AhPek Biker - Old Dog Rides Again: Indonesia Bali-Sumba Discovery 2023 D5: Tambolaka-Waingapu

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Indonesia Bali-Sumba Discovery 2023 D5: Tambolaka-Waingapu - Of Blue Waterfalls & Green Hills

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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures

Indonesia Bali-Sumba Discovery 2023

Day 5: Tambolaka-Waingapu

- Of Blue Waterfalls & Green Hills

Bali, Indonesia : Friday, 2nd June 2023

This is part of a non-cycling road-trip recce tour of Bali & Sumba, Indonesia:

Tambolaka>Waimangura>Waikelo Sawah>Waikabubak>Prai Ijing>Wairinding Hills>Waingapu.

Time: 7:10 am to 8:10 pm

Time Taken : 12 hrs. (including 4-hour road-trip from Tambolaka to Waingapu (including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and stops at a beautiful waterfall, a native village and scenic hills, & many photo opps).

This is page 5 of a 8-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

< D4: Tambolaka | Go to Other Days | D6: Savana & Tenau >

Route Recommendations, here're some tips on travelling in Bali & Sumba:

1. Traffic Directions!

Traffic in Indonesia, is right-hand drive, so drive/cycle on the left. Same thing applies when crossing the road, take note of the direction in which traffic is approaching from!

2. Getting from Bali to Sumba.

From Bali to Sumba we flew Lion Wings Air, departing from Ngurah Rai Airport and arriving at Tambolaka's Lede Kalumbang Airport. We stayed a night at Tambolaka before going by local hired vans to get to Waingapu and the surrounding area. The basic return air-fare from Denpasar to Tambolaka was around IDR2,300,000 (MYR710 or USD155) per pax without checked in luggage. Online bookings can be done via the Lion Air Website.

There are direct flights from Denpasar to Waingapu, but oddly the fares are more expensive, almost double. So it did make sense that for a big group like ours, the first option of flight-vans was cheaper.

3. Covid-19 & Customs Requirments

We applied for Covid-19 clearance through the e-forms submitted to the SatuSehat mobile app, which required uploading of vaccination details & PDF copies of vaccination certificates, and got on-line approval. Upon arrival at Bali Airport, there was a small counter for SatuSehat, but it was not manned, so perhaps this is not required for Bali.

Submission for customs e-clearance is advised for getting past the airport customs without a fuss. E-submission can be done prior to leaving for Indonesia, Click here for to access and fill up the Indonesian E-CD (Electronic Customs Declaration) forms for approval. Upon successful application, a QR Code is given, save this to your phone and show it to the customs officer upon arrival. With a quick scan, and one is cleared to enjoy one's holiday.

4. Clearing Immigration for Senior Citizens and families with infants, etc.

Prior to the pandemic, there were special counters at the Malaysian & Indonesian immigration exit points for senior citizens above 60 years old, but these are not there anymore. No worries though, if there are long queues, just asked any helpful officer for help for senior citizens, and one will be directed to a fast-track counter.

5. Route & Traffic Conditions

At Sumba, traffic is slightly heavy at the urban areas of Tambolaka and Waingapu, but there were not much jams. Roads are narrower but still pleasant to drive on. At some stretches leading to the waterfalls, some hiking was required (more details on this at the day to day blogs).
It's our first full day in Sumba, and we head east, leaving the diving capital of the island (Tambolaka) to head for scenic parts of the island on the east (around Waingapu). Enroute we stopped at: a) the scenic Waikelo Sawah with a waterfall with superbly clear blue water that feeds down to the sawah (padi fields) below; b) Prai Ijing, a Sumbanese traditional native village; & c) sunset & moon-rise at the Wairinding Hills.

6. Weather

In Sumba day temperature averaged 30°C, while night ones were 22°C.

The best time to visit Sumba is April-June and September, just before and just after high season. It's still dry season, it's slightly less humid, and room prices and villa rentals can be 30-50% cheaper than during high season. It's a cooler season.

Useful weather forecast sites for the Indonesia is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.

7. Communicating with Each Other

When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one got lost from the rest. Compared to the our previous trip 5-years ago, this time round it was more difficult to get the Indonesian pre-paid phone sim card. For security reasons, there is a need to register ones's passport and phone's IMEI #1 and IMEI #2. One cannot just go to any local shops to buy the sim card as they are reluctant or not equiped to provide such a service. As such, most local phone shops sells only to locals.

