Nias, Simeulue are the world's 'final frontier' for surfers
Nias, Simeulue are the world's 'final frontier' for surfers
Agence France-Presse, Nias Island
Isolated, beautiful and with some of the world's mightiest waves, Nias and Simeulue -- the islands hit by this week's massive earthquake -- are a haven for intrepid surfers.
Even the logistical hurdles of getting a surfboard to the out- of the way coral-fringed isles is no deterrent to the hardened beach bums who consider the destination one of the world's ultimate surfing experiences.
"It is the final frontier for us," Australian Brian Williams, 36, who has been traveling to the islands with his surfing buddies for more than a decade, said by satellite phone from a plane en route to the islands.
Situated about 125 kilometers off the west coast of northern Sumatra island, Nias is fabled among surf-eratti for the Holy Grail of boardsmanship, the "right-hand surf break" -- a wave formation that only happens when a specific combination of climate, geography and tidal movements occur.
So associated is the island with the wave type that the formation has been named a Nias, according to Hong Kong-based surfer Mark Caldwell.
"The islands are the epitome of what surfers want in a spot -- isolation, beautiful palm-fringed beaches and fantastic surf," the 44-year old South African corporate editorial writer told AFP.
Nias has held a fascination for Western tourists since the 19th century when European anthropologists were drawn by tales of headhunters and human sacrifice among its primitive population.
The largest of the group of islands that are home to the Mentawai people, it is etched in volcanic rock, the product of the violent tectonic activity that has marked its geographical history.
The remnants of its ancient cultures remain dotted around the island in the form of huge ritualistic standing stones.
Since the 1970s, however, surfers have provided the lion's share of the tourist income.
According to the Lonely Planet guide, some 90 percent of all travellers arrive armed with surfboards. Most head for Lagundri Bay, where the famous ocean rollers crash into the pristine white bay.
"It is very undeveloped commercially and the surfers are all that you will see apart from local people," said Williams, who runs a surf resort on Simeulue, north of Nias.
According to surfer legend, three Australian devotees first discovered it in 1975 and kept it secret until a spate of films, one of them The Forgotten Island of Santosha, alerted wave riders to its presence.
Monday night's quake caused major damage on Nias and killed an estimated 1,000 people, just as it was pulling itself back together after December's tsunami which claimed some 300 people there.
Surfing charity Surfaid was instrumental in getting relief aid to some of the more isolated isles of the nearby Mentawai islands. Surfers have even been credited with saving lives in Nias during the tsunami.
Williams' resort on Simeulue was spared the ferocity of the December waves but was not so lucky on Monday.
"We came through the tsunami relatively unscathed but this has been terrible," he said.