Just recently been to Gili Air and saw some crew kiting the channel between Air and Bangsol on Lombok on the SE trade. Conveniently the current appeared to be running North-->South, ie., into the wind. December is the wet season so wind is predominately from the N or NW and I would guess MUCH lighter than the dry season trades which around Gili are in the 18-20 knt range and if current is still the same would be a hopeless exercise and NOT recommended for a beginner.

Your best options for learning are right here at home (assuming you are in Oz)

Okay sweet as I will probably get lessons here then cheers guys

for some more info on Gili's you can contact Stefano on his FB page ... www.facebook.com/groups/378472315524711/

orb74 said..

LiveToFly said..

^ ^ ^ what he said.

I kited at Gili T this time last year and it was certainly not for beginners. The sharp coral and shell beaches make it difficult to land/launch and get in and out of the water. The wind is marginal and not as strong as her in aus.
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Hey liveTofly, what do you reckon the wind strength is on average on Lombok (guessing it's the same as Gili T) during the windiest months of June, July and August?

Hey orb I was on Gili T last August for 10 days and had 3 kiteable days between 13 and 15 knots and s-sw. I'd guess the west coast of Lombok would be the same but I didn't go there.

The conditions and coastal structures were far from perfect, nevertheless it was the most amasing experience with schools of flying fish leaping out of the water following me, among the islands with the Lombok mountains in the background.

Def worth doing but I wouldn't kite there if I was in my first season, that would just be stupid.

Hi Guys , I have just returned from Kuta Lombok and Gilli Air . Went there for a surf trip and was surprised to see a couple of kite shops. There wasn't enough wind at Kuta Lombok . prob 10 - 12knots every day. .. but if there was enough wind it would be an ok place to learn. good beach ect. The shop has really good equip as well. Not sure about the instructors. There is nothing to do at Kuta Lombok besides surf so if there is a bit of wing around I would give it a crack there.

We went to Gilli Air just for a day trip. Ended up having a really good kite session in-between Gilli Air and the mainland. Was 18knots, warm water and a bintang waiting approx. 30metres away .. what more could you ask for !!. Not a great place for leaning though as there is not much place to launching and landing etc. and you are pretty much straight into deep water. The kite shop there has great equip to hire and pretty cheap. cost us $45 aussie each for all the gear.. so if anyone is there be sure to check it out.. Fellas name is Stefano. He is also starting another kite camp on Lombok I think near to Eccas Surf Break... keep an eye out for that as it sounds pretty awesome from Stefano's description.. big long beach etc..

Hey

Does anyone know if you can kite Kuta Lombok this time of year (wet season) in the Westerlies? If so, is the wind gusty given the proximity of the headland?

Thanks Ads

i was thinking the same, SHOPS what shops, there was one i remember and the constant sounds of detonators going of to stun the fish and feck the coral, but hey i am old and that was then.

^^^gold

I went to Lombok back in 1997 and it was a scary place at that time. Tourism was only a few years young there and the new Kuta there was not even bigger than one of the side lanes in the real Kuta Beach back in Bali. We stayed at a resort next to a Mosque just north of Kuta and we were the only tourists in the resort. No one else around. The locals scared us because they were not as friendly (smiley all the time) as we've experienced in Bali itself. Lombok is very Islamic, so be careful. Some surfers had a machete attack there not long after we were there. Oh and don't take a bus trip to the Gili port. It takes like 4 hours through the dense jungle, monkeys jumping on the bus and trying to get in the windows and once we had to all get out to push the damn rickety bus up a slope! You have to have a strong gut for such places I think. Oh yeah, sorry never been to Gilli itself though.