Tag Archives: beach

Day 2 – Why so much road?

We were lucky to be on one of these campgrounds that offer fresh bread rolls for breakfast at the reasonable time of 7.30am in the morning. So, breakfast was good…and then we had to pack up everything wet. Yes, a little rain isn’t too bad most of the time but packing your wet things simply isn’t fun.

Honey for breakfast – Number 3, that was a great idea!

Once again we weren’t quite as fast as we wanted to be as we had another looooooong day on the road ahead of us. There were still quite a few things we needed to buy, not least of all, new diapers for the Agent. So we scheduled a break from the autobahn in a commercial area of Hamburg where we could find all the shops we needed in one neat complex. Getting there proved to be harder than expected when we landed in our first real traffic jam of this trip: Stuck at the entrance of the Elbtunnel.

Half the lanes closed of the Hafentunnel – big wait, little fun

This traffic jam put us a good bit behind our schedule. There was nothing to be done about it though, we just suffered through it. As everyone with kids knows…it’s not fun. Once we got through, everything went smoothly again. We stopped right in front of the organic supermarket at the commercial complex. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any charging stations even though we were sure there had to be some. In the end, it just lost us time. If we had found a charging station, we could have skipped the charging/lunch break and just had lunch here. Time-wise it would have been a good fit with all that time spent in the traffic jam but alas, it was not to be. We bought what we needed and were out of Hamburg again.

In a small stroke of good fortune, the kids fell asleep after the shopping adventure. Even without lunch. We made good progress until we stopped for lunch almost 1pm next to a fast charger.

Number 3 was sorely tempted by the nearby Burger King but we managed to get him to stay focused on the bread and dessert. We got lucky as there was a wooden table and bench right next to the chargers this time. It was an extended break even if we didn’t manage to sit still for long due to intermittened rain. Lunch was had on the bench before we retreated into the car for desserts.

First border crossing. Stupid for show covid border checks …

And off we went. Again. There is a reason why we usually don’t do long days on the road. They are exhausting for everyone and exceptionally boring for kids. Number 3 and the Agent were total champs though so we got through the next big chunk and into Denmark. First entry to different country of the trip. Woohooo.

At 3.30pm we had our last 15 minutes-stretch-your-legs-and-grab-a-drink-kind of a break. It was not a nice location however, right next to a fuel station. We all just wanted to get to the campground at that point. So, on we went again.

Finally, finally, we were there. Once we had set up the tent, it started raining. Raincoats and gum boots came out for the kids so Flo and I could finish setting up. The Agent of Entropy was not amused. For nearly 30 minutes she just stood where I had put her down, not moving an inch. When Flo asked her what was wrong, she pointed at her gum boots. Yeah right, it was the first time she wore proper shoes and gum boots are really heavy, especially for small kids. For the next day, she would refuse to move more than a couple of steps in these boots.

As a treat, while Flo was cooking, and because the rain had stopped, the kids and I went down to the beach. What a cool thing to do with kids! Number 3 just found thousands of ways to entertain himself, half of which ended with him having wet knees and a wet bum while the Agent of Entropy stared at the ocean, pointed at it and then went straight into it. I caught her before she was in deeper than her ankles but she was intrigued.

The day had been exhausting so we all went to bed early into a snugly tent with rain drumming on our tent roof.

Day 9 – Orange Sky

Even though we still suffered a bit through a little fatigue from the day before, we managed to get a quick shower in and wrap everything up by 10:30 am. Number 3 agreed and keeled over almost right away. That made for a good progress.

I hopped into a supermarket along the way to sort out the essentials for lunch. You would think there is not much to surprise us in a European supermarket, but the in-store stall with 50 or so hams (still on the leg) and a professional ham-slicer to serve you straight from the leg were definitively unusual 😉

We briefly debated going for the mountains to hop by a couple of monasteries recommended by the Lonely Planet but the weather was still a bit dreary. No point putting Number 3 through an extra hour of driving to go on curvy roads in the rain. Instead, we decided to keep our eyes on the campground selected and spend an hour or two catching up on things.

That also left plenty of time to look a bit about for a lunch spot. We chose a beach 10 minutes from the highway. That way, Number 3 got his first picnic on the beach. He was a bit undecided about the sand situation, but we all enjoyed the sun finally breaking through.

As it turned out going for an early camp, that was an excellent choice. Even avoiding the motorway, we made excellent time. In most places the road was a perfectly good motorway right next to the toll road.

The campground was the first one we picked from a site recommended by Dutch traveller friends of ours. https://www.rustiekkamperen.com/ It roughly translates to rustic, or better romantic campsites and focuses a lot on things that we like in our stops. This time, we went for a larger one on there – a converted Orange Orchard a bit off in the hills. It was an amazing choice! Perfect, clean facilities, super quiet and cheap to boot. The pool looked like something out of a travel magazine – we had to try, but it was waaaay to bloody cold. After almost freezing Number 3 in the kiddie pool, he got to have a hot bath instead!

