Ekas appeared on our GPS apps as 'Ekas Surf Beach'. Because of this we were surprised to learn that other backpackers around Kuta had not heard of it. Which, to be honest was what sold the destination to us.
Amelia and I both expected Lombok to be a little quieter and 'off the beaten track', but so far we'd been proved wrong. So off we went, leaving Kuta behind, into the unknown.
Our little Priscilla had a frugal little engine, but with half a tank left we decided to air on the side of caution for our 'expedition'. After leaving civilisation behind, finding a typical petrol station was a little difficult. In the end we had to settle for a slightly dodgy looking petrol 'station' in a small village.
Whilst the fuel was being hand pumped out of a rusty barrel, we were able to converse with our petrol attendant. We asked if he knew of Ekas, to which he replied "are you going by boat?".
Feeling a little nervous we carried on along the roads, which were progressively getting worse and worse! At some points we were travelling no faster than walking pace - trying to avoid the dozens of gigantic potholes!
As we neared Ekas the bitumen slowly disappeared, which to start with actually improved the smoothness and speed in which we could travel. But as our off-roading continued towards the coast, the rocks, rubble and slopes started to get bigger and bigger!
It wasn't long before even I was getting a little nervous, but we plodded along slowly with caution, just hoping Priscilla had enough ground clearance to avoid the boulders. There were points when we just crossed our fingers, cringed and gritted our teeth, hoping she would make it over the next bit of terrain even a 4x4 would struggle with! Eventually though, car still intact, we made it to Ekas.
At first we weren't sure what to make of the area. It was definitely out of the way and off the beaten track, but we were struggling to find the beach. We stopped by some accommodation called 'Tira Villa' which surprisingly wasn't empty. It was occupied with two Aussies and a Swede, all of which were on a similar 'mission' to ourselves.
With some very vague directions from the owners, we drove further down the extremely rubbly road towards a high end secured resort (according to sources is a very expensive off the beaten track retreat). From the resort the beach was supposedly just a short drive, but by this point the road was pretty much impassable! The security guard at the resort egged us on with an evil smile, but there was just no way we could go any further. The road literally dropped away down a 45degree sandy slope. Even with a bit of off-road driving experience, I was not about to attempt it with our near new hire car. So we reversed and retraced our tracks to the 'villa', which turned out to be the only other accommodation in Ekas. It wasn't as cheap as we'd hoped for, but other than driving for another few hours, we had no choice.
The room was a primitive bamboo hut, with rat droppings scattered over the floor and a cold shower. But the bed smelt clean and we had a mosquito net which we hoped would also function as a 'rat barrier' too!
After finishing a very substantial lunch in their restaurant we decided to venture out on foot. We walked the same route as we'd driven, but this time continued where we could go no further on four wheels.
I'm glad we had the sense to backtrack in the car, as the road not only dropped away, but also narrowed too, with a very steep drop on one side! The walk was sweaty and a little slippy under foot but we made it in one piece.
Our hard work had paid off, the beach was completely deserted! And what a beach it was, we had the soft white sands and turquoise blue waters all to ourselves.
Keen to rinse off the sweat and dust ingrained on our bodies, we grabbed our masks and dived into the refreshing sea. Unfortunately the visibility wasn't great and there wasn't much coral so other than one lonely pufferfish we failed to see much else.
Due to the time of day and lack of swell there weren't any waves to be caught. One of the Aussie guys had mentioned that there was another beach just around the cliff. So after a quick dry off in the sun, we left the pristine beach to go and explore once more.
It took us over an hour to find the second beach and in order to reach it, we crept through a very eerie deserted hotel resort, which was slowly being swallowed up by the surrounding forest. Apparently the resort once belonged to the posh retreat just around the corner, but due to a feud between the two owners the place was abandoned. There loss was our gain, we were again lucky enough to have the entire place (bar one local having a nap) to ourselves. The only downside was the lack of waves.
Later that afternoon we strolled back for some great homemade food. Although the prices were a little higher at Tirta Villa, we were happy to pay as the portions were huge and the flavours hit the spot.
During that evening we were joined by a couple from Singapore who were staying with a friend of theirs in a nearby village. To us they looked like an unusual match. He was a slightly odd looking goofy guy with long hair and an Indian origin and she, an intellectual looking Chinese lady. They were great company though and had us laughing throughout the evening.

The next day, after an awful night sleep and early wake up call (local mosque), Amelia didn't feel too good. Although her stomach was upset, Amelia didn't fancy hanging around. So we upped and left Ekas around mid-morning.

Next stop.. Mt Rinjani.