KITESURF IN WEST BALI: A SENSATIONAL SPOT ON PURI DAJUMA’S CAPE… UNDER CONDITIONS

Should you be an experimented rider wishing to not only ride all day long, every day of your holiday but also to discover the authentic Bali and provide your half with both a relaxing and exhilarating holiday, you would surely appreciate to stay at Puri Dajuma Cottages & Villas, the lovely eco boutique hotel located on the South-Western coast of Bali, on the beachfront of the Pekutatan village. This is surely the nicest place where to have a perfect blend of authentic Bali culture in an outstanding location right on the beach, next to the old fashioned fishermen Balinese boats. The hotel offers 3 restaurants with a large selection of dishes, 2 large pools which one consists in a 50m long swimming river, a reknown SPA and many tours in the immediate surroundings to get acquainted with the beautiful assets of the Balinese culture. As for kitesurfing: the hotel is located on a large piece of volcanic rock which is partially recovered at high tide. At low tide, the ocean unveils a large piece of emerged rock which breaks the waves and offers a flat area to rig and launch the kites. Downwind, the rock line is perpendicular to the wind direction which is almost straight and gives the floor to a sandy beach. The place is famous in Indonesia since hero Ngura Rai landed right on the spot in 1946 to fight for the independence of the archipelago. A Monument was erected on the spot to remember his contribution to free the country. The spot is dedicated to yet confirmed riders due to sea hazards specific to that area. There might be some strong currents as well as high, irregular and highly paced waves. You should have a good kitesurfing level to ride in this area. In case of trouble, the wind pushes you to the beach opposite the starting point anyway which provides a kind of inherent natural safety to the area but still, currents and waves can be tedious. Wind is steady and comes from South West, off the rock line but cross on shore the opposite beach. You can expect steady winds in the 10-20 knots range between June & September. The wind usually starts blowing at 10am up to late at night. Out of 3 weeks spent on site in summer 2016, we had over 10 days of steady wind to rig either a 15 m2 or a 12m2 canopy. Pay attention to ride at low tide when there are not too many waves and low off-shore current: this allows to start right in front of the hotel so as to step over the rock line and reach the sandy water safely. You can rig your kite in front of the hotel and request some assistance for launching. From that point, the wind is almost perpendicular to the rock line. In case of trouble, you have then about 700-1000m before reaching the beach on the opposite side of the bay (stony). A pair of booties is mandatory since the volcanic stones the cape is made of are pretty sharp. As currents and waves are not regular, you should take time and observe carefully the area before launching your kite and check that the size of the waves is OK for you. If so, and provided some friends are available to take pictures from the rock line located perpendicular to the wind, you can take exceptional pictures of your riding friend. Finally, after your riding session, your can take advantage of the protection from the cape to safely land your kite on the sandy beach at the tip of the rockline, provided that you have enough speed to reach the beach before the wind dies. This is actually very safe since the wind almost disappears immediately once you have reached the wake of the cape, well protected by the hotel facilities and the trees of the garden. Enjoy your riding sessions at Puri Dajuma Cottages!