We topped it all off with another great dinner and got to see a beautifully lit sky for sunset. All was quiet, except for the bunches of overly excitable birds all around in the old and gnarly olive trees.

Beach lunch at El Mora
Food and sand don’t mix well, Number 3!
Vege and cheese
Number 3 learning how to balance
With floaties?
Camp at an old orange plantation
Father and son
Pool @ camp ground
Hot bath for the little one
Dusk through the olive trees

Day 132 – Skirting the rain

The mountains never far

Sumatra and New Zealand have some similarities. Or at least the NZ South Island and Sumatra have things in common. Both islands have a mountain range running through them lengthwise, creating a west and an east coast. As in New Zealand, so is here the west coast wetter but probably prettier. This formed part of our reasoning while deciding on our route. Also, the Trans-Sumatra-Highway goes up on the east of the mountain range which might mean more kilometres per day but it is also the route that all the trucks will take. To spare us the traffic and to avoid the possibility of highway robbers (there were warnings of that), we plan to go up the west coast before heading right into the mountains. With this plan, we have the possibility of a whole lot of rain during our time on Sumatra. In the last couple of days, we recognized a pattern: It is never raining in the mornings, starts to cloud up around lunch and either starts raining then or in the afternoon. The path was clear…we had to be on the road as early as possible. Continue reading →

Day 117 – Ninja Turtles

hard to tell who is more excited …

Staying right at Sukamade beach had one clear advantage: We could tag along to the release of hatchlings in the morning! It would be an early start at 6am but well worth it. A few words to the turtle saving program at Sukamade first though. The beach is, for some reason, the preferred beach for laying eggs for green turtles and leatherback turtles. No one really knows why as there are similar beaches around but it is how it is. Currently, Sukamade is part of the Meru Betiri National Park and a turtle saving program has been running since 1988. Turtles will come on land to lay eggs, burrow them and then go back into the ocean, leaving vulnerable eggs on the beach. Those eggs are threatened by natural predators such as wild boars, crabs and even ants but maybe even more so from poachers. To help keep turtles numbers up, the rangers dig up the eggs, burrow them in their own hatchery and release the hatched turtles back into the ocean.

Since 2005, all adult turtles coming on land to lay eggs are checked and tagged. Flo and I were lucky enough to see a green turtle last night as it was checking out the beach, probably to lay eggs later. Continue reading →

Day 92 – Surprise at Koka Beach

We took our time this morning. The original plan was to stay two days at Lena house to get a bit of a rest from the ferry but since we had arrived here yesterday at 8am and didn’t do anything except for resting and eating, we felt good enough to travel on. The idea still was to have a short day though.

Getting ready to leave. She Ye took a picture of us because we just have so few with both of us

Breakfast with pancake and fruit salad was very yummy. She Ye also had breakfast so we had lovely company. Talking to other travelers is always good fun. Matt appeared quite a while later. Both of them warmly recommended Koka Beach where they had just been. So we put it on the agenda to check it out, at least.

It was warm, very warm at 11.30am when we left. And almost lunch time again. The next bigger city was Maumere so we planned to have lunch there. When we got there, nothing really took our fancy while I remembered a recommendation for a restaurant in Paga. According to the GPS, Paga was a mere 20km onwards so we decided to give Restaurant Laryss a try. It was astonishingly hard to find, in the end. We passed it on the first try, met a bunch of schoolkids ad had troubled turning around but found it on the second try. The sign had fallen down and nothing was advertising it as anything else but a regular looking place anymore…

Lunch at Restaurant Laryss

The owner spoke English and a bit of German which Flo used to get a recommendation for food. Thus, he ended up with squid (very yummy according to him).

From Paga, it was only a short ride to Koka Beach. Off the main road, you take a small track down to the beach, maybe two kilometres. We were greeted by a guy with a machete at his side and a twelve year old shadowing him. He spoke English quite well and let us know that he is volunteering as “beach keeper” for Koka Beach: He gets a dollar from every visitor but for that money, he looks after the beach, clears it of rubbish and has a strike rule that no motorbikes are allowed right on the beach. He wasn’t kidding. The beach looked amazing! Funny story at the side: Our motorbike and our trip reminded him of another traveller who had stayed at Koka Beach. Turns out that Hubert, the German traveller we met in Dili, had stayed here for a couple of days.

A local named Blasius runs a little warung, shop and ‘guest house’ for Koka Beach. Right at the beach, a couple of tiny huts have been built out of bamboo which can be rented for $3 dollars a night so you can either stay in one of those or camp with your own tent. Some shaded benches and deck chairs for day visitors or use at the beach complete the set. All of them are also made out of bamboo.

Surprise attack during the selfie shot =P

We decided to stay for a night in a lovely hut. Since we didn’t have a mosquito net, we used just our inner tent in the hut. It was almost like living in a hobbit hole right at the beach. =P

Dinner was prepared by Blasius’ wife for 6 o’clock. It was lovely, delicious and way too much food. Two grilled fish were dished up for Flo while I got egg fritters, spinach and a delicious tomato-chili-salad that was just a notch too hot for me but which I ate anyway. Blasius joined us for dinner, well at least our dinner conversation, and we talked in English, a bit of Bahasa and a lot of gestures. Afterwards, we were treated to tea and coffee (local coffee, brewed like Greek ones) and an invitation to visit Blasius’ parents in the morning after breakfast.

