Journey to Mt Tambora - the Mountain that Shook Up the World.

[merantau]

Finally, after three failed attempts to climb this peak for a second time, I succeeded in late July of this year. It was an epic trip with what could have been a major set back if not for the incredible assistance we received from the National Park staff at Piung. I will be posting a full account of this trip with photos over the next few days.

 

[merantau]

 

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Two of us made the trip over from Lombok on KLX150s. Mike and I reached Soriutu about 5pm - too late to reach the National Park at Doro Ncangga so we asked around for accommodation and were directed to Losmen Fidayah where we spent the night.

 

[bsacbob]

Stunning views, thank you.

 

[merantau]

If you blow up the above photo to max size you can see Pos 3. It's just to the right and above the centre of the shot. Look for the blue tent. This photo was taken from the crater rim at about 2550mts. Pos 3 is at 1800 mts. Where I live the internet signal is really bad but, be patient, I will continue to upload photos when I can get to the library. Believe me, this trip h ad a lot of twists and turns.

 

[merantau]

So, back to the trip. We had originally intended to go up from Doro Ncangga but the manager at Homestay Fadillah told us of another route to the south-east via Piung. We set out early next day and 90 mins later after a good ride through sparsely populated country we found the Park entrance. In we went. The track led to a deserted sand mine. Finally found the right track. Lots of sand and rubble but not too bad. Made it about 13km along when my clutch burnt out. Had to abandon bike and head back 2-up. Mike's skill got us back to Piung where we discovered there was a NP Office! The blokes there were fantastic. We went up in a 4WD next day, loaded the bike and took us to Soriutu. I was up and running again by 5pm. Without them we would have been knackered.
Next day we headed to Doro Ncangga (57km) and went up from there. We left Soriutu at 6am, reached the crater (2550m) at 3pm and were back down to Pos 3 (1800m) by 5.30pm.
A local gave us a cup of hot coffee. It was the best coffee I have ever had as I was buggered having walked 9km up from Pos 2 (900m).
That night we slept in a no-walls shelter. The wind roared all night. I got about an hour's sleep. Set off at dawn for Pos 2 jumped on the bike and was back in Soriutu by 11am. Had the best shower ever and then the best feed ever at a nasi Padang in Soriutu.
We then jumped on the bikes and rode to Kencana Beach Hotel on the outskirts of Sumbawa Besar for a swim and a beer. It was a good trip

 

[merantau]

This is what an exhausted 70 year old looks like.

 

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Great little Homestay in Soriutu

 

[merantau]

These two legends replaced my burnt out clutch plates, changed my oil and adjusted my chain - AUD $22. The bloke on the right was Javanese. He sang me "Waltzing Matilda". He was a big fan of Radio Australia when he was a kid.

 

[merantau]

Heading to Sumbawa. Limbo disappearing in the distance.

 

[merantau]

ASDP ferry at Pelabuhan Kayangan (The Port of Heaven) in east Lombok.

 

[merantau]

The "Hodaka 19" docking at Badas Port, outside Sumbawa Besar. Much of Sumbawa's corn leaves from here bound for Surabaya on Java.

 

[merantau]

Dusk

 

[merantau]

Badas Port. You can take a Pelni ship from here to Sulawesi via Calabai and Bima in Sumbawa and Reo on the north coast of Flores. Pelni and the ASDP stitch Indonesia together. I love them as they get me on the road to adventure. Give me a blue sky, an open road and a motorcycle.

 

[merantau]

Here is a short video of our ride to Tambora put together by Mike Betts. The title refers to an absolutely crazed Dutchman we met at Kencana Beach Hotel. He was a very disturbed man. Completely paranoid and obsessed. Claimed to be an investigator campaigning to stamp out paedophilia. Said his passport had been stolen in Bali, his social media accounts hacked, phone tapped etc. Never shut up ... conspiracy theory addict as well.

Tambora 2019.mp4

drive.google.com

 

[bsacbob]

Wow, what a spectacular place that is and a nice trail up there despite the slight mishap