Back on the antibiotics and back on the road, Chris took the wheel whilst I concentrated on trying to feel better. Since we would be travelling along the eastern coast we decided to make a quick stop at Labuhan Lombok, a port town where the ferries leave to Sumbawa - the next island along. Ultimately we would be wanting to take a ferry across the water to Sumbawa, so we thought we would do some research as we were passing through. The stop was also perfectly timed with lunch, for which we found a small bamboo hut on the roadside serving local food. As always the family running the warung were welcoming and encouraged us to take a seat. Chris tucked into a plate filled with nasi campur, but unfortunately for me it was a plate of boiled rice.
Back on the road we headed towards northern Lombok, which is dominated by the 3,726m Mount Rinjani, an active stratovolcano. The surrounding slopes of Mount Rinjani covers roughly a quarter of the whole of Lombok! We were aiming to reach an area of small villages called Sembalun Lawang, situated on the north eastern side of the national park. One narrow windy road led us to Sembalun, so the use of the horn was pretty consistent (the horn is used to indicate your presence on the road). It was a pleasant drive, which after climbing up to 1,150 metres above sea level, we appeared into a valley filled with rice, garlic, tomatoes, cabbages, and strawberries - a scenic panorama.
We weren't too sure of the options available for trekking Mount Rinjani so research was our first priority. But as we drove slowly through the villages we realised finding information was going to be tougher than we thought. We saw nothing for quite a few kilometres, before eventually, just as we were about to turn around, we found the tourism office. Not that there was anyone around to ask! But luckily a few Indonesian tourists helped find someone for us to speak to and receive information regarding the different options of trekking. With three options, 2D1N, 3D2N, or 4D3N, we were still unsure which would be best for us.
As always, we like to speak to at least three different companies/agents before making a decision, so we hunted around. In doing so we met Leah and her husband Tal who owned 'G-Trek'. She welcomed us in, offered us tea, and we chatted away for nearly an hour, not really even about trekking! An instant bond and trust led us to want to use G-Trek for our trek. Although climbing Rinjani is a popular activity in Lombok for tourists, backpackers, and also native tourists, it is often not taken seriously enough. There have been many fatalities on Rinjani, and with no helicopter available for rescue, even a small injury can be incredibly serious. Also, with temperatures at the summit reaching close to freezing as well as high winds, the correct clothing is essential. Tal had been a guide for many years and Leah had climbed Rinjani on several occasions, so they were able to suit us up with layers and warm clothing. Not only that but we would be provided with thick sleeping bags, decent quality tents, an experienced guide and porters.
Leah and Tal were also helpful in ensuring we chose the trek suitable for us. With our main goal to see the stunning views from the top, Leah suggested we take the 2D1N trek, which would be very challenging and include the trek to reach the summit.
Feeling much more sure about trekking Rinjani now that we had met Leah and Tal, we left feeling excited but apprehensive.
Sembalun was very run down and tired looking, and unfortunately so was most of the accommodation. In line with other areas of Lombok, it seemed we would have to pay a lot for not much. Even western toilets seemed to be a luxury in these villages. After hours of searching around, and realising we might have to choose the best of the bad, we tried our luck at a newly opened guesthouse. Thankfully Chris' bartering worked, and for 250 IDR (more than we would usually pay, but it was definitely worth it!), we had a nice brand new room and hot water - a luxury in the village, but needed if your going to shower!
For dinner there was a choice of just two warungs and we ended up at the busiest one...little did we know it was busy with the polisi! Luckily, as they were eating it appeared they were in a good mood and turned a blind eye to the tourists illegally driving a car on their roads!
Every now and then our organisational skills go down the pan - there were no ATMs in Sembalun surprisingly enough, and stupidly we did not have anywhere near enough cash on us to pay for a trek. So after a banana pancake for breakfast - a Lombok favourite, we took to the road.
The nearest ATM was just over an hour away, backtracking from where we had driven yesterday, but we had no choice. Having seen the roads I was happy to take to the drivers seat, and enjoyed the windy mountainous roads leading down to civilisation.
We arrived in Aikmel, a bustling town not familiar with seeing tourists. So as Chris jumped out to go to the ATM we were being starred, waved, and shouted at left, right and centre. It was a little unnerving as crime in Lombok is pretty high and we were continually being told to be careful by homestay/guesthouse owners. But with no problems, we filled up with fuel, both the car and ourselves as Chris couldn't resist buying a doughnut type snack from a little old man on the roadside for 1,500 IDR (£0.07!), and made our way back to Sembalun. The final few kilometres into Sembalun are scattered with strawberry sellers so we picked out a sweet lady to purchase a punnet from.
