HGFA Skysailor Magazine

24 SKY SAILOR November | December 2018 Kuta Lombok, on the south of the island, is the logical place for a base as it provides convenient access to a number of sites that are suited to the SE tradewinds. The Prabu flying site overlooks the town, Are Guling is nearby and Torok is perhaps 45 minutes away. It is an easily managed small town where, in addition to the great local food, you can find a number of cafes and restaurants that cater to western tastes. We quickly identified our favourite cafe, where you could get an excellent flat white. Elsewhere in town we found a couple of places that did very good pizzas, or even a pasta. Great for when your digestive system was wanting something simple and familiar to deal with! A typical day would start with a breakfast of banana pancakes at our hotel. This would be served with the thick strong and sweet local coffee or, as some of us preferred, tea. Then we would cram ourselves into the vans and set off up the hill. The drive up to Prabu is pretty rough and in places the drivers would have to nurse their vehicles over the tricky bits. Up at launch we would head off for a wonderful play in the skies. Building height on the main ridge, finding small bubbly thermals over the rocks, heading out and practising our wingovers and spirals, or just cruising around enjoying the great views down the coast. When we had had enough fun it was time to cruise across the bay to the landing paddock next to the town. Typically after landing, there would be a bit of groundhandling fun before we’d pack up and make the short walk back into town for coffee and a late lunch. Then it was back to the hotel for a swim in the pool, perhaps more groundhandling at the landing paddock, an explore along the beach, or possibly an evening flight from Prabu. Finally, there was always the tricky decision of where to eat that night. Then, of course, the next day we would have to do it all again! Not every day was that cushy. On some days Andrew and Fiona had us up at 5:30am and skipping breakfast in order to be on the hill and launched before the day blew out. Thanks guys, I would not have had the self-discipline to do that! We all got quite a few extra hours we would otherwise not have had. Sometimes, things did not go to plan and it did not blow out, so we would keep flying and flying. The post flight brunch would then be a very extended event. When the wind is more to the south, Prabu can get uncomfortable because one starts to get rotor from off the point. On such days, we would head to Are Guling. A nice site, but the top take-off is a bit tricky – on the ground you’re struggling for inflation Testing the newly cleared launch at Are Guling All photos: Peter Kovesi Fly Lombok At Prabu