It is EASIEST to get the sim cards at the airport. There are booth selling these just after getting past customs and into the arrival hall of Bali (Ngurah Rai) Airport, the local staff there are at hand to help register one's passport and IMEIs. We opted for Telkomsel's as it provides the best coverage at Bali, and even at some of the remote areas of Sumba, and got their Tourist prepaid simcard with 16+8 GB of data valid for 30 days at IRD250K (MYR77 or USD17). 3G internet is available in the more populated areas but can drop to the slower GPRS or even Edge in remote areas. Failing to get a sim card at the airport one can try to get it at some of the Telkomsel's shop, click here for Bali shops locations and click here for Sumba shop locations.

It is possible to get these Tourist prepaid simcard on-line, but registration of passport & IMEIs are still required and one will have to select an official pick-up point, which are only available in the Bali and Mandalika Lombok areas.

Most hotels, motels, home-stays, restaurants, and airports have free Wifi; but do note that public free wifi may not be secure and registration could be required. But one can safe on one's mobile data by using these especially for uploading or downloading videos.

8. Communicating with Locals

As Bali, is a favorite tourist destinations, many locals speak fairly good English. At the smaller towns, locals speak some rudimentary English. The older generation speak very little English, so knowing some basic Bahasa Indonesia (or even better - Balinese language) will come in handy and also warm one up to the locals.

At Sumba, except at hotels and up-market restaurant, very few locals speak English, so some basic Bahasa Indonesia will come in handy. The older Sumbese speak Sumba languages which are a subgroup of the Austronesian language family, that is closely related to the Hawu–Dhao languages.

9. Getting Around

We were on a recce tour group and paid MYR1,700 per pax for ground arrangements that include hotels, breakfast and van transportation, other meals & tips for guide and drivers were not include - all in cost came to around MYR4,000 including some minimum shopping. They were 13 of us including the two tour guides. At Bali, a large 15-seater van with driver took us around. In Sumba, 3 smaller Toyota Avanza took us from Tambolaka to Waingapu and around these cities.

Those interested in joining the guided tour can contact Nik at +6017-4881917. Those who are keen in having their own free and easy tour, contact Bali van driver Made at +6281-5580-02922 or Sumba van drivers Rian Djara at +6281-2387-26367 & Lih Man at +62 82-3398-64280 Sumba Driver.

In Sumba 3-4 star hotels can be found at around MYR150 (USD35) per room per night even for those beach hotels; click here for range of hotels in Sumba.

8. Places & Things of Interests

There were many scenic and interesting places of interest; but one should not miss the following (Note: click on the GPS coordinates for directional map to the respective places):

- Horse riding at at Villa Sinar Tambolaka (GPS: -9.4318, 119.24007) in Tambolaka City.

- Yam (Taro) (GPS: -9.51147, 119.24140) collection centre near Waimangura.

- Waikelo Sawah, (FB Link) (GPS: -9.59572, 119.34096) a functional waterfall near Tambolaka.

- Prai Ijing, a Sumbanese traditional native village (GPS: -9.64255, 119.43110).

- Christ the Redeemer statue (GPS: -9.61174, 119.40789) at Gollu Potto Sumba Religious Tourism Park.

- Wairinding Hills (GPS: -9.67960, 120.10131) from Wairinding View Point (GPS: -9.68324, 120.12408) near Waingapu.

- Sumba Ikat Weaving - a manually weaved cotton-fabric Sumbanese textile art form that uses natural dyes.

9. Food

Breakfast: Inclusive buffet breakfast at Hotel Sinar Tambolaka (GPS: -9.43056, 119.23861) in Tambolaka City,

Lunch: At at Foodie Jember (GPS: -9.62531, 119.4032) in Waikabubak - Mie Godog Jawa, (okay), Nasi Ayam Terung Penyet (very good), Nasi Goreng Special (Special fried rice), Virgin Mojito, Jus Sirsat, Hot local Sumba Coffee.

Dinner: At at Mr. Cafe (GPS: -9.65427, 120.26675) in Waingapu - Soto Ayam, Tempeh Goreng, Bakso, Alpokat Drink (avocado).

