After the enormous effort of Mount Rinjani, we wanted a soft landing — and Lombok delivered. We collected our luggage from the homestay and drove across to the other side of the island, to a small coastal place near Gili Lampu, the jumping-off point for the so-called Secret Gilis: a handful of tiny islands with a fraction of the crowds of the famous three.
The coastal homestay itself was a mixed bag — a lovely dinner by the water, but rooms that smelled a bit off and a large lizard that shot under the bed. After two freezing nights in a tent, though, we were just happy to have a proper bed. There was a grassy patch by the water too, which of course meant a few disc-golf throws before dinner.
A day on our own boat
The next morning we headed out to the Secret Gilis on our own private boat — just us, a boatman and his young son — which meant we set the whole agenda: how long to snorkel, which beach to linger on, when to move. We wound out through a big area of mangroves first, then were dropped at a snorkel spot.
The reef was lovely, and Noah spotted the most perfect sea turtle he's ever seen — shell flawless — gliding along beneath him. The only frustration: he'd finally remembered to bring his Insta360 the one time he'd forgotten its dive case, so the clip has the housing edge poking into the middle of the frame. You can't win them all.
Island disc golf — and crossing 900
The Secret Gilis turned out to be an unexpectedly good disc-golf venue. On the little islands Noah set up his portable basket, and we all played a few improvised holes — even doubles at one point, Noah & Line against Vitus & Jesper. On the sand he ran putting competitions, and the local kids loved it, sprinting to fetch and fling the discs back so fast that the games barely paused. A few local adults tried too and were promptly, cheerfully thrashed.
The day's real prize was private: checking his phone later, Noah found he'd crossed a 900 PDGA rating — higher than he'd ever expected — on the back of some strong tournament rounds back home. A very good day at the office.
Grilled fish on the sand
Lunch was fresh grilled fish and prawns with rice and a pile of sides, eaten on the beach — far, far too much for us, so the boatman, his son and some locals happily shared it out.
Two things took a little of the shine off. First, the rubbish: the pretty side of each island faces the water, but step behind and there's a lot of washed-up and burnt trash — the islands simply have no way to get waste off them. And second, we worked out afterwards that we'd been overcharged — roughly double — for the trip, booked through the otherwise wonderfully warm homestay hosts. It was a genuinely lovely day and a private boat with a feast, so not bad value; it just stung a little given how much we'd trusted and liked them.
Onward to Sumatra
For our last night we drove far out toward the airport, down increasingly remote and rough roads through rice fields and small, poor houses — convinced for a while we'd booked somewhere far too basic. And then, as often happens in Indonesia, out of nowhere appeared a little oasis: a spotless place with a warm, English-speaking host, a lovely dinner, and the best banana pancakes of the whole trip — all for next to nothing, including two rooms, dinner, breakfast and the airport transfer. The perfect, quiet end to Lombok. The next morning we flew out — via Jakarta — onward to Sumatra and the jungles of Bukit Lawang.
Previously: ← Climbing Mount Rinjani — the three-day trek
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