We spent our last weeks in Australia in a familiar setting as we decided to go back to Charlevue Cattle Station to surprise the owners Jane and Jamie and to work a little more before moving on to Asia. Those four weeks went past in a blink and after an emotional farewell we boarded our plane in direction of Bali. Once we arrived in Indonesia the differences in lifestyles and climate hit us hard. The weather is hot and humid and we are sweating pretty much all the time and the Indonesian mentality needs some getting used to as well.

After only two days of organizing necessities like new supplies and a new sim card and cycling to the port of Padang Bai we already left Bali. We will be flying back there from East Timor in the middle of May and then we are going to take our time to explore the island. Our first stop was the beautiful little island of Gili Meno which is the least developed and quietest of the three Gili Islands and we enjoyed two relaxed nights there. Just sitting around got way too boring and we decided to climb Mt Rinjani, the second highest mountain in Indonesia and the highest one on the island of Lombok. The trek we chose would take us three days and two nights to visit the 3762m high summit, the crater lake and crater rim of the volcano. After arriving in the village of Senaru and meeting with our trekking company we visited two really nice waterfalls before going to bed early.

In the morning of the first day we were driven to the village of Sembalun on 1000m above sea level to start our trek. The company we chose to book with did not have any other customers that day which meant we had a private tour – nice! The guys from Hajar Trekking were really nice and our guide Mat led us up the hill safely. Day 1 was a pretty easy one as we only had to climb about 1600m to reach our first camp on the crater rim. From there we tackled the summit of Mt Rinjani (3762m) which meant getting up at 2:30am and leaving shortly after 3:00am to be able to see the sunrise on the summit. This climb was quite a bit harder because we had to walk in the dark and the last bit was made of volcanic ash in which you make one step and slide down half of it at the same moment. It was a tough climb but the view and the sunrise were really worth it. From up there you can see the neighbouring islands of Bali and Sumbawa and the whole island of Lombok.

Back at the base camp we had some breakfast and a short nap before we left for the crater lake on 2000m. Inside the crater the landscape reminded us of the European Alps but luckily the water in the lake was not too cold and we had a refreshing swim. After lunch we kept on walking to reach our second camp, again on the crater rim but on the other side of the crater. Luckily we were pretty quick to get there and we got the nicest camp site there. 

The last day of the trek consists of the descent back down to the village of Senaru and after the second day descending 2000m was pretty heavy on the legs. We felt pretty stiff afterwards but it was a really great experience to do this trek. If you ever get to Lombok, take your time to do this trek and we can really recommend Hajar Trekking for your guides and porters!

Greetings from Indonesia,

Cheers,

Vroni, Droni and Joni