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See, we don’t always hike! Although hiking is an accessible and wonderful way to see the world, sometimes the challenge is in the new skill!

Day 1

DAY 1 – We had a early 6am start (a sleep in for Jade) but very excited to get going on our 10 days of surfing, yoga, sightseeing & shopping!!! While jade, kass & Sandra we’re waiting in line for Jo who only lived 10mins away from the airport. She was the last one to arrive with only a second to spare or a shout out from Sandra “Over hear Jo” as she made her way to the front counter.

It was a 7 hour flight which was made easy by 3 movies, reading, eating & napping!

After collecting our bags & going through  customs. We were swamped by a sea of people and took us a good few minutes to find our driver. We said look out for “IntoYou Retreat” or “Hidden valley resort” but it was “Jade Sample” Jo spotted the sign right in front of us!

It was about hour drive to the resort due to the afternoon traffic so the driver took us out for a sightseeing drive to the biggest statue (130m) they are building here in Bali plus a great lookout where you can see Mt Agung & Mt Batur in the distance.

We had arrived to our new home for the next few days of paradise. We were greeted by a cold refreshing drink which kass the instigator said “I need something stronger” so a few sneaky drops of duty free spirits when it to the mix. After chilling in the lobby and dipping the toes in the pool. It was now time to do a little workout before dinner.

Anyone interested???…nope! It was only quick 15mins of stretching, 1-2 sets of chin up, push up & Lunges & some foam rolling..

After a few sets, Sandra & Jo came to join me with the stretching, foaming plus a refreshing dip in the pool afterwards.

Tried & hungry we decided to have a easy dinner at the restaurant before heading to bed. Looking forward to our first day of surfing & yoga in Bali.

Day 2

This trip has already turned in to the most exciting adventure! After waking up to a good nights sleep, Breakfast was at 7am. We tried this unusual piece of fruit. It had this snake like feel and look about it. Surprisingly not bad!

We meet in the lobby at 9am which we meet Marcel one of our surfing guide for the day.

Boards, sunscreen & camera…check!!!

The Surf was pumping…

We spent the most amazing, 2 hours surfing at a break called balangan beach. Sandra and Jo efforts were unbelievable and ready for some more actions tomorrow! Kass enjoy paddling around (& lots of swims) while Jade was ripping it up!

We had a 4.30pm yoga session with Daniel and this was our first move of the day! It got a little easier after that…

Sandra doing the advance version…

After yoga we had a quick dip in the pool…before meeting Anna to head out to dinner!

Day 3

Day 3 of our Surfing adventure and we had one of the most spectacular days of surfing! We were all up and standing and catching wave after wave!

Anna was pumped and was the last one to get out of the surf today!

Kass is up and kneeling today with a broken knee!

It’s always interesting doing yoga with Daniel everyday! It’s a mix of vinyasa, stretching & whatever Daniel feels like…

To finish the day off we had Kass’s Birthday dinner & drinks at single fin to watch the sunset in the VIP lounge.

Day 4

Today we had a very lazy morning after yoga as we are not surfing until this afternoon. Time to chill around the pool, massage, reading & snoozing until we head out to lunch…Tough life!

How beautiful…The manger Ken paid for a complementary birthday present for Kass today. After some initial communication issues, we cannot recommend The Perfect Travel Group enough, they have bent over backwards to accommodate us and our changing circumstances. This latest gift to Kass is just another recommendation for them!

We are all looking forward to today’s session; we are all still on a high from yesterday’s surf. It’s day 3 of surfing and we were trying another beach called Dreamland, but unfortunately there weren’t any waves so Calvin & Hank (surf instructor) decided to go back to Padang Pandang. It was small but we just made the most of it. Listen to us now, when we were learning in Sydney it was never small enough!

Jo working really hard to keep her hands off the board and to look straight ahead while surfing.

We headed out to a Italian restaurant tonight but we ended up going to the wrong Italian restaurant accidentally due to the miscommunication with staff & the taxis driver!!! But we are very HANGRY surfers that need to eat ASAP!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a few drinks too many, and lots of deep and meaningful conversation, but had to wind it up as we will be up early to surf tomorrow morning!

Anna making the most of “two hands time” without her 3 kids!

Day 5

After chatting all night we were happy again to have a later start this morning, Day 5, due to the tides. I can’t believe we are half way already!

Jade the photographer trying to capture the girls in action. While trying to balance with a camera in one hand at the same time.

 

Jo is getting stronger everyday with her surfing and getting up most of the time. Jo is looking to continuing her surfing back at home with her son Jordan.
Sandra is amazing to be able to paddle on a green wave by herself & stand up in just 3 days of surfing here in Bali.
Anna having the time of her life! Anna is working on her turning & cut backs with her lovely new board.
Kass only has one direction (left) we had a few funny collisions.  Kass likes to ride the waves all the way to the end but has to paddle back along way too!

We had no yoga today as our instructor is out of the country for 1 days so it was filled with massage & chilling around the pool before heading out this afternoon if you wanted to kayak, SUP or snorkeling at Sunday beach club!

Ken the manager meet up with us for a few drink on the beach. This place was amazing with it’s cliff top pools, fire pit on the beach & it’s chill out vibe!

Day 6

Anna checking out the surf with Calvin our Surf instructor.

 

Day 6 and we are all getting a little stiff, sore, and weary (and not just from surfing, our nocturnal activities are catching up too!)

We hit the water at 8.30am at Dreamland beach but also a little hesitant as there were a few big sets coming through as well as surfing on a shallow reef.  Marcel and Calvin were amazing today getting us through the channel out the back until we we’re ready to catch a wave.