Having successfully completed our round trip before midday, we made the most of the hot water at 'Rinjani Inn' before checking out and moving to Leah and Tal's homestay. Much to my reluctance the room had a traditional toilet and bucket shower - 'all part of the experience' quoted Leah. But besides that the room was very clean and had a small terrace with views of the neighbouring vegetable gardens.
We took a stroll through the village, speaking with locals and school children trying to use their newly learnt English. We returned to the warung opposite the polisi station for a small lunch before tucking into our recently purchased strawberries, complemented with coconut biscuits.
Our afternoon was spent relaxing and preparing for the next couple of days. As part of the preparation we filled ourselves up with carbs and protein at a homestay just down the road from G-Trek. The lovely lady who cooked us up a feast was keen to speak to us during dinner. She joined us on the floor of a raised hut and chatted away, switching between Bahasa and her limited English. Before we knew it she was giving us a Bahasa lesson, having us repeat phrases back to her, as she giggled away with a very sweet contagious laugh. Her husband joined in for what must have been over an hours 'conversation'. It was a delightful evening and nice to be able to immerse ourselves with the locals. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for too long as we had an early start and challenging couple of days ahead.
Leah and Tal cooked up a hearty nasi goreng with fried egg to prepare us for the tough days trekking. Lives signed away, we climbed into Tal's family wagon and were taken to the national park office to sign in and retrieve our pass. We were introduced to our guide Danil, a former colleague of Tal's, very experienced and reasonably fluent in English.
Tal continued to drive us a couple of kilometres along the road to our starting point. A quick picture and wave goodbye, we set off into the national park of Mount Rinjani, with the volcano set in the background. A ravishing setting and the perfect temperature with some light cloud cover in the sky.
The first hour of trekking flew by as we chatted away with Danil and admired the beautiful scenery of local crops, wild sunflowers, and overcame a few obstacles, including a rickety bamboo bridge and very precarious ladder. One thing that was very prominent was the amount of dust around. Despite having rained during the night, for the first time in three months, the ground was still as dry as a bone and coated with a thick layer of dust.
We eventually caught up with one of our porters, who was taking a break under a tree. After a brief introduction he marched ahead of us with two baskets packed full with food, camping gear, water and cooking tools attached to a wooden pole and balanced over his shoulders. No cushioning or padding on his shoulders, he just simply balance the wooden pole and trekked on. It wasn’t before long that we reached an opening, having trekked through woodland, catching site of monkeys swinging high up in the trees. At the opening we met our second porter who was happy for us to try to lift the wooden pole. Chris lifted it onto his shoulders and was shocked by the weight of it. The porter grabbed his traditional bamboo hat and placed it on to Chris’ head for a photo. Intrigued by the weight, I cautiously tried to lift the pole but it was too heavy for me to lift and place on my shoulders by myself! The porter helped out, laughing as he did so, and again placed his hat on my head. We were both astonished and beyond impressed with the weight the porters were both carrying. It really gave us an extremely grateful prospective, even though this is their job and they carry this weight day in day out, it can’t get any easier. This was clear by the sweat and struggle on some of the porter’s faces. For them though, they are grateful for the job, but we were definitely keen to continue to show our thanks and appreciation for them throughout our trek. Most of them are dressed in little more than flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt, and for some they prefer to trek bare foot!
We crept past cattle, walked through savannah grassland, with gentle ups and downs gradually making our way to POS I – the first check point on the Rinjani trail at 1,300m. We stopped for a quick breather then continued on to POS II. The pathway was beginning to incline and become rockier and even dustier. As we arrived at POS II (1,500m), it was difficult to see the ground with the amount of other trekkers and litter! Danil led us through the maze of people in search of our two porters, who had marched ahead and were already preparing lunch. They had set up in a quiet secluded area, and had the water boiling for noodle soup. They freshly cooked a tasty and hearty noodle soup, packed full of vegetables with a hardboiled egg, and even served with rice as well as the noodles. Danil carefully carved a pineapple and sliced it up for our dessert, and we sipped away on ‘Pocari Sweat’, the Indonesian Lucozade equivalent, but tasted a bit like Dioralyte!
