ASU – NIAS, HINAKO ISLAND, The World Surfaris and the great frontier for surfing
User Rating : 5/5 = five star
Type : point
Reliability : very consistent
Best Swell : SW, Offshore Wind : SE
Duration : BY REQUEST
Grade : CHALLENGE

Asu in Nias, Hinako islands is an exposed point break that has very reliable surf, with it’s evocative palm forest as a backdrop, the wave is located off the top of the island. A world class left that can peel for ± 250 meters, with reasonably shallow reef on the corner of a picture post card island. May-Oct (dry season) is the best time of year for waves.

Asu is a classic wrapper with a sometimes daunting wall that can appear unmakeable. Offshore winds blow from the southeast. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the best swell direction is from the southwest. There is a left breaking point here. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Rarely crowded here.

Surfed from small to big (10 feet) the wave breaks down a reef that produces sections of tube rides and snap able face allowing for high energy consuming surfing. The end section or “Nuclear Zone” can be the highlight or the hell depending on how well you set it up and really want to go for the barrel. Take care and watch the reef. Submerged rocks are a hazard. The possible access to the island are via Medan, Sibolga, or Padang by plane then continued by charter boat.

HINAKO IS./ NIAS
Nias / Hinako Islands Surf Tour – Asu Island Resort

Amongst the Hinako Atolls located to the west of Nias, West Sumatra is an Island called ‘ASU‘. The great frontier for surfing. With access only by boat, this is for the Adventure Surfers. With some of the best waves ever surfed to be the reward. With unreadable weather conditions we can never be guaranteed of 14 days with great surf, but we will guarantee you a Indo-Surfing Adventure’. Surfing the best waves in the area during your stay.

Asu is a long and hollow tubing left ( 5 minutes from resort by speedboat – no need to paddle out over the reef ) . Bawa ( 20 minutes by speedboat ) is a very consistent peaking right with a hollow barreling inside section – the Sunset Beach of Indonesia because Bawa can hold up to 15′ but is best at 3 – 8′ . Bawa always has waves , even when Nias is flat you can surf overhead waves at Bawa. Asu and Bawa are offshore on opposite winds so you can always surf everyday.
Nias optional overnight stay when the surf conditions are suitable. Speedboat transfer to Lagundi Bay, Nias about 1 hour. Also, North Nias Secret Point (perfect long left) optional day trip by speedboat (about 1 hour) when surf conditions are suitable.

INCLUDES: Package includes everything ex Padang. Resort stay 14 night, all meals & drinks, boat transfer to the best surf everyday, First Class ferry tickets (twin share) return, airport / hotel / ferry / bus / speedboat transfer, optional overnight stay at Lagundi, Nias and overnight accommodation on return to Padang (twin share rooms) staying at hotel Dipo (Jl Diponogoro Padang). To Get to Padang please see the prices.
BOOKING CONDITIONS: A deposit of 20% of total booking is required to give full confirmation within 1 month of booking and full payment must be finalised 1 week before departure. For bookings obtained within 1 month of travel, full payment is required 1 week before departure. Unless other agreement has been made.

update on REAL situation in Hinakos
Some of the statements being made in the messages below about the conditions in the Hinakos post tsunami and march 28 earthquake are not quite true.

Latest situation in the Hinakos is that yes the wells were dry for a few days but they have since been redug and most of the locals homes have been rebuilt and everyone on Asu and Bawa is pretty much back to normal. As for the waves i can tell you “first hand” that yes the reefs in some places have risen up to 3m BUT the wave at Asu is still long and lining up as before with the inside section as gnarly as ever. In some swell conditions the wave at Asu is breaking even further up the point than before meaning even longer rides.

Bawa has not changed. The wave at Lagundri Bay is still as perfect as ever. Other “first hand” info from people who have been surfing this area over the last 6 weeks (including the massive swells of the last week) is that while the earthquake and reef lifting has “changed” some pre-existing high quality waves these waves are definitely not “ruined” and it also appears that waves that were previously fat and mushy and/or unsurfable into perfect waves PLUS it appears that several BRAND NEW breaks have popped up. Examples include at least one “new” left hander that has been surfed on the north end of Nias island and a right hander near Simelue that used to be always fat and mushy but is now perfect!

