Lombok & Gili. Summit to Sea

Boarding another questionably serviced ferry, we embarked on the short journey from Sumbawa over to Lombok. We’re both heavily into Audible so the journeys seem to melt away as we listen to stories and occasionally share thoughts (this is code for ignore each other – it’s important to have a break!). Lombok was the location of our first big trek – the volcano, Mount Rinjani. A must-do for those visiting Indonesia, the active volcano is over 3500m tall and we’ve been looking forward to seeing the beauty of this mountain ourselves. 

Not quite knowing what to expect, and arriving in the dark, Sembulan village kept it’s secret until early morning. We were greeted by an epic landscape view from our cottage balcony. Fields of strawberry plants and vegetable patches stretched out before us, surrounded by mountains and forest. It was a beautiful scene to wake up to and enjoy our breakfast (best pancakes so far – they were actually light and fluffy!)

The next 2 days we shared with Rinjani Dawn Adventures, and our guide Ero. This 2 day trek took us up the east side of the volcano, camping at the caldera lake, before waking at 2am to trek up to the summit and catch the sunrise. Both of us thought this would be pretty simple - backing ourselves with our climbing experience and fitness from cycling. However, midway through day 1 we realised that this was indeed a serious undertaking and why most people take 3 days to complete this trek! With the heat and the steep terrain, you really had to concentrate on where you were placing your feet and staying hydrated. Luckily our porters kept us well fed and watered – luxury to have someone to carry our things for a change! We arrived at the crater rim around 4pm and were met with heavy cloud cover (quite the anti-climax). Nevertheless, you could still see the caldera as the clouds morphed into different forms and revealed parts of the lake before rushing to cover it again. It was magical. During dinner (a very tasty vegetable curry with fried banana and chocolate sauce), the clouds finally lifted and we were left with a stunning view across the caldera, with the lake showcasing shades of green and blue with tinges of yellow. 

The summit of Mount Rinjani

As the sun set, we very quickly decided it was time to hunker down on our very plush camping mats and catch some sleep before rising only a few hours later. The wake up call at 2am was almost a welcome relief from the cold I was suffering in my sleeping bag. I looked over at Aaron, and it was clear he was toasty warm, with his legs and body out of the sleeping bag, sprawled across the tent. Once dressed, we donned head torches and headed off up the mountain to the first ‘very steep’ section. Ero had mentioned that the first section was a tricky climb until you popped up to the ridge. Holding onto trees and a very (unhelpfully) placed rope, we climbed up crumbly rock and volcanic sand. In the darkness, you could see a path of mini lights, moving slowly, like a line of ants. It reminded me of the of the photograph of the long line of mountaineers on Everest. 

The next section of our climb was a slightly easier, moderate hike. This took about 2 hours which wasn’t too bad. Looking south you could see the twinkling of small village lights, and looking west you could see the the big city lights of Mataram, Lombok’s capital. Soon we were faced with the punishing last section – a steep uphill sand climb. As bad as it sounds, you had to hike up volcanic sand. One step forward and half a slide down, this section had us both close to anger. Completely sucking all our energy, the only thing keeping up going was the thought that sunrise was a mere hour away. Finally we got to the top and scrambled up the last few meters to the summit. We nabbed our spot and hunkered down – Ero provided us with a sleeping bag to keep warm whilst we admired the stunning view. You could see the outline of the whole island and the sun peaking out. 

The sunrise took longer than I had anticipated and there were fewer people on the summit than I expected. Ero later told us that not everyone makes it to the top in time for sunrise – some not making it at all. This made the experience a little more special. As the light flooded the island, we could see the volcano inside the caldera and admire the colours of the lake. It was easily one of the best views I’ve seen. I was mesmerised by the swirls of yellow, blue and green in the lake and the puffs of steam escaping through vents. 

I’d love to say the downhill was easy but it was a mix of uncontrollable falling and sliding down the steep volcanic sand. After that, the hike down through the forest seemed challenging and we both woke up the next day with very achy legs. Barely able to walk we considered staying put for a day but given the amount of bed bug bites we’d received, we decided to push on and cycle to our next destination. For some reason that I can’t explain even now, we decided to cycle 130km on that day. In the morning, looking at the map and the terrain, it seemed to make more sense to cycle around the north of the island rather than down and round the south. With that in mind we realised we’d be passing the port for the Gili Islands, so in a spontaneous booking.com flurry, we booked a 2 night stay on Gili Meno. 

Fast forward 100km later and I was not having a good time. My legs hardly worked and the lack of chamois cream made for an uncomfortable cycle! Despite this, Lombok was fast becoming my favourite island to cycle through. The scenery was a nice mix of Flores and Sumbawa – jungle with small villages with the addition of rice terraces. We reached the port just in time to get a local shuttle boat. We got a few stares as we loaded our bikes and with all the locals on there too, the board was comically low in the water. 

The Gilli Islands

Gili Meno was a little gem. A little less touristy than it’s neighbours, we spent the next 2 days relaxing (and stretching our sore muscles!). We noticed that relaxing for us is alarmingly active – a walk around the entire island and lots of swimming. We walked along sand tracks and cobbled streets, occasionally coming across a warung (local restaurant) or another secluded beach. The snorkelling was fun with underwater statues and lots of turtles, but for us, nothing could beat the exceptional coral and fish diversity that we experienced in Labuan Bajo. 

One night we decided to take a 10 minute boat ride over to Gili T to have a night out. It was definitely busier and we had fun exploring the strip and seeing lots of tourists in one place! We decided to extend our stay again and explored the west side of Gili T, around sunset beach. I much preferred the beaches and atmosphere of the west side and we spent a lot of our time in some of the beach clubs, shamelessly doing nothing but drinking at pool bars!