku is so off the beaten track that famously, a WW2 Japanese soldier managed to remain hidden on Morotai until 1974!

On the eastern coast of Halmahera the N-E swell penetrates some of the deep bays like Kao and Buli, where some small islands bend lefts and rights around each reefy tip. Fast, throaty barrels can also be found on the east-facing coast around Dorosago. There are lots of potential reefs along this coast that might have their day, but because there are a couple of top quality set-ups on one particular island, few bother going looking for waves elsewhere.

Papua and West Papua

West Papua's massive Birds Head Peninsula is extremely tough access by road, so most tourists fly into Sorong and pick up a charter dive boat to take them northwest to the nearby coral cathedrals of Raja Ampat. Waigeo has the best exposure to swell during the Nov-March surf season and the NW winds can often be offshore for the lefts on certain E-facing reefs. A few expeditions have discovered enough waves in the region to make it a surf destination during the off seson for diving, when charter boats, dive resorts and homestays are generally empty. Unfortunately it coincides with the wet season so be prepared for a soaking.

Surfers can also start in the other major city of Manokwari, where a left reef peels nicely into Pantai Bakaro. There are exposed rights off the large fringing reef at Pantai Amban, while picturesque Pantai Abasi occasionally has a left on big swells. Biak island has a central road running from Wapur to Korem on the north coast. Between Korem and Warsa, the coast road overlooks the surf, but it is short on possibilities as the coastal reef platform is often too straight. Look for a left near the church at Warsa or there's a right on the other side of town where a river has cut a defined channel. A cluster of curved coral reefs dot the N coast of Supiori, an island connected to Biak by bridges and a bona fide target for anybody with access to a good charter boat.

Exploratory trips to Papua have gleaned huge potential, but swell consistency is the problem and the short surf season coincides with the wet season. This means muddy rivermouths, but the plethora of offshore islands offer reef curves with multiple aspects, so access to a decent boat is crucial. Kota Sarmi is a good base with waves around the harbour and Wakte Island has an attractive right reef set-up that's offshore in N winds. The region's capital Jayapura also has some mellow beachbreaks inside the bay at Pasir Hitam (Black Sand), Holtenkamp and Skouw.