We’ve switched island chains and headed north to Pulau Simeulue, about 150 kilometres off the coast of northern Sumatra.
I’ve never been this far north in Indonesia before. Rare for me!
Simeulue feels like stepping back in time. Simple village life, a predominantly Muslim island, thick jungle and a handful of little gem waves without the bustle of Indonesia’s more famous surf zones.
Most people know this part of the world for all the wrong reasons. In March 2005, an enormous magnitude 8.6 earthquake struck just offshore between Nias and Simeulue. Parts of the island and surrounding reef were lifted metres out of the ocean.
One unlikely beneficiary was the wave directly out front, The Peak.
Local lore says the reef here was previously too deep and flat. The earthquake lifted it into the sweet spot, creating the punchy left and right A-frame that now breaks out front of the rather salubrious Aura Resort, our home for this trip.
Mother Nature giveth and taketh.
We’ve lucked into a proper swell. It’s been 4 to 6 foot for the past two days and the groms are getting pushed right to their limits.
Exactly what we came for.
Uge
