Timor Leste
The south coast looks like it has so much potential, the combination of reef and river mouths looks amazing. Going for work so just keen to go explore regardless if there’s any windswell getting in or maybe a massive south west swell up squeezing up there.
Spent a bit of time in Suai area and visited border but didn't cross. This was in mid 2000's so probably changed a lot.
As far as Crocs go, probably hasn't changed and saw a few. I wouldn't be surfing in this region personally, we were near river mouth area though..
The thought of surfing in croc waters scares the shit out of me
Very occasional swell on the north coast too and some OK little reef setups east and west of Dili. Spent quite a bit of time there gazing at the waves but never got out except for a swim and snorkel,
Not many crocs on the north side either. May more prevalent on the south side.
The locals will usually know the locations of the crocs too. You can ask them.
Goofy... i won't do it. No crocs for me.
I have a very healthy tolerance to sharks and surf all the time solo and in sharky waters down south in vicco water any time of day in any conditions. However I do agree I just can’t see myself going out in these croc waters unless it’s lookingseriously fun. I think maybe with sharks I know they are always around and arnt interested in us so I’ve surrendered to that worst case scenario knowing it’s very unlikely. However just don’t know enough about the crocs, people from more north might have more knowledge but if you enter the water near one are you instantly their prey?
Yeah D... i dunno really anything about crocs. We don't have em here in California. Stu, here at Swellnet explained it to me on some thread thusly (and i will hafta paraphrase as i didn't memorize it and dunno what thread....), but he said something like 'you can jump off a bridge into water where there is a great white and Maybe you get attacked. Jump into water where there is a croc and it's 100% you will be attacked.' (sorry if i am misrepresenting ya, Stu.) Anyways, that rang true with me with what little i know. I don't scare too easy either, as you said about yourself.. but crocs? No thanx. Have a good trip and be safe.
Read an article about Timor surf 15+yrs ago?
The surfer who went there was told good surf spots(?) on n.w. of island.
So he went there and it's on the Indonesian side of Timor...yer that's right indo side, there are 2 indo territories nw and one sw on Timor.
When he reached border the locals warned him the pro indo mob were not friendly and the surfer picked up on the bad vibes.
Can't remember the rest but he was working there for an ngo and that's why he had a looky.
Good luck and please let us know what it's like there cos we don' hear jackstitch from our closest nghbrs, it's like oz govt has a censor on anything e.t.?
I live In TL - not much surf that I've seen. Salties give me the heeby jeebies on Sth Coast too... I'm not that game. Rather likely to encounter on that side. RE indo border crossing - yep, easy as. Can drive car or bus over. Last year I rode my motorcycle from Dili to Kupang - you're not allowed to take bikes over the border but if you are patient, friendly and willing to slip a few notes it can be done (definately need to have a local who speaks Bhasa though - they will seize all your paperwork and license until you return). VISA is $30 USD at the border - easy as. Note that in TL pretty much everything is cash - advise having a visa debit card for cash out at ATMs as you could end up rather stuck with only a Master Card! Timor is awesome BTW, and people are very friendly.
Hello guys, I’ll be heading to Timor Leste in the middle of the year, any advice is welcome and in particular for any contacts of some good drivers or places to store boards? Also curious if anyone here has done the border crossing into Indonesia in recent times and also the general state of play in terms of safety going off the beat track exploring for waves? Also any advice like what’s the chances of coming across crocs, are they maybe not as bad in the dry season?
Looks like a trade wind setup like this could kick up 3-4ft of wind swell what are your thoughts? Also before anyone has asked I’ve done my own research and have formed my own opinions on all these topics just want to see another persons perspective.