Wave Surfing Expedition in Manokwari

Please, share this info to as many of your friends who are wave surfers.
Abasi Surfing is going to conduct surf expedition along the north and south coastline of Manokwari from 15 to 21 December 2015. There are a lot of unexplored surf spots in the region. We now open the registration for everybody who is interested in participating in this expedition.
Please, bring your own surfboards and make sure that you arrive in Manokwari city before 15 December.

Surf Expedition in Manokwari

Surf Expedition in West Papua's capital of Manokwari

How to get there?

• Fly from your country to Jakarta.
• And then, take a domestic flight to Manokwari city. Indonesian airlines such as Sriwijaya Air, Garuda, Lion Air and Express Air have got regular flights to Manokwari. There are passenger liners from PELNI that regularly sail between Jakarta and Manokwari (Please, check pelni.co.id for schedule and ticket price)
• We will meet you at the airport or ship harbor.

When the expedition is conducted near Manokwari city, participants will stay in a hotel or guesthouse. However, the coastline is in the south and along the north of Manokwari is very long. So, participants will need to stay in remote areas where there are no hotels or guesthouses. We will build tents for the expedition.
Cost: 4 million rupiahs (approximately 260 Euros). The cost includes transportation between Manokwari and the surf spots, accommodation and food.
For registration and further info, please, contact: abasiklubsurfing@gmail.com. 

http://abasiklubsurfing.blogspot.com

Wave Surfing at Abasi Beach of Manokwari

The waves along the north coast of Manokwari are big now. So, it is a perfect time to go surfing. Surfers from several foreign countries have visited Manokwari since December when strong winds from the North East begin to hit Manokwari coasts especially in the mornings and in the afternoons. This month, we can see some local and foreign surfers at Abasi and Bakaro beach. For foreign surfers, it is an opportunity to explore new surfing sites in the Pacific. Some of them are several experienced surfers from an international team that has traveled around the world. On the other hand, local youths who go to the sea with the international surfers see it as a chance to learn new techniques from their more experienced counterparts.

Papuan surfers in Manokwari have formed a small club called Abasi Klub Surfing. This local initiative is a trying to promote Manokwari as an alternative destination for foreign surfers who want to explore new surfing sites in Indonesia. As the largest tropical island in the world, Papua has got hundreds of kilometers of coastline that has got surfing and marine sports potentials. Members of Abasi Klub Surfing regularly practice surfing at Abasi beach and the Pantura (meaning North Coast). Most of their activities in the form of photographs and videos have been uploaded to the club's blog at abasiklubsurfing.blogspot.com. This blog attracts the attention of foreign travelers and surfing enthusiasts to visit Manokwari as their next destination. In addition to surfing, other outdoor activities that visitors like to do in Manokwari are trekking, birdwatching, snorkeling and mountain biking.
If you are interested in traveling to and need more info about Manokwari, please contact me by e-mail to peace4wp@gmail.com. I will be happy to arrange your trips and provide guiding service during your stay in this regency.

Surfing in Manokwari

From December to early March, Manokwari is experiencing strong wind in its north coast. Big waves land on the beach making it as a favorite destination for wave surfers. There are a lot of places in Manokwari where surfers can enjoy their sports. Yesterday, I made some movies about how Papuan boys play with the waves. I upload some of them in Youtube. Here is the video that shows three boys surf simultaneously. Actually, this is dangerous because they many collide while riding the surfboards.

Another surfing spot where big waves can be experienced all year round is near Abasi beach. Surfers can fly to Manokwari and enjoy surfing in any month they choose. So, if you want to surf in Manokwari, please, contact me by e-mail to peace4wp@gmail.com

Also read:

• Birding in High Elevation Forest of Minahasa
• Walking Tour, Birdwatching and Butterflywatching in District Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching in Minahasa Highland
• Manado City Birdwatching and Sightseeing Tour
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in Sulawesi
• Birdwatching and butterflywatching in Sonder
• https://wildlifeminahasa.blogspot.com

Papuan Children Wave Surfing with Victor Dykman at Abasi beach of Manokwari

I went with Victor Dykman and Anne Bijleveld this afternoon to Abasi beach of Manokwari. We wanted to watch how the Papuan children perform wave surfing. Although Victor and Anne had just arrived this morning, they showed their interest in seeing these Papuan children. We went there by ojek - motorcycle taxi. When we arrived at the front yard of Utrecht church, we did not see children at sea. So, I called some children to find the little wave surfers whom I met two days ago. It did not take a long time to see them coming with their wooden boards. The shops that sell standard surfboard do not exist in Manokwari so, they could only use their "wooden surfing boards" which actually were only some pieces of wooden panels. They did have any discussions about surfing techniques before going to the sea. It seems that surfing for them is a natural thing. Before going surfing, they stood in front of me and Anne for some photographs. I did not bring long lens camera, so I could only show you how these surfers holding their boards stood on together at the beautiful beach of Abasi.