Hinako Islands Access Grueling trip from Singapore, to Medan then 1 hr trip by public local plane air lines to Nias, overland to Indian ocean side 2 hrs on “roads”

distance : surf trip

walk

easy to find ? : hard to find

public access ? : special access by boat only

More Details on Surfing

week crowd : empty

week-end crowd : empty

dangers : – rips / undertow – rocks
webcam url : www.yaahowu.com

Surf Spot Characteristics

Surf Quality wave quality : Totally Epic

experience : experienced surfers

surf frequency : Don’t know

Wave

type : reef -coral

direction : right and left

bottom : reef (coral, sharp rocks etc..)

power : – hollow – fast – powerful
normal length : long (150 to 300 m)

good day : very Long (300 to 500 m)

Tide, Swell and Wind

swell direction : – SouthWest – South – SouthEast
wind direction : – North – South – SouthEast
swell sizestarts : working at 1.0m-1.5m / 3ft-5ft and holds up to 5m / 16 ft and over

Hinako Surfing

Surf Hinako – Quick Facts
LOCATION : Indonesia, West Sumatra
NATIONALITY : Indonesian
LANGUAGE : Nias
CURRENCY : Indonesian Rupiah (9100 per $US)

Originally all there was in this region was the famous perfect righthander at Lagundri Bay, first surfed in 1975, but since there has been a couple of world class waves located in the Hinako group of islands, west of Nias. These waves are called Asu and Bawa.

If left handers are your think the pick somewhere else. Apart from Asu, the waves of Bawa (and Lagundri Bay for that matter) are all big perfect rights. They are also only for advanced surfers. So there we have it – stop reading if you are not an advanced right hand lover! Anyway, surf conditions…

From April to August you can expect to see swells of 6-10ft and for the rest of the year you can see 3-6ft swells and other 2-6ft cyclone swells. The South Indian Ocean is a master swell creator. Another great think about Hinako is that the calm wind, ensuring the best surf. (Tidal ranges do affect the surf at all the spots due to the already shallow reefs. Hinako truly is one of the few places in the world that almost guarantees daily perfection and solid glass barrels.

Bring a spare board or two!

Surfing Hinako – The Good
Perfect Righthand Waves
Calm Winds
Cheap Living

Surfing Hinako – The Bad and the Ugly
It Is Oppressively Hot
Malaria Risk
Can Get Crowded

Hinako Surfing Conditions

If you have information on surfing Hinako we would like to know. Tell us how good or bad your surfing vacation was by posting your trip details on our Surf Forum.

NIAS, HINAKOS & TELLOS

Lagundri Bay

An arduous journey is required. From Teluk dalam on Nias, get a bus ride or opelet (minibus). It’s 13km west and well known. The main wave is at Pantai Sorake, which is littered with losmen accomodation.

One of the world’s very best right-handers peels into Lagundri Bay. Once the ultimate surfari destination, Nias has lost it’s forefront position in the collective urfer’s conscious, but it’s still a veritable surf hub, teeming with surfers from across the globe. There are still uncrowded days to be had outside of major European or Australian holiday periods. There is plenty of accommodation, with over 50 losmen, and a heap of watering holes and warungs. Despite all this modernisation, Nias is in a malaria zone, with resistant strains appearing in recent years. Major flooding is possible in wet season, with severely destructive deluges over the last few years. Rip-offs have been on the increase in and around the surf village at Sorake Beach, with attracts a few shady characters.

The Point : Opposite the tower on Sorake Beach, lies the perfect right-hander that we have salivated over in surf magazines since the late ’70′s. South to South-west swells wrap around the outer headland and unload onto the table reef, bulging and jacking up at the take-off zone. The wave is often an extended barrel from thereon to the finish, and works from 3 to about 12 ft plus. There’s a good deep paddle-out channel to the right of the take off-zone. On the inside, smaller forgiving peaks are good for warming up and getting your bearings; this fun wave with few consequences is sometimes reffered to as Kiddieland.

Ihe Machine: Right inside the bay is a perfect left-hand barrel machine requiring very large swell from the south. It’s the spot to check when The Point is too big. Most tides OK although full moon high is the most likely to yield quality.

Indicators: Way out the back to the right of The Point is a heavy, current affected, hollow right-hand reef break that’s often more exposed to winds. On lower tides this is a dangerous spot, but whatever the conditions, it’s for the experienced only. On high tide it is more makeable but still for hell-men.

