Cindy Crawford’s Beauty Spot Check: Nihi Resort, Sumba Island
The world’s most exclusive surf resort comes with supermodels and a wave so good it's called God’s Left.
I’d been planning to do a Spotcheck on Nihiwatu, aka Occy or God’s Left for a while. But when Cindy Crawford posts from the resort on the Indonesian island of Sumba resort, well, you just know the timing is right. The 90’s Supermodel (when, or do, supermodels ever lose that title?) was pictured by the legendary surf lensman Jason Childs, frolicking on the white sands, in front of wild horses, just after a session backdooring God’s Left. Crawford joined famous surfers such as Jennifer Lawrence, Heidi Klum, Christian Bale, David and Victoria Beckham and Grant and Mel Conrick as resort guests.
BeachGrit, as ever, beat me to the exclusive and called the wave at Nihiwatu, “the most hotly policed and expensive to surf lefthander!” The resort’s tagline says, “This is a vacation with a purpose and a destination with meaning. Where rugged luxury meets unregulated freedom.” Which is fine, if you afford the $500 a night, plus extras, to stay there.
For hardcore surfers like Cindy, the meaning is mainly about the chance to surf the exclusive Occy’s Left, also known as God’s Left, the wave made famous by Occy in Jack McCoy’s 1992 classic surf film The Green Iguana. Located in remote Sumba, the wave can only be surfed by guests. It remains one of the few roped-off waves in Indonesia, if not the world.
That comes with a price, though the luxury accommodation, sustainable living and untouched, pristine marine and land environment also add a tax. Bought in 2015 by billionaire investor Chris Burch and global hotelier James McBride, the extreme price of entry gets you, and a maximum of six other surfers, the chance to recreate Occy’s famous surf section.
I first checked out the wave back in 2005. It was on a magazine boat trip with Mick Lowe, Phil MacDonald, Tom Whittaker, Nathan Hedge and Andy King, plus photog Andrew “Shorty” Buckley. It was at the time, the best collection of Australian power surfers and beer drinkers ever assembled on a single vessel. We sailed from Timor to Lakey Peak, and halfway through the traversing of the island of Sumba, came across Nihiwatu.
Then, as of now, you could only surf the wave if you were staying there. “Fuck that, I’ll go talk to them, she'll be sweet,” said Hog, as he jumped overboard and paddled towards the resort. He quickly met the owner Claude Graves, and within 20 minutes had, in typical Hog-style, charmed him, and our boat into free access for the wave. Graves' only caveat was that he would show us the resort and the aid and educational programs that he’d put in place.
Graves had come across the wave in the late 80s. It was isolated, with poor transport links and in an area of extreme poverty. Over 20 years he built up a luxury resort at the wave and exercised exclusive rights, sometimes heavy-handedly, to the break since 1997. With the new owners, the exclusivity has remained. Inevitably there have been differing views on this approach. On our stay, Graves showed us firsthand the environmental protection and the aid, medical and financial, he had provided to the locals on one of the poorest islands in Indonesia.
Without the exclusivity and the secure employment he provided for the local population, you could argue the rampant, unchecked development that has occurred elsewhere in Indonesia would have undoubtedly happened here too. The reefs have been protected too, with the practice of blast fishing, which has destroyed 70 % of Indonesia’s coral reefs, heavily policed.
It’s a unique, and complex, tangle, and only exists due to the drawcard of the wave that sits out the front. Indonesian winter swells wrap into a wide bay out of deep water, hit a sculptured coral reef and wind down for 300-yards into a deep channel. It has the odd barrel section but is more known for its wide, steep and ultra-whackable walls. It breaks at three feet, is fun and forgiving up to eight, and holds its own in hyper-drive at ten feet and over. In short, it has something for everybody.
In “The Green Iguana” Occy and Sunny Garcia were filmed going ballistic in fun, four-foot surf. The thing is, the surf wasn’t even very good that day. “It was fun and Occy especially was ripping, but we had to bail,” said Jack McCoy, the famous surf director who made the film. “But I’d been there a few years previously with Jim Banks and we’d surfed it 12 to 15 feet, just amazing. I also heard from Claude that a week after we left, it was eight foot and perfect, but I suppose Occy’s surfing was enough in the end. The name stuck.”
Today, the wave hasn’t changed, if the clientele has. It’s undoubtedly one of the most expensive surf resorts in the world. It's also one of its most unique, untouched and beautiful. And, most importantly, Cindy Crawford approved.
Fact Box
The perfect day: It’s six foot and offshore, you’ve been surfing like Occy, and the 100-kilo marlin you caught out the front this morning is for dinner that night.
Prime time: It's best through the typical Indonesian winter season of May to September.
By air: The closest airport is Tambolaka Airport in West Sumba, which has once-a-week flights from Bali.
Boards: An Indonesian quiver (couple shortboards and a semi-gun) will suffice, although above ten foot, a 7’2” won’t go astray.
Prereques: A booking at the $US500 per person a night Nihi resort.
Restaurants/Bars: The resort has a couple of bars, all with stunning views of the break, while the restaurant offers world-class nosh, with the freshly caught seafood phenomenal.
Amenities: The resort offers fishing, diving, surfing, horseriding, yoga, massage and cultural tours. Pretty much everything the 1% needs.
You’re basically the Bugle Ideas factory. Fancy a guest written report Cabbage, assuming Cindy misses her deadline
Surfed it two weeks ago. 6-10 ft. No one else out. Majestical but scary as all fuck! The Crawfords went horse riding that day.