The best time for wave surfing in Manokwari is between December and February. This is the 2nd  March 2011. The waves are getting weaker but still good enough for an afternoon sport. Victor said he really enjoyed wave surfing with the Papuan children. After doing or watching the "beach show," all of use enjoyed some fresh coconut juice hand picked by one of the Papuan surfer. by Charles Roring - peace4wp@gmail.com
Also read:
Photos of Papuan children wave surfing at Abasi beach of Manokwari
Papuan children wave surfing at Abasi beach

Photos of Papuan children wave surfing at Abasi beach of Manokwari

As I said yesterday that I would come back again the next day to take pictures of the Papuan children wave surfing at Abasi beach of Manokwari. When I was taking their wave surfing action, I remembered the time when I was still at sixth grade trying to "conquer" the waves also using simple wooden board wave surfing at Amban pantai beach.

These Papuan children have the potentials to be world class wave surfers if they are supplied with standard surfing board that has fins and more buoyancy. by Charles Roring

Papuan children wave surfing at the Abasi beach of Manokwari

Regular visitors of this blog know that I like mountain biking on the afternoons. This time I want to share my little story of riding my Polygon Cozmic Dx 2.0 - a Dirt jump bicycle this afternoon to Abasi beach just around three kilometers from Pasir Putih beach. I started pushing my bike out of my house at 5 p.m. and began cranking it up along the Brawijaya street (formerly known as Panorama-weg when West Papua was still called the Netherlands Nieuw Guinea). I stopped for a while at the Pasir Putih beach to buy a bowl of rujak - a spicy fruit salad. The lady who sold the rujak put it into a plastic bag which I then tied to the handle bar of my bike. I would eat it at home. After that I continued riding my bicycle to Arowi area where usually many children will call me, "mester-mester", or "sepeda gunung (mountain bike)." Arowi is a crowded new settlement area which the local government of Manokwari regency had built for victims of Manokwari Tsunami that happened several year ago.

I did not plan to stop at the Abasi beach initially. I planned to ride my bike to Cape Bakaro but then I decided to stop at the Abasi beach after seeing some children in the middle of the blue sea wave surfing with their simple wooden boards. I turned right and headed to the beach. I stopped under a coconut tree just a few meters from the breaking waves. The children did not know that I was watching them.
I was sad to find out that I did not bring my digital still photo camera - Sony DSC-W310 at that time. I only had a cell phone in my pocket. I immediately took it out and activated its camera feature. It was a Nokia Xpressmusic 5630. Its digital camera does not have the optical zoom device. So, I could only take pictures of these Papuan children doing the wave surfing without being able to magnify their actions into my photographs. To get clearer photographs of their actions, I walked closer to the beach near the breaking waves. But I had to walk back several times to avoid myself from being washed by the waves. Then the Papuan children were able to see me taking pictures of them trying to be on top of the wave slopes with their very simple wooden surfboards. They were calling me, "mister, mister" I smiled at them and waved my right hand to them.
After taking some pictures of their wave surfing actions, I walked back to my mountain bike again. I decided not to continue cycling to Cape Bakaro. The scene of the Papuan children wave surfing at the Abasi beach was a good view that I had that afternoon. When I was leaving the beach, they called me again, "mester-mester, besok lagi (meaning mister-mister, tomorrow again)." Then I replied to them, "Ya, besok lagi."
When I was a child, I used to try wave surfing at Amban Pante beach in the north coast of Manokwari. The waves there are bigger between December and February than the ones that I saw at Abasi beach but more dangerous due to the big rocks that are scattered around the shallow waters of the beach. I will go back again tomorrow to the beach for taking pictures of these Papuan children doing their wave surfing actions. I will bring my digital camera, of course. These very potential Papuan children can one day become natural world class wave surfers should they receive supports from the national committee of Indonesian sports (KONI) in the form of better boards supplies and proper guidance from experienced athletes. For advanced surfing techniques, I think, they will be able to master them naturally.
Abasi beach is not as popular as the Pasir Putih beach but it is a good destination for those who are brave enough to conquer the waves of this tropical island.  by Charles Roring Also read: Mountain bike tour to Cape Bakaro