NEWS ARCHIVE, 2007
December 17th, 2007
We've been hard at work since you all went home, building bungalow #1 and 2. For an interesting animation of what we've been doing for the last 2 weeks anyway, check out our animationed construction file. There are also some better quality photographs of bungalow #1.
The waves have been nonstop which makes for difficult construction, but we've been dedicated and even gave up some guaranteed good Rifles sessions to get the trusses up in the air and the roof on!
We may have to put our prices up again. The Mentawai government has informed us that they have levied a new tax since July 2007, although we just now found out about it. They will charge us 10% of the gross value of our value added services, such as accommodation, food and beverage. On top of this the federal Indonesian government has publicized their plan to put fuel prices up next year. This country isn't like America or New Zealand. The fuel is still government owned and funded, so the price doesn't fluxuate day to day. The last time they put the prices up was last year, and it was a 100% rise overnight! Since I have been in Indonesia, they have yet to have a fuel price hike for less than a 25% increase!
Anyway, the majority of our running costs are from fuel usage; getting you to the waves everyday, as well as keeping those fans going 24/7 from the generator. We'll do our best to keep the prices low, but such is life when oil keeps hiking up.
October 21st, 2007
Well, the shaking continues, the latest quake (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/) was a 5.0, last night at about 4:20am. Hardly felt in Padang, but very close to Siberut.
The crew had a great break for the Lebaran Holiday, and WavePark will this continue this tradition of shutting down for a week in 2008.
Speaking of which, we have released our new prices and schedule effective immediately.
We have also created an official WavePark Mentawai membership program that supplements our time-share offer. For those of you that are return clients, this information is very important to getting you the best possible price for your next WavePark visit.
Check it all out because there are some great discounts available, and some improved trip lengths for 2008.
September 15th, 2007
This is a letter sent out regarding recent earthquakes. For more specific information, please see: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqinthenews/2007/us2007hec6/#summary
Hi,
I've been getting lots of emails from people concerned about
WavePark. Thought I would give a description of what has happened
and how things stand as of now, Friday midday, on Mainuk Island. I'm writing
this from the island, so some of the exact details that I will relate
are still not confirmed, such as exact magnitudes. Most of the specific
details are related to me by the WavePark crew that now have TV in their
crew accommodation, so they've been keeping up on the news.
Wednesday night we got back from a surf to the island to the guests who had stayed behind, wide eyed, having just experienced the earthquake (magnitude 8.4) based in Bengkulu. We had crew on the beach with flashlights for a couple hours, and the ocean did drop and then rise again about 1 meter, within a hour of the earthquake. That night there were a few aftershocks. I was up and on the computer at 6:30 the next morning (Thursday), checking and writing emails when the "big one" struck. It was by far the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced. I probably would have fallen to the ground had I not been a surfer and concentrating on staying on my feet. Fridges, TV's and computer monitor fell over. Plants and books off shelves, mirrors broken in the bathroom. The sound of the coconut trees and ground shaking in unison is something I will never forget...
We immediately turned off the generator and evacuated the island having
a small bag each already packed from the night before. We anchored on
the north side of the sand island, close enough to keep an eye on the
water movement, but also close enough to deep water if we had to run.
We spent about 2 hours anchored, listening to the shortwave radio. Our
crew manager got a lift from a passing speedboat back to Siberut to check
on his family. The center of that earthquake was in a town called Sungai
Penuh (full river) which is the town closest to Padang in the neighboring
province of Jambi on mainland Sumatra. This meant the earthquake was a
volcanic category and not undersea, so we headed back to the island. There
was also a significant change in ocean level while we were anchored. The
sand island was clearly exposed, and then covered, and then exposed again
in a space of 20 minutes. There were 2 significant earthquakes originating
from the Mentawai islands
while we were anchored, and not only could we feel them through the hull
of the boats, but the water all around the boat changed color as sediment
was shook off the bottom.