10. Accommodations

Our stay for the night was at Tanto Hotel Waingapu (GPS: -9.65819, 120.27023) in Waingapu, Sumba. (Tip: request for rooms further away from the reception as it's quite near the main road and can be noisy). Cost was included in our tour package, online booking shows cost as MYR90 / USD19 per double/twin room per night.

11. Navigation

I used MapMyRide to track our routes and stops. Geo-tagging of places of interest was via FaceBook or Google Maps.

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PRELUDE

Yesterday, was a long day of travel, flying from driving from Kintamani to Kuta (Bali) to take a flight to Tambolaka (Sumba). We arrived almost near dusk and missed out visiting the scenic Weekuri Lagoon. But sort of made up for it with a walk to the local Tambolaka Market.

Today, our real adventure in sum begins with visits/swimming at a beautiful waterfall set amidst sawah (padi fields), scenic hills (as enchanting as the hills of Scotland and also bringing back memories of cycling in the Batanes islands at the Philippines. Along the way we even managed to squeezed in a visit to a Sumbanese traditional native village!

It was a beautiful and exciting day, come and have a look.

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THE TRIP

Small Group (Non-cycling) Recce Tour of Sumba, Indonesia:

Tambolaka>Waimangura>Waikelo Sawah>Waikabubak>Prai Ijing>Wairinding Hills>Waingapu.

Today is our first full day in Sumba, and we head east, leaving the diving capital of the island (Tambolaka) to head for scenic parts of the island on the east (around Waingapu). Enroute we stopped at:

a) the scenic Waikelo Sawah with a waterfall with superbly clear blue water that feeds down to the sawah (padi fields) below;

b) Prai Ijing, a Sumbanese traditional native village; &

c) sunset & moon-rise at the Wairinding Hills.

(Click here for D5: Tambolaka to Waingapu Direction Map)

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HORSE-RIDING IN SUMBA (almost )😂

But what's this (the top-most photo) of stunned looking me riding a horse?

Yes, Sumba is home to wild horses and many has been tamed to be ridden by locals; and perhaps we will get to experience them.

Just after breakfast we took a walk hither along stepped pathways to another part of the hotel, the villas section (where the hotel's swimming pool is too).

Wow! There ARE horses here! Some grazing and one coming over to me for a pet... should I? Well why not, it won't bite, would it?

That's me and the wifey; must say she looked more cool.

A friend commented why I looked like wildly riding but the horse is just standing still.

Come on, buddy....

Giddyap. Let's roll on rawhide! OR Perhaps the Lone Ranger!

Ok... ok... we were just posing .... and we were given some colourful ikat cloth to look more natural. As for me, I am wearing a head-dress called "tiara pahudu" which is made with the pahikung weaving technique. For some nice pahikung textiles click here.

Perhaps, with my curled lips, I was looking too serious.
A friend, KT Chin thought so too, and edited the photo with me holding a trident spear and wearing a feathered headgear..... looks like I just stepped out from "The Lord of the Rings"!

By the way, the houses behind us are traditional Sumba houses with peaked roofs.

The rest of the gang chipped in for a Sumbanese Ikat fashion parade!

9:00am - Time to say adios to the horses, we have a four-hour drive ahead of us (to Waingapu).

Passed by a traditional house, one with a very tall peaked roof. The locals tell us that the taller the roof, the more important the building is.. This one must be very important, either belonging to VVIP, or perhaps it's a community building. Or even a church, as the majority of the locals are Christians / Catholics.

Half an hour down the road, we chanced upon these odd looking plant with huge roots.

This are yam plants, or our American friends would call them taro. They have been harvested and left at the road-side for collection later on.

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CLEAR BLUE WATERS OF WAIKELO SAWAH

Another 16.5 kilometres down the road, we made a right turn and a short distance we were met with one of the most enchanting places on the island - Waikelo Sawah. Superbly clear water with a tinge of blue was flowing down channels and the children were happily dipping into the water without a care in the world, made me just want to immediately jump in to join them and leave all my troubles behind!

These water came from cascades with even bluer water. Somewhere upstream the water seems to flow out from a dark cavern.

A closer look, from the caver white water rush to form a brilliant blue pool. My friends on the left ledge seemed dwarfed. From this left ledge one can peek into the cavern!

Here we are sitting slightly further in from that ledge; from here on can peep into the caver with calmer waters and at the far end is the source of the waterfall.

