October 2022 - Lualemba Bungalow Resort - Nemberala Rote Island - Newsletter

October started off with a few good waves but as the month went along the south winds became more consistent and the swell drizzled out leave not much on the surfing. Not all Octobers are like this some years it can be the month of the year with good swells and light variable winds. I ventured up to Dili in Timor Leste on my yacht for a couple of weeks. We went fishing and come across a whale shark only a couple metres from the boat. The surf season is coming to a close in Rote so enjoy the October Newsletter.

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Click Here for your 2023 Holiday 〰️

Morning out on the water.

Pete and I decided to head out for a bit of a fish as the swell had dropped off. We headed south hoping for some luck in the channel between Rote and Dana Island. There was a lot of activity in the water along the way and the weather was beautiful with very little wind. Just out from Tunggoen we noticed something large in the water. We headed towards it reeling in our lines to avoid tangle. It was a young whale shark busy feeding. It wasn’t shy of us allowing us to drift up next to it. They are a lovely species and aren’t shy coming almost touching distance from the boat.
Our fishing wasn’t the best of days a lot of current creating weed lines and the channel between Rote and Dana Island was pretty much impossible to fish without being swept away. However we did manage to hook up a decent Long Tom that I’ve never caught before trolling. They are a tasty fish the only problem is they have a lot of fine bones even though there is a technique of picking away the flesh to minimise this.

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Waves still fun during October.

Ian and Gerry were here for the first couple of weeks during October and pretty much surfed everyday. Some days they were heading out early incase the south winds would set in for the day and if they didn’t they would head out for a second surf. These guys were getting a lot of fun days in the surf the crowds were down.
Crowds were down as people have discovered the flights in and out of Rote had been cancelled. Guests have been linking up with the 3.30 afternoon transport ferry to Rote arriving in Pantai Baru then travelling 70 kilometres to Nemberala by car arriving 9.30pm there abouts. This can be a big day travelling but they have the whole next day to surf or just chill out rather than spending a night in Kupang and getting the Behari ferry the next day usually not getting to Nemberala until around 2.00 in the afternoon. If the afternoon tide is right with the swell size it is still possible to get a surf that day. Many guests are preferring to get all their travel over all in the one day.

This month 2 Behari ferries began running twice a day around the weekend period making it a little easier and hopefully by next season they will 7 days a week. If you are plan a trip to Rote 2023 just organise your flights to Kupang and worry about getting to Rote as your trip gets closer. Contact us and we can give the best advice linking you to Nemberala with as little hassle as possible. Who knows the flights to Rote could be running again.