Fuelled up and raring to go, we looked back at the disgusting litter filled site and carried on along the dusty pathway towards POS III. It was just over an hour, with tougher inclines that required more attention due to the slippy and uneven pathway. The rolling hills and amazing scenery acted as a good distraction as we started to get sweaty and for me, red in the face. The short break at POS III, at 1,800m, was needed to catch our breath and re-hydrate. Especially since we could see the climb we were about to embark on. POS III was also scattered with litter and cheeky macaques who were keen to grab the litter in hope of some food. Such a shame the amount of litter, but local organisations and responsible companies are trying to do something about it. As Leah informed us, there are regular meetings with the guides and porters to explain and educate them about litter and to try to help them to understand that it is their land that they are ruining. At the end of the day, if the litter continues, and more and more tourists blog, review, and speak about the litter covered Rinjani, then tourists will trek elsewhere, and it is the guides and porters who will suffer from lack of jobs and income. At G-Trek, they provide each group with plenty of bin liners, and reward the guides and porters for bringing them back filled with litter – from their own group, but also to collect more during the trek.
The climb began and the pace slowed, as we carefully placed each foot on the rocky, sandy, dusty ground. It was a very steep incline, at some times 50° and with a lack of breeze, we were super sweaty. A group of trekkers climbing down looked like cave girls! They were coated in dust from head to toe and their hair was crazy! They responded with ‘…we know! This will be you tomorrow!’ We powered on, taking small short breaks every now and again, but soon it became too much for Danil who was suffering from severe cramps in his calves and quads. Not surprising as we hadn’t seen him drink any water all day, but instead was sipping away on arak (Indonesian rice wine!). So we took a slightly longer break just above the clouds. The views were incredible, and it seemed a perfect time for Chris and I to tuck into some Oreos we had bought along with us.
The climb from POS III to base camp at the crater rim involved climbing 7 hills. Each hill seemed to get bigger and steeper. The climb was extremely tough going, and needless to say, our quads were feeling it. We didn’t climb much further from the Oreo break before Danil literally collapsed on the floor screaming in agony, and fellow porters rushed over to help stretch his legs out. He yelped as the cramps worsened. Passers-by were telling him to drink water, as were we, and joking around with him about the wine not helping his situation – but he wasn’t keen to listen. We were forced to take another long rest. A little frustrated, as myself and Chris were both feeling in good shape and eager to reach the caldera rim. Especially as it was now late afternoon and we wanted to reach camp for sunset. But at the end of the day, we were trekking as a team, and D of E, if anything, taught me to walk as fast as the slowest person. So we found a spot to take a seat and absorb our enticingly beautiful surroundings.
Danil gave us the okay and we encouraged him to take the lead as we climbed the final hill. It was ridiculously slippery, and hard to breath with the amount of dust in the air. But the sense of relief and achievement was incredible as we reached the 50km² caldera rim, after nine hours of trekking, at 2,641m high we were presented with astonishing views over the crater lake.
The camping area stretched for a fair way, but our porters had set up camp in a wind protected area towards the bottom of the camping slope. Perfect for us as we were able to set the GoPro up for a time lapse of the sunset without anyone in front of us. We took a seat on some tarpaulin, aired our feet, and gulped some water, whilst the porters quickly pitched a tent for us, and even a toilet tent. This turned out to be a bit of a luxury, as other larger groups did not have a toilet tent. Unintentionally we were paying for this luxury as we were on a ‘private’ tour due to G-Trek not having any other customers whilst we were there. A small group of French girls approached us to ask if they could use our toilet tent, so we said to them to ask Danil, who rightly so refused them use. They of course weren’t best pleased, but once you let a few people, others would catch on, and before we know it our tent would be a smelly hole in the ground.
As more and more brightly coloured tents popped up around us, the clouds moved in to obstruct our view of the crater lake, but made for a magical setting. The sun set behind the rim causing the temperature to plummet. We dressed on the layers and wrapped our hands around a warm cup of tea, tucked up next to the fire being used to cook on. We were presented with nasi campur for dinner, which was certainly filling, then took some time to admire the starry sky. It was fascinating, so bright, thousands of stars, and we were even lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a few shooting starts. But it was early to bed at 9pm to try to get a few hours’ sleep before we had to be up to begin our trek to the summit. Then tent was surprisingly warm and cosy, and we both even had to remove layers as we were too warm!
