Australia to Poland without flights!
Lombok Backpackers
Thanks to our friends in Adventurous Sumbawa, we connected with another wonderful group on the neighbouring island of Lombok. Lombok Backpackers are a group of locals passionate about the natural beauty of their island home (click the link to their facebook). In the provincial capital Mataram they have their ‘Base Camp’. Base Camp is a open-house set up for travellers to stay as long as they need for free. There are just a few basic rule: no drugs or alcohol in the house, clean your room when you leave and help keep communal spaces clean. In the evenings, the travellers and locals gather in the outdoor area to swap their adventure stories of the day, share food and make music.
We asked the owner of the house, what made him want to create this place? He replied “I’ve always loved trekking and snorkelling and having my friends around. So I thought to make a place where this can all come together.”
Music and maps: Lombok Base Camp
Rules of the house, Lombok Backpackers base camp.
Communal lounge room, Lombok backpackers base camp.
Rooms are simple but clean, all you need!
Having only a few short days to explore Lombok, staying at Base Camp was perfect for us. The house has lots of maps and resources about the island and everyday we could ask for advice about where we should go, how long it would take and what the prices should be. While international visitors do stay from time to time, it was just us during our stay. Instead we met many Indonesian travellers passionate about exploring their home country. If you ask around, you’ll be sure to find someone organising an adventure that they’ll be happy for you to join on; maybe sharing a boat hire for snorkelling off a small island or making the 3 day trek to the summit of volcano Rinjani – I’ll be back for this next time for sure!!
The Base Camp walls tell stories of past adventures.
The founder of Base Camp and his granddaughter.
There is a whole lot more to Lombok than getting partying on ‘the Gilies’. From the coast line, to the winding mountain passes, to the temples and amazingly welcoming villages. Thank you Lombok Backpackers for helping us find the real Lombok!
Taman Narmada: park garden in Lombok
Mosque in the mountains: despite the many Hindu temples, Islam is the predominant religion on Lombok.
Acts of devotion at Pura Lingsar. A temple open to all faiths as a place of prayer.
Hindu alter, Pura Lingsar.
For an overview of Drop The Tension’s overland (and sea!) exploration across Indonesia, see our summaries here and here 🙂
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