Nihiwatu the wave has its fair share of monikers. Occy’s Left, God’s Left and of course, like I said, Nihiwatu. It’s one of those exotic places we always hear about and bicker over luxury resorts making the wave itself exclusive. That’s right, it’s one of those places, reserved for the fortunate few who have the dough to buy a spot in the lineup. It made an appearance in Rob Machado’s The Drifter, in which Machado supposedly stumbles into this barreling left (unlikely). But long before that Mark Occhilupo had the wave named after him (by some) thanks to his performance in Jack McCoy’s The Green Iguana, with the wave making an appearance long before it had become attached to an exclusive Indonesian luxury resort.
So how exclusive are we talking here? Well, for starters the Nihiwatu Resort situated directly in front of the wave commands up to £9,300 ($12,046 US) a night, or a meager £500 ($647 US) for a two bedroom villa. For that kind of money you can imagine a pretty lavish Indonesian vacation on the island of Sumba. They offer all the bells and whistles of a first-class tropical get away: a treetop spa (yes!), private beach restaurants, nearby hidden waterfalls and sunset horseback rides through the resort’s own equestrian center. That’s just a sample. It all looks as amazing as it sounds and is enough to have just made Nihiwatu Resort the top ranking hotel in the world by Travel+Leisure in the publication’s World’s Best Awards.
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The place is insane. You get the picture.
But let’s get back to the exclusivity conversation surrounding the wave, because it doesn’t end at dropping Wolf of Wall Street caliber loot for the room. For one, non guests can’t get a pass to surf Occy’s Left. So don’t get any ideas of holing up in a hostel and paddling out for this particular wave. And guests themselves have to actually reserve a place in the lineup like it’s a Valentine’s Day dinner date. Here’s exactly what the Nihiwatu Resort website says about their “surfing experience” at Occy’s/God’ Left:
To maintain a surfing experience unparalleled in the world, please note that we reserve surfing on our famous left-hand break wave to ten registered surfers, each charged at USD $100.00 per day. It is essential to reserve your slot (maximum 1 per room and according to availability) at the time of confirmation to avoid disappointment (surf slots can only be reserved by accomplished surfers). Beginner surfers need not book a surf slot, surf lessons can be booked under the guidance of a NIHIWATU® waterman.
I won’t complain when I’m one of the ten in the lineup, but you’ll be bummed if to go through all this, finally secure that reservation, and it’s anything less than 8 foot cranking offshore barrels. I hope that treehouse spa is as rad as it sounds.
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