Managing to achieve around two hours sleep each, the alarm went off at 2am! We were greeted by Danil serving us a three layered scrambled egg sandwich – just what we wanted – not! We had to force the sandwich down, which was actually quite nice, just not at 2am, but we knew our bodies would need the energy. It was freezing cold outside, so we wrapped up in all our layers, even hats and gloves were necessary. By 2.30am we were clambering along the crater caldera using torch light to help guide us. Danil had told us we should reach the peak by sunrise, in about four hours time! Even the first small climb through the camp site had us both out of breath! Although we had seen the large amount of people camping at the crater caldera, not everyone makes the summit trek. Mainly due to the fact that the day before you have been trekking for nine hours and climbing steep terrains all afternoon, so your legs and feet are pretty knackered. But there was plenty of people climbing this morning, and with one narrow pathway leading up to the summit, we took our place in the single file ‘queue’ and began climbing. This was definitely not what I had expected. Having climbed Mount Kenya when I was sixteen, we were the only group climbing the summit, and had the peak to ourselves. The queue of people climbing Rinjani made the experience even more painful as we were forced to the slow and relentless pace of everyone else – or the slowest person somewhere along the line!
The first two hours were extremely tough, climbing up large rocks, using big bursts of energy trying to pull ourselves up. Not only this, we had to battle with freezing temperatures, strong winds, but warm and sweaty bodies. One minute our jackets and fleeces were on, the next they were off, and so on. We had to stop to drink water as it was important to keep our hands free to help with the climbing and balance.
At two hours in we stopped at an obvious break point, only for Danil to inform us that we were only half way in terms of distance. We were both gobsmacked as we had thought we were at least two thirds of the way. It had felt like much longer, and although he said the next section was a little easier, it did not lighten our mood. We couldn’t stop for long as it was too cold, and we were keen to keep going to reach the top.
We took one step forward and ended up two steps back. The volcanic ash was beyond challenging and tiring. It was impossible to place our feet without sliding down, it was relentless. As we slowly but surely reached the last 100 metres we could see other trekkers at the peak as the sun was near rising. We made a quick stop for a sugar kick providing me with a burst of energy to tackle the final 100 metres. We both struggled on and must have been 10-20 metres from the peak as the sun appeared over the horizon. The sky filled with rich colours of oranges, reds and yellows. It was a spectacular moment, offering further motivation to push through the pain and climb the final few metres.
An overwhelming sense of achievement and satisfaction came over us as we embraced at the top of Mount Rinjani. It had definitely been both mentally and physically challenging. We shuffled through the crowds at the top in search of a space to take a seat and catch our breath. Danil of course retrieved the wine from his bag, but for Chris and me it was wafer biscuits and water. The view from the top was absolutely sensational. The crater lake was a scene of pure beauty. Reaching nearly 200m deep and heated by a natural hot spring at 20-22°C, about 5-7°C above the expected temperature of a lake at this altitude. At the west end of the lake sits a volcanic cone Gunung Baru seeping smoke.
We spent about half an hour at the peak taking in the views and enjoying our moment of success. Then we began the decent. Having battled with the volcanic ash on the climb to the top, it became an advantage as we were able to slide down most of the way. On the downside the amount of dust in the air made it extremely difficult to breath and coated any bare skin. But we were able to slide down fairly quickly, using a similar motion to skiing! Where the ash was not so thick it became very rubbly and needless to say I slipped over several times. Going down was still tiring and seemed never ending. No wonder it took us five hours to climb to the peak – it was a long way! My legs started to turn to jelly and buckle beneath me every so often, but after about two hours we had made it back to base camp.
Chris literally poured a stream of ash out of his shoes. He was wondering why his trainers felt so small and tight on the decent! We were absolutely coated from head to toe in dust, but there was no point in even trying to attempt to wipe it off, as we had a whole day ahead of climbing down even more dusty pathways.
The porters had cooked up a massive banana pancake, more bread with egg, and slices of pineapple for our breakfast. We couldn’t physically eat all the food! Especially since the egg sandwich was still sitting heavy in our stomachs and we had snacked on wafers during our trek. But we did our best to eat as much as we could, again knowing that we would need the energy for the day ahead. Layers removed, backpacks at the ready, sun-creamed up, we reluctantly began the decent.