We returned to survey the damage: The old crew quarters
slid off its foundation and crumpled, but that was going to happen in
the next big squall anyway. The main accommodation handled the shake wonderfully,
with only a few cross braces under the house "popped", especially
the ones that were nailed, rather than screwed together. The bar, games
room and crew's quarters are all fine, some cracks in the small amount
of concrete that we used, but overall the shake was a great test for the
construction methods that we've used, mostly utilizing stainless bolts
and screws that will shear off but not pull out. We've heard unfortunate
stories of people's houses and offices in Siberut and Sipora that are
destroyed completely, but no stories so far of casualities in the villages
closest to us. Luckily people were already on edge from the night before,
and it happened during daylight
hours.
Throughout yesterday, we experienced an average of 1 significant
aftershock every hour, including 1 that was from a different direction
(based in southern mentawai), and one that made the ground "jump"
briefly before it started shaking, which was a new experience for everybody.
We had a very surreal game of frisbee golf, wandering around the coconut
plantation throwing frisbees at trees that were moving, while drinking
beer of course! We had a full alert tsunami watch all night last night,
with rotating crews on standby in the speedboats, all bags packed and
on the boat. The GPS was loaded with a route to deep water, and extra
batteries for just about everything were ready.
We remain on high alert, as there are still earthquakes of over 6.6 registering
off the coast of Bengkulu, triggering further tsunami warnings, but up
until now we feel lucky to have only had to pick up a few pieces of broken
glass and mirror.
I hope this email reaches you in good health and with best regards,
Christie
Manager WavePark Mentawai Surfing Resort
www.wavepark.com
August 21st, 2007
There are 3 new Hot O T Press releases now out, including what was labeled as 12ft. @ 18 sec. in the news August 3rd below. It turned out to be downgraded to 9ft. @ 18 sec., but it was still enough to make hideaways look like Pipeline! We ended up surfing Ebay for the peak of the swell.
We have another special on surfingresort.com for mid septemeber. Check under "latest discounted trips".
The other news is that our bitch Salt has had her 4th litter of puppies. Salt, aka puppy factory, has now added 31 dogs to this planet in her 3 1/2 years on earth. Stay tuned for some cute photos of the new ones growing up!
August 3rd, 2007
We have a new venture with surfingresort.com which has started up offering last minute discounted trips to various locations around the world. Check them out if you want to get out here for cheap, and can drop everything for a swell!
For now, we've got a big swell coming next Sunday/Monday, 12ft. @ 18 sec., more than enough for a new hot o t press release, stay tuned!
July 31st, 2007
We're all good again with the flights. Sorry to be so long between updates, we've been full on the island, getting our guests the best waves of their lives. Want proof, check out hot off the press !
So yeah, SMA airlines is running smoothly between Padang and the islands, no worries. They received the highest marks in their category for safety, maintenance and insurance, the major delay in getting operational again was chasing down a bureaucrat for a signature which took an entire week and cost the airline an extra 5 flights... SMA, we can relate and feel your pain.
Also, we're offering a couple specials for late August/early September to help fill up some voids in the bookings. Contact alice@wavepark.com for the details, but don't bother unless you can commit to at least a 15 day trip.
July 4th, 2007
As of last Saturday, SMA airlines has been grounded following the commencement of a national audit on all airlines, as ordered by the Indonesian president's office. SMA is used by WavePark Mentawai to fly clients to and from mainland Sumatra, to our island paradise. Following an EU blacklist of all 51 Indonesian Airlines, the president has stated that while financially the ban won't be serious for Indonesia, the "moral ramifications" to the country are serious enough to warrant prompt action.
All Indonesian airlines are being audited in the last week; safety and service records, as well as insurance requirements being scrutinized by the Indonesian Aviation office.
We applaud any effort made by the Indonesian government to clean up their act, and we applaud the EU for taking a stand against what they consider to be liabilities in the air above their citizens.
However, painting a picture of dangerous and ill-equipped aircraft with such a broad brush does lessen the possibility for a fair and balanced perspective of technology and maintenance policies not only within Indonesia, but for all developing Asian countries. Malaysia for example, with their wildly successful "Air Asia" budget flights has so impacted the market that it has created a need for entirely new airport terminals in most busy airports around SE Asia. Having dominated the domestic and short-haul international market in SE Asia for that last 4 years, the airline has turned its sights on a long haul international market, with flights between Kuala Lumpur, Australia and England scheduled to begin in September. A definite threat to established airlines with old school pricing paradigms, Air Asia will start impacting demand all over the world. Richard Branson of mega brand "Virgin" fame takes the threat seriously, he is currently in talks for buying out the remaining original owners of Air Asia...
