Amazing Mother Earth

March 12
This mornings sky and view

Met my driver Nur at the front of the hotel. We started our adventure to see Sendang Gile Waterfall and Tiu Kelep Waterfall. It’s a 2 hour drive from the hotel. Nur was a great tour guide!

Not everyone has a vehicle….they all pile in and off they go!

This man is a travelling market. He goes to people’s home so the wives can shop without leaving the house.

This is the vehicle that supplies the music for weddings.. the whole village parties

The waterfalls are located in the town of Senaru, North of Lombok, which is the area most people stay before trekking to Mount. Rinjani.

My waterfall guide was a 25 year man named Egot. We started our trek into th jungle…I asked why he carried a metal stick. He told me that he was bitten by a monkey (showed me his scar on his shoulder) so it’s to fight off the monkeys and snakes! Yikes! SNAKES!!!!

Beside the trail water rages down from Tui Kelep Waterfalls (the second waterfall). The villagers use the water for showering snd irrigation of the rice fields.

This little guy was showing me the crabs he’s caught

Doing laundry

Because of the amount of water available, the rice fields are harvested 3 times a year in Senaur and neighbouring villages. The drier areas only harvest rice once a year. I’m told this water flows all the way to the ocean.

About 20 minutes into our trek, we came upon Sendang Gile Waterfall ( the first waterfall). It’s a two-tiered waterfall with massive force.

We stayed at Sendang Gile for about 40 minutes. It was time to head up to the second fall. The dirt trail lead us along the side of the river before it we had to make a few crossing in the river. Finally, we had to actually walk through the river in cold, ankle-deep water.

As soon a I turned the last corner I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the waterfall.

An epic amphitheater! Water flows down through the wall and the forceful flow of water streaks across the falls. Vines have taken over the rock walls and it like I was deep in the jungle despite only having to walk for 30 minutes to reach Tiu Kelep Waterfall.

I went for a dip but the mist is even crazier, Ergot got totally wet standing there taking pictures for me.

I was in awe of this majestic waterfall! I stood for a long time looking up and got emotional as I thanked Mother Earth! The force of the water falling was even stronger than the first waterfall.

We headed back down after 45 minutes. Ergot said that he knew a short cut and asked if I was was game to try! Sure I said! We get to the mouth of a tunnel with flowing water. He says something about a tunnel! A Tunnel? How long? Only a minute and it has windows! Hesitant I said ok? It was about 5 minutes later…. Me holding on to his tshirt…dodging bats and even a snake he said somewhere that we emerged!

Got back to the car and had a traditional Lombok lunch - Gadu Gadu with chicken and egg. Basically a bowl of rice with salad with peanut sauce over it, chicken and egg on the side. It was delish!

Time to head back to the hotel. Nur stopped at a few places so I could take some pictures.

Gili Trawangan

Gili Meno with Gili Air on the other side

This is called Ghost Resort. Bought by an Australian and never completed.

Resort for sale….anyone?

My sunset tonight.