Hazards; Reef cuts, urchins, malaria, rip-offs. Roads go quite a long way up both coasts, enabling some excellents exploration expeditions. To the west, spots such as Sobatu (for pros only), Northern Secrets, or Lantana Lefts, can be sniffed out with the help of local guides. Telukdalam itself has a couple of valid waves in it’s vicinity, including a good right-hander. The locations of these waves is best left vague, in order to sweeten the thrill of finding them.

Hilisataro Village
You can check this area out from Lagundri, hiring a local guide or renting a motor cycle or minibus and heading east past Telukdalam.

If there’s a solid south swell, a couple of good waves can be found here, notably a right-hand reef/point that get good when winds are either zero or northwesterly. Middle tides best. Not the most consistently big spot, but will often have a wave of sorts.

Afulu Beach
In the northwest sector of Nias. An hour’s boat ride from Asu, which is your best approach; you can arrange it from Hinako’s Hideway or Patrick’s on that island.

This is a perfect reef break left to check when Asu or Bawa are too big. Clearly it needs a solid swell, incredibly well sculpted wave. Whilst it is generally smaller and less heavy than its neighbours, the take-off is critical and the face is beyond steep. A solid board is still useful to get into the wave. Intermediate plus. Semi-consistent.

The Hinako Islands

Located off the west of Nias, this little archipelago is as exposed to swell as you can get. The Hinakos are home to 2 well known legendary waves, and a host of quality reef lefts and rights that you’ll have to scope out for yourself. The keyword here is HEAVY; these spots hold size, are thick, and are suited to expert surfers only. They have become more accessible than in the past although still require major journeying. Accommodation has improved on Asu, where there is a very good surf camp as well as a couple of less salubrious options. An hour by boat from Sirombu on Nias’ west coast, or charter a 5 hour ride from Telukdalam / Lagundri. World Surfaris or Pure Vacations can hook you up. As in all parts of Nias, malaria precautions are strongly advised.

Asu

With it’s evocative palm forest as a backdrop, the wave is located off the top of Asu Island, the Northernmost in the Hinako’s Archipelago.

Long, almond-barrelled left consistently drawing swell onto its uniformly shallow reef point. Asu is a classic wrapper with a sometimes daunting wall that can appear unmakeable. It can get big; in the 15 ft range on it’s day. Experts only.

Bawa

Bawa is the southernmost island in the Hinako’s, with this eponymous wave off it’s southern tip. You can boat it from Hinako’s Hideaway on Asu.

Right-hand reef peak that rears up way out the back in anything from 4-14ft. Sometimes the photos make it look too fun; the peak shifts at times, and the inside section accelerates and gets sucky and grinding. An advanced, heavy wave, especially given the distance to get help. Works nicely when Asu is blown out. Very consistent, bring your big board. Bawa has a malarial swamp, which makes the prospect of staying on the island fairly unattractive.

Tello and the Batus

The Batu Archipelago is known by surfers as the Tello’s after the main administrative island of the same name. This eclectic group of 51 islands starts 40 NM southeast of the main Island of Nias and stretches 45 NM to the south. Wily surfers have negotiated their ride from Lagundri, having firstly extracted whatever information they can from locals. It’s an extremely long and tough journey to make for some pretty fickle surf. To get the best of it, organized charters are the best method, with independent travel presenting tough obstacles that all add up to less time in the surf.

One of the more talked about highlights is a relatively consistent, sucky left-hand reef break that wraps off a tiny island in sight of a church. This wave is known for it’s changeable nature: one day a whackable wall, hollow fast barrels the next, but never too punishing on the reef. A right breaks off the same island on opposite winds, and an outer bommie right renowned for tiger shark sightings is found off the island to the west. Another revered spot is a pretty, tiny island in the north where a rock with a lone tree overlooks a quality right-hander. Way down south you can stumble across other breaks, with one of the stand-outs being a series of lefts forming around an arc of reef that fringes a very remote island.

All of information you need to put in order your journey, may you contact :

MIGA beach Hotel & Resto Jl.Diponegoro 507 Gunung Sitoli Nias – North Sumatera – Indonesia telephone +62639 21460 Fax *62639 22500 Mobile +628126261444 Email : migabeachhotel@yahoo.com