So while I commend the EU, I also am concerned that the ban is a pre-emptive political and financial strike to the heart of a region that perhaps threatens the financial success of a few in power. How is a brand new Boeing 737-300 flown by Indonesian carrier Garuda any less safe than exactly the same model plane flown by Australian brand Quantas? One will still be allowed to fly to Brussels, and one won't. Physically however, there is no difference. That kind of overly broad policy brushing doesn't fix the problem, it only aggravates development.
July 2nd, 2007
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) -- All Indonesian airlines including national carrier Garuda will be banned from flying to the European Union within a week, the European Commission said on Thursday, updating a "blacklist" of carriers deemed unsafe.
Indonesian carriers do not currently fly to Europe so the ban is also a warning to the 27-nation EU's consumers and travel agencies not to use the country's airlines, an EU official said.
"European citizens should avoid flying with these carriers," the official said. "They are really unsafe."
Angola's TAAG Angolan Airlines and Volare Aviation Enterprise of Ukraine would also be banned, the EU executive said. Ten Russian airlines, six from EU member Bulgaria and eight from Moldova will cease operations within the bloc.
"The EU blacklist will prove to be an essential tool not only to prevent unsafe airlines from flying to Europe ... but also to make sure that airlines and civil aviation authorities take appropriate actions to improve safety," Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a ban on most aircraft operated by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), in force since March, will be lifted for specific Boeing 747 and Airbus 310 planes, it said. The carrier's fleet of Boeing 777s remains authorized.
The Indonesian carrier ban applies to all 51 airlines certified in that country.
The decision, following advice from an EU air safety committee, is expected to be formalized within a week.
The Commission advised EU countries to start preparing for the ban immediately.
Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
June 9th, 2007
There's lots of talk going around about the size of the "10 year swell". "Saw the photos of Lances man, that's outta control!" The only thing I can say is that there is no more humbling experience than watching weeks worth of your life wash away under the brunt of a huge swell. At the peak of the swell, we had 1ft. waves washing through our front garden, which, as anybody that has spent any amount of time on the island knows, Alice and I have put a lot of work into! On the one hand, at least we got an entire new beach out of it, beautiful, clean white sand delivered to our doorstep, we never could have done it ourselves. We also get to know what can handle the salt and what can't, because at some point in the future, it will happen again! On the other hand, what an experience to go through, watching all those hours of weeding and planting, nursing and encouraging all end up under 3ft. of salt water.
Makes for a nice horseshoe pit anyway.
May 9th, 2007
We've got a new video up on the site, courtesy of Tom Shand. One of the most professionally edited guest videos that I've ever seen, the extract from Tom's "Boats, Barrels and a tailess monkey called Spank" provides the viewers with a guest's perspective of what goes in the WavePark. The file is a Windows Media Player file and is over 64mb, so it'll take you a couple days to download on a dial-up internet connection. Its a great watch regardless, well worth the wait!
May 6th, 2007
Flying out really makes a difference (see news below)! 35 minutes from Sumatra to Mentawai. A serious life changer for all those prior guests that had to deal with the public ferry. For new guests, you'll never know what you were missing all those years ago.
We've been having fun on the island with the new pool table. International regulation size (9ft.) and brand new, this toy gets almost more use than the generator! We've had visits from many charter boats and other resort guests trying to claim local champion.
April 27th, 2007
In another first for WavePark Mentawai, our guests as of tomorrow will be flying out and back to the islands!! Times they are a changin'! With a one way flight time of 35 minutes, there's not even enough time to read that new surfing mag that you bought in duty free! From the airport to the WavePark will take minimum 90 minutes, so in a total of 2 hours and 5 minutes after leaving Padang, you could be pulling up to the beach at Hideaways. Check out our "getting there" page for more details.
This new mode of transport will be our standard for the rest of the season and your daily WavePark price includes the airport transfers and the flight out and back to the Mentawais (including your surfboards) amongst our usual inclusive features.
