Surfers have many varying opinions about Balangan. Some say the wave is a glorified close out and not worth the effort. Others strongly disagree. Some say it’s too crowded. Some don’t even know it exists. The truth is that Balangan can be many things, but if you experience it enough, you can ride some of the best waves of your life.
Balangan is situated on the Bukit Peninsula right next to Dreamlands. It is one of Bali’s most beautiful beaches with clean white sand and has remained undeveloped compared to the rest of the Bukit. Although this is rapidly changing, like many parts of Bali.
A good ten minute drive off the main road takes you to this more remote stretch of coastline. Like most surf spots in Bali, the tide drastically affects the quality of the wave. The swell direction plays a huge role too. Even a few degrees can make a massive difference. Unless it is solid eight feet or more, low tide won’t gift you with any memorable sessions, unless your idea of fun is getting chewed up by the sharp coral reef. As the tide passes its mid and climbs to high it delivers your best opportunity to score the best waves. Some days it sections offering only a fifty metre ride but that fifty metres could be the most exhilarating of your life. The speed you can climb on these waves is unbelievable. Other days, when everything aligns, it can give you 200-300 metre rides.
There are three defined take off zones. One thing to keep in mind is the wave grows as it widens. You might take off on what looks like a three foot wave but as you shoot down the line it suddenly becomes a six foot wave doubling in size. The first takeoff zone is at the top of the point, the second, about fifty metres down and the third, just a little further down from there. On a good day, you can ride a wave from the top of the point all the way through. Another thing to be aware of is the deadly inside section. Much like Bingin, just around the corner, the wave tempts you to keep on going but if you don’t get off early enough, the reef will annihilate you.
Over the years I’ve had plenty of different sessions here ranging from fun small waves to much more terrifying ones where I was basically looking for a way in. The following session was somewhere toward the higher end of that scale.
The swell had arrived overnight but there was plenty of morning sickness with the waves so I decided to wait until the afternoon when the tide would be pushing in over the reef and the offshore tradewinds would be grooming the waves. All I did that day was eat, hydrate, rest and watch the waves, waiting for the moment. It finally came about 2.00pm in the afternoon. It was sudden. One set looked average and was closing out, the next set was a perfect six foot plus groomed wall of perfection. It was GO time!
To get into the lineup, you have two options. The first is to walk up the beach and under the cliff toward the top of the point, wait for a break in the waves, jump off the reef and paddle like mad until you are out the back. The second option, taken by me most times, is to paddle out from the beach letting the current take you wide of the wave, then paddling up the point once you are out the back. This second option involves more paddling but, in my mind, the safest when the waves are six foot plus.
I walked along the reef until I reached water deep enough to start paddling. Shortly after the strong current grabbed a hold of me. Even though I was still making progress toward the horizon, I was being swept further down the line forced to duckdive every wave. Before I knew it, I was right in the inside impact zone with long lines approaching from the point as a fresh set rolled in. I was in the worst possible spot right at that moment. I had two choices. One was to take the chance, paddle like mad and hope I get over the set before it crashed on the inside reef. The second, was to paddle towards the shore and get myself out of danger.
As I had paddled all this way already, I figured I may aswell keep going and try to make it out the back. I paddled as if my life depended on it. The first wave was closing out right in front of me. I duckdived, keeping in mind how shallow the reef was beneath me. Just as the wave barrelled over me and I punched through the back of it. With the next wave not far behind, I wasted no time in continuing to paddle and only just made it under the wave. It actually broke on the back of my legs. I thought for sure it had snapped the back of my board clean off, but to my relief it hadn’t and I made it past the set and out the back.
Now, as I was so far down the reef as you can possibly end up, I began the very long paddle up to the takeoff zone. I was so far out at the start it was just a long horizontal line up the reef. A weird, possibly unsettling, place to be with such deep water, no other surfers close by and a lot of water moving around. As I began the paddle up the reef, a turtle popped up beside me as if to say “Hello, can I help you?”. It travelled with me up the reef popping it’s head up every so often to give me a nod before disappearing under the surface again. It did this all the way up to the takeoff zone and then just vanished. I didn’t see it again.