Marcel our surfing instructor catching the last wave of the day at Dreamland beach today!

We had Kass which we couldn’t wipe the smile off her face today catching wave after wave. Kass got really emotional after coming out of the surf yesterday as she got a negative comment by a young girl saying “You can’t even surf and you should surf somewhere else” Meanwhile everyone out at Padang Padang yesterday was a beginner and Kass can surf with no ACL.

Sandra will now have to buy a surf board for her kids so they can too come out surfing with her.
Jo has improved her surfing style since she has been here and now is learning how to turn the board across the wave.
Anna was catching a few waves today and looking to surf at Dreamland tomorrow.

Eat, swim, relax and Repeat…

We had a really nice yoga flow this afternoon with Daniel. He focused on opening up the chest & releasing the neck and shoulders.

We had a early dinner at Bukit tonight followed by a movie (A dog’s Purpose) back at the resort. Few to many tears…

It’s our last day of surfing and yoga tomorrow and we all would love to stay for another week!

Day 7

It was our final day of surfing and we came back to Dreamland beach due to the heavy swell everywhere else. There we’re some really big sets coming across from Padang Padang beach but Marcel & Calvin made sure we got through the break without too much carnage! It was our final day surfing and yoga-ing and we wanted to make the most of it!

Anna finding her groove and wishing for one more day of surfing but looking forward to surfing her own break back at home.

 

I love this photo! It just captures how much fun we had surfing with Marcel & Calvin.

We are still smiling & laughing after our final surfing session today. The 12 weeks of surfing group has paid off and now we are making arrangements to meet up and surf together back at home.

We also had our final yoga session with Daniel this afternoon. It started by using the slings to get in to a downward dog push up followed by a yoga flow. Daniel was very sweet to give us all A perfect foundation t-shirt. A charity which he is passionate about.

A Perfect Foundation is our For-Social Change Organisation created to educate and empower local communities in remote global regions to make a sustainable difference. Founded by a group of surfers who wanted to give back to the island communities that have allowed others to enjoy their natural resources for many years before them.

They established their first Education and Conservation Centre in the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia in 2015.  Located in the small coastal village of Mapadeget in North Sipora, they have been working together with local communities and its members to help reduce plastic waste ever since.

Remote Islands in Indonesia such as the Mentawai’s are recognized internationally as one of the few remaining places on the planet as having unique cultural and ecological assets. These need to be preserved, not exploited and destroyed. In the last few decades, vast tracts of Amazonian and Indonesian rainforest have disappeared and then lost forever. We’ve seen marine environments spoiled as plastics and pollutants have poisoned once pristine waterways as no or little education has been provided on waste management or recycling options.

A Perfect Foundation realizes that the time is now! We all need to collectively take proactive action to protect these unique marine and forested environments.

You can find them on Facebook, Instagram , or Online!

It’s our last night out before we leave for Ubud tomorrow morning. We had dinner at Suka which was very nice before hitting the hay as we are physically & mentally exhausted from today’s final surfing session… or perhaps the accumulation of surfing sessions!

Day 8 & 9

Day 8 & 9… it came up on us so fast!! We could have surfed, done yoga, slept, ate, repeated for at least another week! We had a lazy morning before saying our goodbyes to Ken and his team at Hidden Valley Resort. We are in the car for the next 2 hours travelling to Ubud.

We arrived to Tegal Sari & had a tour of our hotel before heading out to lunch. We had several hours explore Ubud and the markets before it was time to eat again. We had to be in bed early (8.30pm) due to a early start tomorrow for the hike up Mt Batur. and when i say early… i mean properly early!

Day 9

We had a 1.30am wake up call… you read right! We we’re hiking up Mt Batur this morning and wanted to catch the sunrise. I was a little stressed as the driver was 30mins late as he was driving up from Hidden Valley Resort but he got here in the end.

After an hour drive to the foot of the mountain. We meet with the guide and started trekking in the dark. This hike duration was suggested 2-3 hours up but we did it in 1 hour & 40mins. I was so proud of the girls and Kass especially who was trekking with no ACL after having a accident four weeks ago at work. There was about an hour to spare before the sun came up. We had our eggs, banana sandwiches and tea to keep us warm & happy! We had an amazing view of Lombok & Mt Agung. It was about 2 1/2 hour hike down but we took a longer, easy and more scenic trail.

We are all pretty shattered from the hike and most of us had a snooze on the way back.

In the afternoon we adventured out to go sightseeing to the Hindu temple and the Tegallang rice terrace.

We got dropped to this amazing cafe called “Clear Cafe” in Ubud for dinner before walking through the shops to get back to our hotel. We have had the most amazing time here in Bali from the surfing, yoga, trekking and relaxation. It’s a trip that has everything you want in it and more! One day to go!

Day 10

It was our last day in Bali and we checked out just after 9am to start the day. We wanted to head to Seminyak and checkout a few jewellery store. Andy, our driver suggested a jewellery shop outlet between Ubud & Seminyak, so we visited the workshop and then the store upstairs.

We did hours of walking, or should I say shopping, in Seminyak. It had been suggested to have our last meal, a sunset dinner, at Kedonganan Beach before heading to the airport. It was nice to have a local Bintang and some seafood on the beach while people watching…we saw some really interesting characters!

We arrived at the airport with plenty time to spare, therefore we had plenty of time for a little more shopping! Our Last day in Bali was spent very differently to the first 9 days, but we feel like we really saw many sides of this great island and it’s culture.