It was dark early so we listened to an audiobook and took some photos in the dark before actually going to sleep.

: Getting ready to leave. She Ye took a picture of us because we just have so few with both of us

: Standing in line, well-behaved, waiting for a turn at the gas station

: Refilling 17 liters takes its time

: View onto the mountains and a bit of the road on the other side

: The windy road is in an excellent condition here

: Lunch at Restaurant Laryss

: The reason why we didn’t find the restaurant on the first try

: Lovely beach…two more day visitors and then the fishermen and us shared this…

: Like a hobbit hole

: Our tent in one of the huts…as we were lacking a mosquito net

: Flo cooled his feet in the shallow water

: Only got prettier when the sun was low

: No one around but us

: Surprise attack during the selfie shot =P

Day 76 – There and back again

Flo woke me up quite urgently because the sun was rising right outside of our room. I stumbled out, into the hammock and we watched the sunrise.

From bed to hammock, that is as far as Nina got.

A quick check of the clock told us that it was 6.30am and breakfast would be served at 7am.

I never have a problem with breakfasts (being vegetarian) and this one was great. Fresh bananas and pieces of oranges next to omelettes and hard-boiled eggs. As a baseline, there are always small, round bread rolls with jam, honey, peanut butter or marmite. It was delicious and I stuffed myself. Right after breakfast, we realized that we’ve forgotten to take our doxycycline today. So back to the table and more food…oh, the pains. 😉

We packed a daypack for hiking and went to talk to Barry about hiking to Mario’s place. Mario’s place is on the opposite side of the island with a hike leading across to it.

Like a map for a treasure hunt 😉

Barry gave us a basic map of the track (no markings) and we packed our lunch in the kitchen before heading off.

The first 1 ½ hours are along the road. Despite us leaving in the early morning, it was hot and the track was lacking trees for shade. However, the view back down to Beloi and the bay was great.

Finally, we came to the first real turn and the track went off into a forested part, leading past limestone walls and caves. Some of them are gigantic, with roots from trees hanging down. Immediately, it was cooler and the slight breeze refreshing. A couple of goats could be seen at both sides of the path. Continue reading →

Day 75 – Beep, beep, beep…

Twice in one week, the alarm clock went off before sunrise. This time, the diabolical sound put an end to our peaceful slumber at 4am. I must admit that it was a small solace to know that Herman would break the peaceful slumber with us to drive us to the wharf.

Crowd waiting at the gate to embark

At the waterfront we found that a crowd had already gathered, sleep drunken, in the dark in front of the closed gate. Our tickets stated 4:30am, it was 5am now and nothing but goods was allowed through the gate – no reason to worry in Dili.

We shuffled through the gate at about 6am in the end, which was all well for us. The wait gave us a chance to get to talk to a group of malae waiting there with us. It turned out they had another motorcycle traveller in their midst. Chantal, recently from Australia, originally from the Netherlands, is on a very similar route to ours. Continue reading →

Day 67 – Quiet days

With one of our hosts gone and Celia working like the most impressive worker bee, not much was going on in the house. Before disappearing for the rest of the day to work though, Celia managed to convince me to join in one more time for a walk through the mangrove to the beach. Nina was supremely captivated by her newest book that she passed on the opportunity.

CC-BY-SA 3.0 by Peter Ellis

The beach was again teaming with life, but to my astonishment, a whole different set of critters showed up this time around. Maybe it was about the different point in the tidal cycle or the progressing buildup towards the wet. Whatever it was, I thoroughly enjoyed watching thousands of soldier crabs give the beach these flecks of bluish purple. I even dared to join the others in exploring barefoot, after covering me head to tow with mud flung up from my jandals the last time around.

To get everything ready for the post office in the afternoon, I spend the afternoon copying. We took about 2500 photos in Australia, coming to roughly 64 GB of data (I want to keep the RAWs

Cooling down every once in a while

for later use). There was no internet connection fast enough in sight to upload this in any way quick enough to our Amazon Cloud storage, so I chose a different tactic for the backup this time. We carry a 1TB hard drive as the primary storage, and usually whatever gets uploaded into the cloud then gets deleted from our active 64 GB SD card. With uploading out of the question, we chose to use cheap USB flash drives and mail the backup to Germany for uploading there.

Beyond the flash drives and some post cards, we needed to send another box home. Since Nina’s Companero suit is finally complete, her old pants needed to go. Some paperwork and even the much treasured Coleman Sleeping bag fitted in as well. The price would be the same, so I was quite happy that we were able to keep the sleeping bag – it for me symbolized a much needed turning point for the better on our trip and I feared that we had to just give it away.

Chaos roaming the world

random pieces of life of Nina and Florian