April 16th, 2007
First trip of the season succesfully completed with our group of Americans, Kiwis, and Brits sent back to their various regular lives with smiles on their faces. We documented their fun and as always put it on the "hot off the press" page. Of course, after we leave to get back to the city, the swell comes up even more, and is predicted to pump over the next week at least! The new guests are stoked to be walking into fresh waves, and especially as there have been no charter boats seen anywhere for weeks! I had a report of Hideaways A+ and Rifles on within 24 hours of each other, and only 5 of our guests out!
Seems like the early season this year is shaping up to be a good one!!
March 7th, 2007
Earthquake! 6.2 about 50km NNE of the WavePark office struck yesterday at 11am. It was a good shaker, stuff off the shelves, cracks in the walls, and we evacuated to higher ground (along with the rest of Padang) until we found out that it was a volcanic earthquake, not underwater... Around the highland volcanoes in West Sumatra, over 71 people have been counted dead, and our hearts go out to their friends and families. A sleepless night of aftershocks has left everybody with a numb feeling of trauma and shock. We've got our bags packed near the door and are ready to rush out the next time the earth moves.
February 26th, 2007
Things moving right along. We've installed a new RGBAN Satellite internet system to help us and our guests stay in touch with the rest of the world. It's going to cost $5 USD per 500kb uploaded or downloaded, but that is a lot of information by text only. If I was to send this update via text only email, it would be around 5 kb!
We've got some new toys for the guests, fishing rods (lures not supplied), snorkeling equipment, digital projector (for those great slide show nights), pool table, badminton court and 9-hole frisbeegolf course. We've got a new bartender, some new cocktails (try "blood on the reef"), and some games that will make you drink, and some games that will make you think.
That is about it unless you want to hear about 4-6ft. off-season rifles with only 3 people out... I thought not.
January 23rd, 2007
We've got a couple new things on. The first is the additions to our movies page. We have some absolutely filthy footage of Hideaways to back up all the photos that we have spread all over this website. Sometimes I see the photos we put on here and say to myself, "they're not going to believe it's real!" With digital photography, it's easy to make a place look a little bit more offshore, a little bit nicer, I could even make a spot look less crowded if I was so inclined!! But with video footage straight from the guests' cameras, we are all put in their shoes. What is is like to sit in the channel and watch hideaways do its thing? One of my favourites is (...click here to find out) The rest you can find on our movies page.
The other news is that although our new year's special is finished as of Jan. 15th, we're implementing something new for those of you who don't mind a little extra legwork with your mates. Book 5 guests and we'll give you 50% off the total cost of your booking at WPM. This is a logical progression from our "book 10 get the 11th free", I think it's going to be easier for people to book 5 and get a really decent incentive than it will be to fill the camp (although that incentive still exists). In order to get the discounts, you need to be able to get your group's passport information, deposits and balances in on time. From our side, we prefer only having to correspond with one person from a group, rather than all 5 or 10. It's also easier for bank transfers etc. etc. Its only January, you've got months to get the group together!
January 1st, 2007
First time I've had to write the new year "2007"!
Just a short blurb; we've extended our New Year's special until Jan. 15th. Get the balance of your trip payment in before then, and get 15% off the price! The best deal so far is the 22 day option which ends up at $145/day, cheaper than in 2006! Combine this with all the new facilities and services we're including this season, this is the best deal we've offered in years!
Contact alice@wavepark.com to get in early.
All the best for 2007!
NEWS ARCHIVE, 2006
November 27, 2006
A lot happening this time of year. We've nailed down our pricing, schedule and Pre-New Years' specials for you. Here are the finer points:
1) We're reducing our capacity from 14 to 12. This means less people on the island, and less people to share waves with.
2) We are contracting a private ferry service once a week to transport our guests out and back much more comfortably and reliably than in previous years. KM. Debora has 20 air conditioned bunks, is almost 24m (80ft.) long and has all the important safety gear, GPS, Sat. Telephone, Radio, life jackets, etc. Photos will be available shortly. The ferry cost is included in the daily price of your holiday, and departs every week on Friday night.
3) Minimum trip length is 8 days. We still have no minimum group booking size.
4) Daily price is scaled on length of trip; 8 days = $200 US/Day, 15 days is $190 US/Day, and 22 or more days is $170 US/Day.
