Hi Guys and Gals.

This month not much surf, no rain and no guests. So we review season 2023 going through March to November checking what were the best surfing months and which were the worst. This by no means 2024 is going to be a copycat of 2023 as every month of the surf season on Rote Island I have seen each month over the years produce perfection, scary big, fun size, less than knee high, windy, light wind, wrong wind ,sunny, cloudy and rainy. So there is no perfect time of year or season period, it is just what the surf gods throw at you if they could be bothered or not to care. Enjoy this newsletter it should good to reflect on each month of the 2023 surf season. Have a safe and happy 2024 and hope you can make it over and have some fun.

Happy Happy 2024

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Happy Happy 2024 〰️ Treat Yourself to Rote Island ~ Make Your Dreams Come True ~ Click Here ~

2023 SURF REVIEW FOR TLAND REEF, NEMBERALA ROTE ISLAND.

March 2023 had great conditions and swell for the first 3 weeks. — March 2023

Very early start to season 2023 I don’t usually recommend guests to book during the month of March. However March had overhead swells and calm wind conditions and a few of the guests that were here scored consistent epic waves with just a few in the water. Boa and Tland were the choice places. With the season so early I was unable to get any photos of Tland but ask those who were here it was going off which is very very for March.

April 2023 wasn't the best of Aprils but guys on mals were have some fun. — April 2023

Just when everyone thought the dry season was going to be early a low drifted below Rote casing south west winds and short period tiny lumpy swell for the first 2 weeks of April. That low developed into a category 4 cyclone coming in just above Broome in Western Australia. The last 2 weeks of April the ocean was reasonably calm and the waves were pretty inconsistent. Some of our guests were riding mals and enjoyed themselves but if you were looking for some excitement it unfortunately didn’t happen. April can usually be a favourite time of year for surfing but April 2023 wasn’t that exciting.

Surfer pig dogging a small walling wave at Tland — May 2023

Well it isn’t sounding like the best of reviews for Rote Island surf but to be honest the first 2 weeks of May were as flat as it can get. Not a wave to be seen from Rote Island to Banda Aceh. Lualemba Bungalow Resort was bursting at the seams with guests and nothing to surf. So it wasn’t all doom and gloom guests were doing other activities like scuba diving, snorkelling, exploring by road trips to Rote Island sights and sailing to outer Islands. At least Rote Island and Lualemba Bungalow Resort has these options for their guests rather being stuck in a jungle somewhere isolated from able to do anything else than surfing. Surf improved a bit later in May but there was that inconsistency about it made the lineup competitive and frustrating for a few of the guests. Season 2023 was looking like the worst surf season ever throughout Indonesia as it was the same everywhere.

To get out early to Ndana Island on Te Aila the surf is pumping and just you and a couple mates. Jump back aboard Te Aila have some lunch and a cold drink in the shade before a sail back to Nemberala. What Indo dreams are made of. — June 2023

June was definitely on the improve than the other months earlier in the season but the swells were lacking consistency still. Lualemba guests were scoring some good days out at Ndana Island too with Te Aila going there on a regular basis many exploring and snorkelling day trips this was the first time guests got some good waves there. There were fun times out at Tland but it wasn’t the Tland surf everyone was eager for.

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July 2023 on Rote Island the surf just pumped. — July 2023

Now this is when the season 2023 review gets good. July was epic a complete turn around to earlier in the season. It was consistent, the swell had balls, everything about the waves was perfect and all the guests were super super happy. Ndana Island was pumping too with just a couple of us out. What can I write I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.

August 2023

The surf during August just blended into July it just didn’t stop with continued back to back swells holding size and consistency.

September was as good as July and August with more back to back swells and the trade winds easing off — September 2023

With the run of swells through July and August continuing fun sizes and consistency September just got better as the trade winds began to ease off. Guests were stoked with a few coming to Rote Island for the first time and Tland was giving them a show for them to remember for a long time. Ndana Island produced a bit of size when we visit with both the left and right breaking nice clean faces.

October was still holding sizable waves for the first 2 weeks and very little wind. — October 2023

The first 2 weeks of October still produced good sizable swell then the last 2 weeks it dropped off holding its consistency and the winds backing off making any surf break on Rote Island to produce excellent waves. October was a lot of fun.

Overall 2023

Roye Island has pristine waters, epic surf and solitude that makes it a specila place to visit. — Waiting in the lineup at Boa

Season 2023 overall had some of the worst surf I’ve seen on Rote Island for the first half of the season. That went for all of Indonesia with high pressure systems sitting west of Margaret River in Western Australia for a month or so at a time and not moving anywhere. This would push the lows far down into the southern oceans making it difficult for swells to reach Indonesia. By July them high pressure systems moved back to central Australia making the lows to move further north creating the swells Indonesia is famous for. The wet season at present is far different than last year which was early and this year it has been reasonably dry with claims that the monsoon weather system for Indonesia hasn’t arrived yetat the end of December. Not good for the locals growing their crops and season 2024 most likely be a lot different than 2023. Surfing is the same all over the world it is unpredictable but Indonesia is famous for its ground swells from the Southern Ocean and offshore trade winds during the dry season. Rote Island produces fun long wally waves that most surfers can perform multiple manoeuvres on one wave not like most waves in Indonesia that have steep take offs and tuck into the barrel racing for the next section. If I was to travel to Rote Island to surf I’d definitely take a mid length board as they perform well at Tland or a board with more volume or literage like a fish then I’d have my performance board but looking for a bit of weight in the glass as light surfboards don’t tend to go so well once the offshore trade winds start like the epoxy boards. If you were after the big wave stuff Tland handles it size better than any place in Indonesia and there are lots of gun boards for sale around the island as a lot of people travel here with them and don’t want to lug them back home as they don’t tend to use them back home. Malibu’s perform well on most waves on Rote Island up to overhead then probably expect to take it home in 2 pieces.

Lualemba Bungalow are more than just a place to stay and have been in Rote Island longer than most other accommodation in Rote Island. We are always improving the Lualemba site with the gardens and bungalow style nothing compares to others places in the area. Check out the link to the homepage on our website: surf-nemberala.com. We are just a short walk to Nemberala Beach Harbor at a far cooler position than being on the beach.