I see turtles a lot in Bali, but it’s usually for just a moment when they pop their head up and then they’re gone. It’s almost like he could feel I was on edge and gave me a calmness until I made it to the takeoff zone. Who knows? But it certainly did calm my nerves. It had taken more than twenty minutes from the moment I entered the water to the time I reached the lineup, but I was finally there.
It was also at this point I realised that although from the cliff above, the waves looked perfect, from the water they looked much more intimidating. The lineup was also half full – a sure sign that there was some serious size out there. Nevertheless, I had made it out and wasn’t about to turn back now.
Balangan is another one of those places where it’s quality over quantity. For me, when I surf Balangan, it’s not worth burning energy on shorter waves and closeouts to then battle to get way back out again. I prefer to be patient and choose my waves very carefully, especially on a big day like this.
It was around another ten minutes before a set started approaching. I was sitting in my usual spot using my warung landmarks to check my positioning. A local had already moved into position to snatch the first one so I eyed off the second. I hardly had to move. The wave came to me. I swung my board around and paddled. I looked down the line just before standing up to make sure I had a chance of making it and then I took off. The drop was so steep, so fast and so intense, I thought I had no hope, but before I knew it, I was bottom turning and a long perfect ten foot plus wall of water stood up in front of me. The wave was so fast, I couldn’t even attempt a turn. It was a pure speed race all the way to the end section where I ejected off the back of the wave to avoid the end section. What a rush! Once again, I found myself far down the reef facing another long paddle back. I have also heard stories of surfers that got caught in the currents this far down the reef and being pulled around the next headland. If this happens, you are in real trouble!
Over the next hour, I caught three more waves, each were all perfect and all incredibly long. I decided the next wave would be my last. The adrenaline, the cleanup sets and the endless paddles were wearing me down. I paddled way out the back and waited for however long it took to catch one of the bigger bombs that were coming very so often, that had previously cleaned up the lineup. I sat for about twenty minutes before debating whether to paddle in for a smaller one. The problem was that I knew, I just knew, as soon as I did, the bomb set would arrive. It’s happened before to me and most likely to every other surfer.
After only a minute or two, the horizon darkened and I could see endless lines approaching. This meant not only was a set coming, but it was massive and stacked with waves. I paddled out even further, now the furthest surfer from shore. My body trembled but I had also committed. I was going to catch one. I chose the first wave, mainly as I knew what was coming behind it! The first wave of the set had already started to break up the point and no surfers had a chance. I paddled out further and wider to get into position. Once there, without hesitation, I swung and paddled harder than ever before. The howling offshore wind was trying to hold me back. All I was thinking was that if I miss this, there are a ton of waves behind that will destroy me. Eventually the wave let me in but the spray was so thick and intense, I couldn’t even see as I dropped in. It was pure instinct. It felt like I was going down a living breathing mountain of water. The drop felt endless and when the ocean spray cleared, I realised that I’d actually made it. Once again, a perfect wall of water lined up all the way down the reef. I don’t know how big the wave actually was, but I do know it took a very long time to get to the bottom!
It felt like I was on a freight train as I raced down the line. No major manoeuvres, just carving up and down trying not to fall. As I approached the inside section, instead of ejecting off the back, I kept going, determined to ride this wave all the way in. The wave began to hollow out and the reef showed its teeth. I rode right to the section where it was about to detonate then turned straight. Just as I did, it violently exploded behind me and blew me right off my board throwing me into the air. I came crashing down in a foot of water hitting the reef. Lucky it was on my arse, so a little cushioning effect and the end result was just a few grazes on my behind. Balangan doesn’t often forgive but in this instance, it definitely forgave me.
Standing on the reef, I looked 300 metres up the reef and witnessed the rest of the set still rolling through the lineup, mowing down everyone in its way and exploding on the inside reef. Wave after wave after wave. I smiled and said to myself “Thank God you took the first one!”