Hopefully you can see from the above that we are dedicated to adding value and service to your holiday. Our price has gone up significantly again, but we aren't going to apologize for it, because the facilities that we are offering, the service that our crew provides, and the new direct transport option still make WavePark the best value for money in the Mentawai Islands.
We are offering an early bird special for those of you that have your act together early enough to commit to a trip next season. Get your trip balance deposited with us by midnight of December 31st 2006, and you'll get 15% off the total $$!
Not only do we add value, we also discount!
October 10th, 2006
Another season done and dusted. 2006 was a great season, thank you to all the guests and friends that made it happen and successful. To me, the season was highlighted by persistent comments from the guests about how good our crew is. It makes me proud to be part of the team that supports and runs the infrastructure that guests enjoy but sometimes don't notice during the course of their trip. Ja, Im, Deh, Eve, Gendut, Feri, Adi(s), Rado, Zal, Katy, Theo, Uncu, Rita, Pete, Lisa, Pam, and Tom all deserve credit. Each one of them has gone the extra mile at some point this year to help the guests and I make sense of the bewildering world of Indonesian logistics, supply chains, maintenance, transport, government relations, accounting, taxes, weather, engineering, cooking and shopping. Without any one of these people, WavePark wouldn't run as well as it does.
Overall it was a strange year weather-wise. May didn't appear until June, but June made up for that. In haltering puffs, the SSE wind kicked in by July, giving us the rest of the season with offshore Hideaways. It was a late season goofy footer's and pig-dog dream. Big swells in mid-August and late September scared even the veterans; highlights for me were 8-10ft. low tide Rifles, watching Mick Fanning dance with death over the single heaviest session I have ever seen at my favourite break. And finally our patience for Ebay paid off, 6-8ft. sets for a week, coupled with the right moon phase and the persistent SSE wind which made the daily surf spot choice a no brainer.
Thank you to all current and previous guests for spreading the word about us. We don't advertise aside from this website, and over 90% of our clientele comes from positive word of mouth and return guests. If you are a prior guest and enjoyed your stay, please remember to mention us and this website to your friends that you think would enjoy the experience as well.
I'm already looking forward to 2007, to help you get the best waves of your life while enjoying the best value for money surfing resort in the world.
July 6th, 2006
Well, so much for that news episode. Jerry decided to leave us. It wasn't working out his family being on the mainland, and him on the island. We wish him the best of luck in whatever he decides to do next.
We're on the lookout for a professional chef for next season, so if you or anybody you know are great in the kitchen and want to surf a season at the WavePark, contact us. We don't pay much, but our chef will surf the best waves of his/her life, and go home with something in their pocket.
Latest news is Rhino's house is almost ready, photos on the way. Rhino, aka Mike, has built a sick 3 bedroom pad on the east coast of Mainuk, away from the hustle and bustle of WavePark central. He's planning on owning the first pool in the Mentawais, we can't wait to jump in! We are planning to provide it to families and small groups that don't want to join up with the regular WavePark clients, and want their own speedboat to the breaks. The service will cost a little bit more, but, like everything else that we put together, it will be good value for money.
We've also decked out all the bunk beds in the accommodation with fans. We had feedback from the first couple trips of the season (thanks for being the guinea pigs guys) that the upper bunks weren't getting enough air. We installed 6 new wall fans pointed directly at those suckers, so now the place to be is actually in the top bunks! All of this points to a better night's sleep between perfect waves.
March 28th, 2006
Some great news to tell everybody. Jerry is back! Our faithful chef is coming back to cook all WavePark guests their favourite meals plus a handful of new ones made possible by Jerry's new kitchen and kitchen hands. We're really happy to have Jerry back on board.
The new Mentawai Tide Calendar 2006 is available in Padang from April onwards. Stop by our office in Padang: Jalan Juanda No. 21a, Warung Kopi Onank (Coffee Cafe) to get your free copy, or purchase one from whichever hotel you're staying at in the Padang area. We have the months listed here, if you want to download and printout the month that correponds with your trip, please feel free.
We've got the new ping pong stadium up and running this season as well, so make sure you bring your game when you come. We can always use more ping pong balls, but make sure you carry them on so they don't get smashed!
Mentawai Tide Calendar, May 06 - April 07