Climbing down the 7 hills took time and careful planning. The steep decline and lack of stable surface ensured a slow pace to reduce our chances of falling. However, falling was inevitable! Soon enough Danil was keeping tally of our falls turning it into a competition. Our muscles were just so tired and the continuous downwards pressure on our quads and feet was painful. Both of us were suffering with blisters and agonising toes from the constant pressure. Stopping for a break made no difference as there was never any flat surface to rest on. So it was just a case of powering through the pain to reach POS III and flatter ground. We even witnessed one young Chinese lady throwing a tantrum as she struggled with sore feet and took to bum sliding down the hill. Her shoes were no longer on and she was asking the porter to carry her – but when he said okay and indicated her to climb on his shoulder, she refused and sought the help of her fellow group members who were not as enthusiastic to help. She asked to use one of their walking poles, wrapped her arm around a waist of another, and literally had them escort her down the hills. They were not amused and she was continually moaning.
Unlike the Chinese girl, occasionally we all had a burst of energy and risked a faster pace as we ran down some sections, hoping that we wouldn’t fall! At one point I couldn’t stop, my feet just kept going, but luckily Danil was further down the hill and put his arm out to catch me. It was at this point that both Danil and Chris looked at me and burst out laughing. Of course Chris had to take a picture of me before I could see why they were laughing. As it turned out, the cave girls from yesterday were right, but Chris described me more as looking as though I had been working in a mine or as a chimney sweep!
We reached POS III with a massive sense of relief, mainly to be on firmer and flatter ground. We received plenty of laughs and looks of shock from groups trekking up the volcano, and it was our turn to say ‘you wait until tomorrow!’ The Chinese girl arrived a little while after us, being aided by one of the unimpressed group members.
Rested but still in agony, we slowly continued on. Even the slight decline was tormenting. Every step hurt but we refused to let it beat us and kept a positive attitude. Soon enough we were stopping for lunch, our final meal of the trek. Somehow the porters had overtaken us on the decent and were already preparing lunch. A huge portion of mei goreng, a can of coke, and sliced pineapple. We certainly did not go hungry or thirsty during our trek. We met some groups who had run out of water climbing down the hills, still with a fair few hours of trekking left – appalling!
The trek between POS III, to POS II, and finally onto POS I was steady going. It then seemed to take forever, with every step still painful despite being on much flatter ground. I was even wishing for uphill walking as this was the least painful! Hours went by and we were still walking, at a decent pace as well. But the chatting had minimised and the thought of a hot shower was our only motivation to march on. We soon became one group as we neared the end, with the porters keeping to our pace. We took a final break at a stream, where Danil and the porters washed the dust from themselves. Chris and I decided the hot shower would be worth waiting for!
Finally, at 5pm we reached the road where Tal was waiting with his car. From 2am to 5pm, with short breaks for eating, we had been trekking – what a day! A final group picture, evidence of the filth from Rinjani, then Tal drove us back to the homestay.
A smirk from Leah when we arrived indicated the state we were in. But she was proud of us for achieving the summit and arriving back with smiles on our faces. She was keen for us to get to the villa down the road, to enjoy the luxury of a hot shower. ‘Nauli’ villas was a group of four villas set in the most beautiful surroundings with spectacular views of Rinjani. It was a real treat to stay here after the trek but the hot shower was not enough to rid the dust from us! We had to scrub away at our legs for a long time! It was also a nightmare trying to rid the dust from our trainers and clothes. To add to the equation, Chris noticed one of his toenails was near falling off and both of our feet had plenty of blisters to remind us of our adventure.
Tal presented us with a delicious lemongrass tea and offered to cook a simple dinner so that we didn’t have to venture out. We were very grateful for his offer, and were happy to tuck into nasi goreng and gado gado later that evening. Not having had much sleep and with fifteen hours of exercise under our belts, we were relieved to climb into a comfy bed for the night.
We were prepared to ache and had ensured to stretch last night, but this was something else! I had not felt like this in a very long time. I struggled to even climb out of bed and then it was a massive struggle to move around. Every muscle in my legs ached and even my arms were hurting.
We managed to walk over to the café area for a filling nasi goreng for breakfast and showed Tal some of the GoPro footage we had taken. We were not in a rush to head off so took some time to enjoy the views and absorb the tranquil surroundings, admiring Mount Rinjani and the challenge we had just achieved.
We made sure to return to the homestay to say our farewells to Leah, but not surprisingly we were invited in for tea and a chat. An hour or so later we forced ourselves away as we needed to carry on with our journey. We were heading to Sanur, a town north of Rinjani, about an hour around the edge of the national park.