Indonesia by International Mountain Leader Alan Ward
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time in Indonesia and travelled across the extent of this archipelago, from Sumatra in the west, to West Papua in the far east and as far north as the Anambas Islands in the South China Sea. What makes Indonesia wonderful is a combination of the tremendously varied landscapes and the warmth and friendliness of the Indonesian people.
Having previously lived in Indonesia for six years, I still find myself travelling there three to four times a year in my role as an international ISO/HSE Technical Adviser for marine pipe-laying operations which are normally in the Java Sea. I’m generally allowed a long weekend off in the middle of my trips which are normally three and a half weeks in duration. Over the last four to five years I’ve visited National Parks on the island of Lombok and on Java I have trekked into the Mt Semeru and Mt Bromo National Parks so I’ll concentrate on those areas.
Mt Rinjani (3,726m) – most people travel to Lombok to climb Mt Rinjani but on both my trips here, volcanic activity has prevented me climbing it. More recently, an earthquake devastated much of the island’s infrastructure from which it has not recovered.
Mt Semeru (3,676m) – my trip here was with an Indonesian colleague and whilst we didn’t reach the summit it was an enjoyable trip out of Jakarta for me. A poor choice of local provider meant we didn’t have enough time to summit sadly but I’ll hopefully go back with an added night into the itinerary.
Mt. Bromo (2,329m) – this was an enjoyable visit and I’d certainly go here again. Malang is the gateway airport to this area and the flight is only an hour from Jakarta. If staying in Malang I strongly recommend the Tugu Malang Hotel in an old Dutch heritage building – great location with great food! This is far from being a climb as we know it but the surrounding area offers much in the way for exploration.
There aren’t a lot of quality adventure companies in Indonesia that I’m aware of but I have made contact with CLIMB INDONESIA, a company owned by Taufan Hidyat and his team of mountain guides. CLIMB INDONESIA operates across Indonesia’s mountainous areas and this includes the Carstenz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya 4,884m), one of the “Seven Summits”.
Taufan and his team are desperate to raise their operating standards to that of an international level and I’m working on this with them as part of my CSR policy. In November, seven of his team completed the RGS certificated Off Site Safety Management course to a very high standard. I plan on further training with them in January during my next planned visit to Indonesia. This will be a new training course through U.I.A.A., scheduled to be launched in January as, in my case, International Mountain Safety, which with me, will be a three-day training course.
Indonesia offers such a lot that I’m surprised it’s not more popular as a destination from the UK as the non-stop Garuda Indonesia flight is under 15hrs.
If anyone needs further information about Indonesia then please contact me.
Thank you Alan!