This is a mysterious place, and even the locals don't go inside, respecting not the disturb the spirits inside.

From the ledge, the local children gleefully jumped down twenty over feet into the water.

One of our buddies followed suit, did it quite beautifully; but scrapped his back on some hidden rocks hidden underwater. He was lucky to escape with blue-black bruises and some abrasions; just a couple inches inwards and could have hurt his back badly.

It's not all fun and play here, to one corner just below the last cascade, local Tema Tana village women were doing their laundry while trading the latest gossip.

Other than children swimming and women doing their laundry, the waterfall water is also collected for drinking. This combination may seem a bit odd or unhygienic; but there is some system here. As can be seen from the above photo, the waterfall drains into three channels.

The wider central channel is where the cascades are, and the ladies are doing the laundry on one side; this water flows to irrigate the paddies downstream (called sawah locally, hence the name Waikelo Sawah). On the left, a channel drains to the local village for their usage, that's where the children were swimming. On the right, a wider channel drains to reservoirs for downstream usage. Neat yah.

(photo credit: alifeiimagined)

But Waikelo Sawah is not just that functional waterfall, it is much more!

It flows downstream, with cascades of magical blue contrasting with the green of the terracing paddies (sawah).

It's also of lively locals ..... a cute baby with large attractive eyes .... and a seasoned older man proudly wearing his "tiara pahudu" head-dress.

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It's going to be a long drive to Waingapu, fortunately along the way were some unscheduled stops (other than toilet stops 😆; such as at this roadside fruit stop. The bananas look lovely, but one must buy here are the packets of ground nuts (seen hanging on the left), these are a favourite in Sumba.

Several stalls near many varieties of fruits. Some are more common like bananas, mangoes, and gourds. But there are a few strange-looking ones too. Not to be missed is their Salak fruit, the ones here are sweeter and don't have that acrid/pungent aftertaste. They are crunchy too, and the missus bought some to eat en route.

But disaster (actually a mishap) occurred shortly. While she was eating one of the sweet, crunchy Salak, the van went over a bump and the fruit went down the wrong way and started choking her. She had difficulty breathing, fortunately, she managed to cough it out. The van made a quick stop for her to clear her throat. There, we looked up and saw far away a statue of Jesus, it looked somewhat similar to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. She must be truly blessed to have someone from up above watching over her.
(Click here for a Google Street View of Sumba's Christ the Redeemer Statue)

What we saw was Jesus's statue at the Gollu Potto Sumba Religious Tourism Park, a religious park set atop a hill near Waikabubak.

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PRAI IJING NATIVE VILLAGE

Our next stop took us on a step to the past, it took us to Prai Ijing, a Sumbanese traditional native village. A couple of horses guard the entrance to the village.

Although just located around 500 meters above sea-level, Prai Ijing seems to be on top of the world as it's set up in the tallest hill of the locality.

See what I means?

The interior is simple, with beds made from bamboo strips, and some sacks at a corner store the grains that had been harvested.

The most important part is at the centre, right below the peaked roof. This is their "kitchen stove" and smoke from the cooking flows right up the peak roof to be discharged. Often, strips of meat will be left here to be smoked and air-dried.

But often, it's the people that makes up the live of the village - like this mother patiently feeding her child.

And this lady weaving an Ikat cloth with her simple bamboo loom.

Some example of the Sumbanese textile from this village.

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We said goodbye to the villagers and as we left we saw a spanking new church building with a similar roof design as the village housing. Most of the islanders are Catholics, and every half mile or so can be seen a church; most are simple wooden buildings others are more elaborate like the one above.

Time for some lovely food - it's really lovely as the fried rice had been served in the shape of a heart.

Locals travel simply, on top of lorries or trucks.

Some are on horses - which is not surprising as Sumba is home to wild horses, and many has been tamed to be ridden by locals. When out in the pastures, the tamed horses are the ones with reins.

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CORRUGATED WAIRINDING LAYERED HILLS

Another 110 kilometres and with a short left turn and we were at another "NOT TO BE MISSED" location of Sumba, i.e. Wairinding Hills. Some call them corrugated hills as they curved in multiple layers, beautifully rolling away to the horizon.

This is a good place to welcome the sunset. As the sun sets, the horizon changes from a bright blue to a tinge of light purple, and the hills fro a bright green to a darker green.....