Surfing & Reef Adventures in Rote Island
This blog was written by Lizzy Beyer.
We just wrapped up our Rote Island season with Surf With Amigas. Over the last two months, we experienced a full range of conditions, from playful longboard days on the inside reef to cheering on our coaching team as they charged a double-overhead sunset session. The conditions here change by the hour, so we hop by boat between breaks, chasing tides and dodging strong offshore winds. Being here, I am constantly in awe of the ocean’s power and beauty.
One morning, we arrived in the dark to a right-hand reef break, hoping to catch it before the wind came up. To our dismay, it was completely flat. “At least the crowd is right,” I said optimistically. Luckily, our local expert, Sofie, knows the breaks better than anyone. She confidently assured us we should wait it out because the tide was dropping and the waves would start coming soon. So, we waited.
Sure enough, we scored empty peeling rights as the sun rose. That morning turned out to be what dreams are made of: glassy, friendly conditions with plenty of waves for everyone. We surfed our hearts out until the tide got too low and the wind blew us back in for second breakfast.
“Surfing is also about the places we get to go, the people we meet, and the opportunity to be in intimate relationship with the ocean.”
One of my favorite moments from the season happened during a very different kind of session, though. We were in between swells, and there weren’t enough waves to go around. I found myself staring at the horizon, praying for a set, when instead a sea turtle popped up right next to us. I just smiled as I remembered surfing is about so much more than riding waves.
Surfing over living coral is especially humbling. Looking down through crystal-clear water and seeing the reef as I paddle into a wave reminds me that there is a world below brimming with life.
On flat days, we traded our surfboards for masks and fins. The reefs around Rote are some of the healthiest I’ve ever seen. Snorkeling and freediving here is mesmerizing. The reef is alive, vibrant, and colorful. Fish of all shapes, sizes, and colors zip by, seemingly unbothered by our existence. Some travel in schools so synchronized it’s as if they are one organism, while others wander alone. Eels and lobsters peek out from holes in the reef, and on the luckiest days, a sea turtle will pop by to say hello.
This magical snorkeling experience is super accessible in the shallow water close to shore. If you venture a bit further off the coast, the water gets deeper and the life gets bigger. I’ve been feeling super curious about the marine life here, so when I heard Sofie was hosting a whale shark talk at her coffee shop, Ombak Rote, I knew I had to go. The presentation was led by the team from Thrive Conservation, an Indonesian nonprofit leading research and conservation efforts for whale sharks and other marine megafauna in Rote.
Just offshore, Rote is home to remarkable and rare marine animals, including the extraordinary whale shark.
“Whale sharks barely seem real. They can grow over 60 feet long, making them the largest fish in the world. Yet they move through the ocean calmly, with their mouths open, filter-feeding on plankton and small fish.”
Marine Conservation & Thrive Partnership
Unfortunately, humans are not harmless to whale sharks. To survive as they migrate across the ocean, they navigate threats like boat strikes and fishing gear. Whale sharks are full of mysteries. Scientists are working to understand much of their behavior, including where and why they travel. That’s why Thrive Conservation is studying them here in Rote.
After the presentation, we caught up with Qinthan Azzahra Aulia, Science and Conservation Manager, and Putri Farah Navila, Conservation and Education Officer, to learn about their work. Spending time with them, it’s obvious how deeply they love and care about the ocean. Their passion is contagious.
The Thrive Conservation Rote Project has three pillars: science, community, and education. Their field work focuses on monitoring and observing local populations of manta rays and whale sharks through underwater dive and aerial drone surveys. Thrive also runs a school program to teach students about the ocean both in the classroom and in the wild. They bring students snorkeling on their home reefs, giving them a chance to experience the incredible underwater world right beneath the surface. The goal is to foster a connection to the ocean at a young age and inspire the next generation to protect it.
“To protect something, you must know it, learn it, and love it.”
That is exactly what the Thrive team is doing. We were so inspired by their work that Surf With Amigas proudly donated directly to the Thrive Rote Project through our Give Back initiative to support their ongoing marine research and educational efforts.
This season, Rote reminded us that, as surfers, we are part of the ocean ecosystem, and we all have our own role to protect what we love. We’ll be back running retreats in Rote next year, and until then, we’re grateful to support the people working every day to protect this magical corner of the ocean.