Sick of sharing the lineup
with hordes of other blokes in
Bintang singlets? Or maybe that
remote location you went to
last year turned out to have less
people, but also less waves.
Well, maybe some of the lesser-
known areas on mainland Northern
Sumatra are for you.
Now we’re not going to make
ridiculous calls like, “no crowds!”
or “perfect waves guaranteed!”
But we can tell you that this area
certainly deserves more credit
than it currently gets – just ask
frequent visitor, and photographer
extraordinaire, Mick Curley.
“It’s a wild place, incredibly
beautiful,” Mick said.
“I take my family up there often
and go off the grid completely.”
So why is it that this region
doesn’t get the same attention that
its neighbours like the Mentawai
Islands get?
“The whole of Indonesia has
an incredible amount of waves to
explore [but] travel difficulties would
be up there as a solid reason why
some places are empty,” Mick said.
“There’s a mountain of reasons
why certain places in Indo are not as
popular as others, but that doesn’t
mean the waves don’t stack up to
the more known spots.”
If you’re a first-timer, then your
best way to score North Sumatra and
not end up being airlifted to hospital
is by hooking up with one of the
boat operators in the region. Onceyou’ve got your bearings of the area,
a solo mission is certainly do-able.
Just make sure you have your wits
about you.
“With less travelled locations,
they have their challenges with
regards to food, language and clean
water. Like anywhere, once you get
away from resorts and developed
areas you have to be careful and
prepared for shit to get real. This is
an area where true surf pioneering
can still be done.
“To go explore potential breaks
all over Indonesia, most times the
only boats available are the local
fishing boats. I guess it depends on
where you’re looking and how good
your Bahasa and bargaining skills
are. Adventure is most definitely still
there if you want it!”
If you do decide to take the latter
option and walk on the wild side, it
would be wise to brush up on your
first-aid skills.
“The smallest cut you don’t treat
properly can mean life and death,”
Mick explains.
“It sounds far-fetched, but I’ve
seen at least five people have to get
emergency medical extractions out
of Indonesia for treatment because
of staph infections and tropical
diseases that start from a scratch.
“You have to be really vigilant
with looking after yourself, and your
mates, out there. It’s a long way
from anywhere and when things do
go wrong it’s a little more serious
than your typical Bali surf mission.”Bryce Young packed the antibacterial meds
and headed north. This was his reward.
PHOTO: SHIELD
North Sumatra
Indonesia