G-Land, also known as Plengkung Beach, is an internationally renowned surf break on Grajagan Bay, Banyuwangi, Alas Purwo National Park,

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, about half a day by road from the popular tourist destinations of

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

. It is most commonly reached via boat charter from Bali.

Discovery

The discovery in the protected jungle of Alas Purwo began when an Australian surfer searched intently for surf breaks on the southeast coast of Java during mid-1971. Before that, whilst surfing in Western Australia, he had witnessed the huge rolling swells traveling north through the Indian Ocean. He had a theory there was great surfing potential in Indonesia. His discovery was noted by Bob Laverty, and so the legendary tales began. Four years after the discovery, Mike Boyum helped set up the first surf camp at G-Land, which was possibly the start of the surf camp concept that has since spread across the globe. Balinese surfer Bobby Radiasa took over the operation in the late 70s and still runs it today. From the days of the original Boyum/Bobby's camp, other camps have opened at G-Land offering various standards of accommodation and facilities to suit a range of holiday budgets.

Geomorphology

The south coast of Java faces the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, so it is exposed to large swells generated by low-pressure systems circling

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, many thousands of kilometers to the south. G-Land is situated on the eastern side of the Bay of Grajagan, so it has a westerly aspect; i.e. at right angles to the predominant swell direction. As a result, swell wraps around the point and into the eastern side of the bay, producing long, walling left-handers, which peel at a rapid rate along a half-kilometer stretch of shallow

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...

, forming perfectly hollow tubes that remain open the whole way. The wind at G-Land blows offshore between April and September, which also happens to be when the swells are at their largest and most consistent. Since the swells are generated by low-pressure systems circling Antarctica, their regularity coincides with the passage of these lows. So, the swell arrives in pulses, each lasting for a couple of days, with a couple of days between each swell. Waves tend to be bigger and better at high

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

, so it is best to plan a surf trip for the week following a full or new moon since this is when the

is high during the middle of the day.

Surf break

A very long, world-class, barreling left-hand reef/point break breaks along the east side of Grajagan Bay. It has long been considered one of the world's best left-hand waves. The correct name of the point upon which the main wave breaks is "Plengkung." The wave becomes shallower and more critical the further down the point one rides the wave. It is one of the most consistently rideable waves in the world in season, with offshore tradewinds and often plentiful swell between the months of, roughly, mid-April to mid-October. The G-Land surf break has been divided up into several sections. The first, at the top of the point, is called "Kongs," which break up to several hundred metres in length and can hold quite large sizes (from about 2 to 12 feet+, Hawaiian scale). It is not usually a barrel, nor genuinely world-class, but more a series of takeoff zones with some long wall sections, although it can also barrel on occasion. This is also where surfers can find the 'key-hole' which is a section of the reef that allows a more forgivable paddle out. This section picks up a lot of swells, is rarely less than 3 feet, and can be a saviour when the rest of the point is too small. This wave can sometimes link up with the next section called "Moneytrees." Moneytrees works from about 2 to 10 feet (Hawaiian scale, or about 4 to 20 feet wave faces), usually breaking over several hundred metres, and is a long, testing, barreling, world-class wave. The barrels become more critical the lower the tide and the larger the swell. Money trees may also occasionally link up with the next section called "Speedies," with an outside takeoff section between the two called "Launching Pads." "Launching Pads" can catch the surfer off-guard, as it can break a significant way out to sea in larger swells. "Speedies" (named after how fast the wave breaks) is the heaviest wave at G-Land, but can be a perfect, very round barrel for several hundred metres, rideable from about 2 to 8 feet+ (Hawaiian scale). It usually needs larger swells, and low tide can be very dangerous. Most severe injuries at G-Land have occurred at "Speedies." It is not common to ride a wave more than about 300–400 metres at G-Land, even though the section of the point where rideable waves break is considerably longer (over 1 km long), because the waves usually don't link up with each other. The

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

(May to October) is far and away the best time to go. That is when the offshore southeast trade winds blow and the swell, pouring out of the Southern Ocean, is at its biggest and most consistent.

Other nearby surf breaks

There are a few other, smaller waves further down and within the bay, which include "Chickens," "20/20," "Tiger Tracks," ''Parang Ireng' and a few unnamed others. These waves generally only work on larger swells, but are surprisingly good alternatives when the main point is big. All of these waves can barrel in the right conditions, which generally require higher tides. There are also some right hand waves on the other side of the peninsula at G-Land, but they are fickle, requiring large swells, and no wind or off-season winds. Another right-hand wave is situated about 20 miles east of G-land, which has been featured in Indonesian surf magazines, and dubbed as "Reverse G." It is a quality, long, right-hand wave (the 'reverse' of G-Land) but which is very difficult to get to, requiring some boat access, and only works in off-season winds (about late November to April).

References

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External links