Ability Level: Intermediate

The swell dropped off in size overnight leaving only the most exposed breaks with surfable waves. Our intermediate crew headed over to Pandawa where they found shoulder high sets, clean conditions, and a light crowd amongst the Sunday-morning beachgoers. Pandawa still managed to produce clean, left-breaking waves which allowed our surfers to practice generating speed while travelling down the line. This morning’s smooth walls presented our surfers with opportunities to feel and correct weight distribution imbalances that cause the surfboard to travel inefficiently throught the water.

It is uncommon for the swell reading to drop to 3.5 ft. at 9 seconds. The most exposed breaks on the island, such as Green Bowl and Pandawa, are only a short drive from our camp, which affords us the best opportunity to surf on a day like today, when most breaks on the island were flat.

It was a beautiful morning down at Pandawa as the clouds faded away and the sun made its glorious return! The southern tip of the Bukit was our preferred choice today for our intermediate surfers given the lighter wind and the southerly direction of the swell. Our surfers found fun, smooth, overhead lefts with a few larger sets coming in. The faces of the waves remained clean, which allowed the surfers to race down the line and work on the fundamental skill of developing drive from their bottom turns.

Tomorrow, the swell is forecast to continue to fade in size. The wind is expected to ease from a persistent westerly direction to becoming light and variable from the north. The bottom of the low tide is creeping progessivley later into each morning over the next several days, which means our sessions will have to wait untill enough water covers the reef.

Our intermediate group headed off to Geger Left again this morning as the onshore wind has decided to stick around the Uluwatu area for another day, as predicted in the forecast. At Geger, the wind was blowing offshore, and the swell was showing its full size with overhead waves on the sets. Our surfers managed to race down the line for some fast and challenging rides.

In most places around the world, an onshore day like today would mean no surfing. In Bali, we are blessed with exposed reefs and coastlines facing several different directions. This means that it is almost always offshore somewhere on the island, and the more exposed breaks will usually pick up a surfable wave. Separately, today is Melasti in Bali, which is an important day for the Balinese Hindus. Today’s ceremony will also be the first traditionally held ceremony since the pandemic began.

Our surfers were off to Pandawa this morning where they found fun, shoulder-high waves with an offshore wind. Despite the less than ideal conditions, the session exceeded everyone’s expectations as our surfers nearly had the place to themselves. Pandawa served up fun left and right-breaking peaks, which provided our surfers with plenty of opportunities to gain speed and focus on improving their turns.

When the conditions are less than ideal, local knowledge is key. Our surf guides were on top of things this morning as we found clean, empty, offshore peaks while most people were still sleeping. This less-often surfed break is near the southernmost point of the island of Bali, which means the reef picks up whatever swell is hitting Bali. Because of the exposed nature of the break, Pandawa is often too large and the currrents are too strong.

We sent our surfers out to Uluwatu this morning where they found fun, clean, head-high waves with less of a crowd! The wind was still alseep this morning which kept the surface of the ocean smooth for the duration of the session. The set waves remained in the head-high range despite the fading swell. The low tide is creeping progressively later into each morning, which means the best and least crowded waves are found early.

Uluwatu almost always has a head-high wave. The break is directly exposed to swell that originates in the Southern Ocean between South Africa and West Australia. This is one of the most active swell-producing regions in the world. These swells organize into clean lines over the course of their thousands-of-miles long journey to our doorstep. Here, the swell meets Bali’s perfectly shaped reefs for our surfing enjoyment.

Our intermediate surfers headed back out to Uluwatu this morning where they found fun, left-breaking waves running down the reef! The waves remained in the head-high range with a slight texture to the water. Despite the light wind, our surfers managed to get several waves where they had the opportunity to link up several turns. We are currently working with a morning low tide which means we have to wait for enough water to cover the reef before we can safely paddle out into the waves. Hanging out at the camp in the morning or sleeping in is easy to do here at Padang Padang Surf Camp, so our surfers do not mind the wait!

Uluwatu is one of the most consistent waves in the world as the Indian Ocean produces swell year-round. Additionally, one of the benefits of surfing the Uluwatu area is that you can often find clean conditions all day, as opposed to many spots in western countries where the wind turns onshore before noon. In the Bukit, when the wind does turn around, you can head to Nusa Dua, where the wind will be offshore.

Our intermediate surfers headed to Uluwatu this morning where they found fun waist-to-shoulder high waves! The swell has dropped in size overnight but the light offshore wind kept the surface of the ocean smooth. This morning’s swell has come from more of a southerly direction than over the previous few days, which changes the characteristics of the waves on the Bukit Peninsula. The low tide was at 7:03 this morning, so our surfers had time to hang out at the camp and have some breakfast.

Days like today are good for gaining experience at more challenging waves. Uluwatu is a very accessible wave for developing surfers on smaller days as the current is not as strong, and you can see the larger sets from far away. The cave which you paddle out from has a long history in the world of surfing having been featured in many legendary surfing films. Every surfer should experience the paddle out through the cave if they have the opportunity.

Our surfers found fun left and right peaks and beautiful conditions this morning at Padang Padang Surf Camp’s favorite low tide wave, Dreamland. The wind blew lightly offshore and the conditions remained optimal for the entire session. The swell was just the right size for our surfers to get a few turns in before the wave closed out or ran into deep water.

When you have a low tide in the morning, most of the famous breaks along the Bukit Peninsula are for expert surfers only. Dreamland is an exception to this rule as the wave prefers a low tide. The wave breaks over a flat rock shelf which gives the characteristics of deep water when small in size and shallow water when big (water depth relative to wave size).