G-Land

G-Land (Plengkung Beach) From Google Maps version

G-Land was first discovered in 1974 by Bill Boyum. Bill saw the break from the window of a flight he was on to Australia from Vietnam. When you see G-Land from this perspective, it is easy to see why Bill suggested to his brother, Maui surfer Michael Boyum, that he put together an expedition to find this amazing wave shortly after sighting it from the plane. Bill Boyum went along for the ride and they traveled from South Bali overland via ferry to Java, then south through thick untracked jungle to G-Land on in military trucks. Getting permission & permits from Indonesian officials took over a year, but with the intervention of a Javanese Army General the trip was permitted to pass overland through the existing 'Tiger Preserve' wilderness park. Guides/Park Rangers with rifles were required to accompany the surfers on the trip, which was for a total of ten days only. The overland journey was very demanding, and there were no established camps along the way.

The surf was great on their first trip. Three days of surfing bliss ended with sun-stroke, bug bites everywhere, and a few scares with snakes and wild boars weighing close to 400 kilos. The hardships of the trip were minor given that they had discovered of one of the best surfing waves on earth, and what was considered the world's best wave at that time.

G-Land Wave

A very long, world-class, barreling left hand reef/point break breaks along the east side of Grajagan Bay. It has long been considered one of the world's best left hand waves. The correct name of the point upon which the main wave breaks is "Plengkung." The wave becomes shallower and more critical the further down the point one rides the wave. It is one of the most consistently rideable waves in the world in season, with offshore winds and often plentiful swell between the months of, roughly, mid April to mid October.

Enjoyed Plengkung (G-Land) view and playing guitar

The G-Land surf break has been divided up into several sections. The first, at the top of the point, is called "Kongs," which breaks up to several hundred metres in length, and can hold quite large sizes (from about 2 to 12 feet+, Hawaiian scale). It is not usually a barrel, nor genuinely world-class, but more a series of takeoff zones with some long wall sections, although it can also barrel on occasions. This section picks up a lot of swell, and is rarely less than 3 feet, and can be a saviour when the rest of the point is too small. This wave can sometimes link up with the next section called "Moneytrees." Moneytrees works from about 2 to 10 feet (Hawaiian scale, or about 4 to 20 feet wave faces), usually breaking over several hundred metres, and is a long, testing, barreling, world-class wave. The barrels become more critical the lower the tide and the larger the swell. Moneytrees may also occasionally link up with the next section called "Speedies," with an outside takeoff section between the two called "Launching Pads." "Launching Pads" can catch the surfer offguard, as it can break a significant way out to sea in larger swells. "Speedies" is the heaviest wave at G-Land, but can be a perfect, very round barrel for several hundred metres, rideable from about 2 to 8 feet+ (Hawaiian scale). It usually needs larger swells, and low tide can be very dangerous. Most severe injuries at G-Land have occurred at "Speedies."

One side of Plengkung Beach (G-Land)

It is not common to ride a wave more than about 300–400 metres at G-Land, even though the section of the point where rideable waves break is considerably longer (over 1 km long), because the waves usually don't link up with each other.

I'm the ruler of this beach. I'm sitting in my sand throne