East Lombok Exploration (Gili Kere-Gili Gosong-Gili Maringkik-Pink Beach)

People have been giving a big fuss about Gili Kere in East Lombok. After having it postponed for several times, we finally managed to do the exploration there yesterday (0n Monday, 10 March 2014). 

We departed from Taman Indah, Mataram, at precisely 07 A.M. and we spent approximately 2,5 hours before we finally arrived at Tanjung Luar Harbour. We directly hopped on the boat we had arranged beforehand and spent another 30 minutes to Gili Kere. Along the way there, we were blessed to see how clear the water is and how awesome the scenery is. 

Tanjung Luar Harbour

Tanjung Luar Harbour has regular boats in operation

Gili Kere from afar

Gili Kere turns out to be an islet with rocky hills with lots of wild plants on it. It was a challenging yet a nice experience to hike up and down the hills. The tall wild grasses gave a great lost survivor feeling :-)

There was one super tiny white sandy islet (some people call it Gili Gosong) in front of it with shallow water in between, so we tried to walk to it and snorkel around it. Its underwater world was great with beautiful huge orange starfishes. 

Crystal clear water 

Clear water, white sandy beach, bright sunshine
will make this trip awesome for sure :-)

Yeah, 5 mins to go for touching Gili Kere down!

After spending around 1,5 hours there, we decided to hop to the next gili called Gili Maringkik. Gili Maringkik is a big island with around 2,000 people in it. They are descendants of Bajo (Sulawesi) and Ende (East Indonesia) people and most of them are fishermen. They are known for their boats making, sailing, and fishing skill. There is a school for elementary and junior high school levels, while for the senior high school level students, they have to study on Mainland. Did you know that the people of Gili Maringkik have different language that can not be found elsewhere in East Lombok? Most EastLombokers are not even familiar with their language. 

From Gili Maringkik, the boatman took us to the snorkeling spots not far from it, and we were astonished to see how super duper awesome (we mean it, the underwater world is the best we’ve seen so far!!!) underwater world (too bad we didn’t have our underwater camera so we could show you how super crazy great it was! ^^). We were amazed by huge colorful ranges of breathtaking corals, huge orange and black starfishes and awesome colorful fishes. 

Having a boatman who knows the area well is a must! 

Trust us, you'll feel like you dont want to waste any time
to get on off the boat :-)
Hanging onto the boat is the way it is! ^^

Being breathless (literally and figuratively) after 1,5 hour snorkeling, we got back to the boat. Then the boatman mentioned that we could visit Pink Beach which is just 30minutes away from where we were. We actually didn't plan to visit Pink Bech but we we more than happy to have lunch in Pink Beach then!!! So off to Pink Beach we went!

Going to Pink Beach by boat is a very great alternative if we want to ditch of the possibility of having bumpy road ride to this beautiful beach. Plus we can have snorkeling sessions around it.

The pinkish sand was not really that pink when we were there as it was already around past noon and we know that the Pink Beach is best to be visited right after sunrise or rite before sunset. There were some stalls selling some snacks and drinks. We bought cups of popmie for IDR 5000 each. 

When we explore around the beach, we were sad to see piles of junks people left here. We believe that Lombok will stay gorgeous if we take care of it. So please, Mates, do not litter! Don’t let your junks ruin this paradise called Lombok, will you please?! 

Pink Beach

Pink Beach

Pink Beach

Feeling physically full and spiritually hungry to see more underwater worlds, we departed from the beach and have 2 more snorkeling sessions at 2 different spots. And this time we were able to see some huge electric starfishes. They were so much different from the starfishes we saw earlier.
Finally, we decided to wrap it up and end the trip and get back to Mataram. Having our skin totally burnt and super dark, feeling totally exhausted and sore (on arms and legs), we came back back home feeling totally satisfied :-)


TIPS:

• Bring lots and lots of snacks. Having a lunch picnic will make this trip more memorable
• Bring lots of sunblocks/sunscreens. 
• If you plan to snorkel, bring your own snorkeling sets and lifejackets. We are told that most boats in Tanjung Luar Harbour don't have any. You'll regret it if you come here and you dont snorkel! ;-)
• Get an experienced and skillful boatman. We got a very good boatman who is from Gili Maringkik. He knows where the great spots to snorkel are.

Feel free to contact us for more details on Gili Kere - Gili Maringkik - Pink Beach Snorkeling Exploration.