We were up early as we were excited to go and check out the
waterfalls and we had arranged to pick up the motorbike at 08:00. We pulled the
dinghy up past the high tide mark and tied it to the stone jetty and then wandered
off up the beach to Sunset Moyo where the motorbike was waiting.
With some sketchy directions we headed off through town then
off up a very steep hill towards the center of the Island. The road deteriorated
rapidly the further we went and it became quite dangerous and difficult to ride
with a pillion. In places there were sharp coral rocks or a broken concrete
track with a steep drop on each side. It was a broken ankle waiting to happen
and it was as hot as hell.
After an hour of so we entered thick rain forest and we came
to the end of the road and had to walk the rest of the way to the waterfall and
by this stage the motorbike was knackered.
It was a steep walk for about 500 meters and then the rain
forest opened up and we could hear the water. We walked over to a clearing to
see a magnificent view of the waterfall which had created its own flow-stone due
to the high concentration of limestone as this Island is a coral reef that has
been pushed up out of the ocean.
We walked down to the top pools of the waterfall and crossed
the river and then walked down below the main falls. The waterfall was really
awesome up close and right away I jumped in for a swim and a closer look. The
water was cool and very refreshing and we swam for about two hours.
We moved down stream and there were a series of large pools
and small waterfalls and we spent some time in one of the nicest. This was such
a beautiful place and quite an unusual waterfall.
While in the water swimming, a long thin green snake
slithered out of the bush into the cool spray of the waterfall and sat there
for ages. After a couple of hours, I was water logged and wrinkly, so it was
time to move on.
We walked back to the motorbike on a different track that
had lots of interesting things to look at along the way.
We headed off back down the horrible track and when we got
back into town we decided to try and find the smaller waterfall where the river
enters the ocean. Unfortunately, we somehow missed the turn off and ended up
way up the coast where we came across a small dive lodge called Blue Emocean.
Right away we recognised one of the girls we were talking to
last night at Sunset Moyo and she invited us in. We chatted for a while and had
a meal and a couple of drinks and as we were both dead tired after the rough
road to the waterfall, we both fell asleep on the deck chairs at the pool.
We woke maybe an hour or two later in the late afternoon and
headed off back to Labuan Haji where we went to watch the Sumbawa gay
volleyball team play the local Labuan Haji team.
It was all very bizarre, and while I was watching the
volleyball the village leader came over to introduce himself and to chat for a
while.
After the volleyball, we went back to the warung to get some
food to take back to the boat, and then we headed off back to Sunset Moyo to
return the bike and to have a few sunset drinks.
We chatted with the owners until well after dark learning
about all the politics on Moyo Island and finally we said our good byes to
these lovely people and headed back out to Sirocco in the pitch black.
Track Sirocco’s
progress
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