A lesser-known activity to try in Nusa Ceningan, Bali is cliff jumping!
Here we found some fun jumps, some were very high and equally as scary! The highest jump we found was 13 meters. Other jumps we found were more fun and easier and a bit smaller; around 6 meters.
Disclaimer: This adventure was undertaken without any official guidance or safety measures. We held ourselves personally responsible for our own safety. We are not encouraging anyone to take part in this activity, this is simply an account of our own cliff jumping experience. I therefore take no responsibility for the actions of people who choose to jump off cliffs near Blue Lagoon!!
This adventure started towards the end of the day, when we headed off to explore some possible cliff jumping in the area. Cliff jumping here can ONLY be attempted at high tide, and this also happened to coincide with the sunset, so whatever we found, it was going to be pretty! We went together on scooters. The crew was Georgina, Sarah, Karen and me(Amber). After 30 minutes of scootering and stopping loads to look at our paper map, we crossed a yellow bridge and we finally came to a place called Blue Lagoon. Blue Lagoon itself is a really pretty spot worth seeing.
The previous day we had decided to head to Mahana Point café which is situated very close to the lagoon on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. This is where they have special wooden and concrete platforms where you can jump. This is a safer and less scary option. They had a 6m jump and 10 m jump. It was safer because you can swim around to a ladder to climb back up. You can also enjoy a beer while watching other people jump and the surfers catch some waves about 10 m away. The cost of jumping here was $5 NZD per jump from the 10m and $2.50 for 6m jump.
However, I had done some research on less “official” cliff jumping and knew there was a spot close by the Lagoon. I spotted a small white building on a cliff across the lagoon and Georgina spotted some writing on the cliff-side which said “area jumping”. We made our way along a dirt track around the cliff towards the little white house. Towards the edge of the cliff we came across a sign which read “STRONG CURRENTS, NO JUMPING INTO THE WATER, NO LIFEGUARD NOT ON DUTY”. This freaked us all out a bit! It was then that it dawned on me that what we were thinking of doing was a bit dangerous. However, we knew that it was high tide, and the swell was small, so that made it the safest possible time to do it.
We walked past the sign and headed to the cliffs where the little white “house” was. We saw that is was a little concrete shed which now had graffiti all over it. The girls stood in front of the hut for a photo. On reflection, the photo looks like some sort of weird shoot for a clothes catalogue!
We headed to the edge of the cliffs to assess the situation. Our first thoughts were “Man, this is dodgy AS” (pronounced in a Kiwi accent, obviously). The place was a little eerie, with old, weathered concrete stools and broken tables. It was obviously the spot where the ‘official’ cliff-jumping site used to be. It had long been abandoned, and it made me wonder why they stopped using it for jumps. We explored the area and established where the two ‘official’ jumping spots used to be. One was a big step which led to nowhere but down and the other was a half-broken platform. We then sussed out how we would exit the water. There was a fair amount of backwash at the bottom of the cliff, but we saw that it was possible to exit the water and then climb up safely. We also noticed a long bamboo stick, which had obviously been left there to help people assist their fellow jumpers in getting out safely.
I felt confident that it was possible to jump and exit safely. I said “let’s do it”, but Karen and Sarah were like “NO WAY it’s way too dangerous!”. Georgina, on the other hand, was like “Yup, I’m keen, I’ll go first”. I was impressed and relieved that Georgina was so confident.
Georgina and I both agreed that we were less cautious about the jump, and more concerned about the movement of the swell against the rocks at the bottom. However, Georgina has a little bit of experience doing similar activities and was confident that the swell was small enough not to be dangerous. The bamboo stick was also a reassuring safety measure and we asked Karen to make sure she ready to help us out after the jump. Georgina jumped first and decided to do the higher jump (13 metres). We were all a bit nervous, but as soon as she jumped and came up and said “all good!” we felt relieved.
The jump spot was clearly deep enough and she comfortable being in the water. I was next, and I was petrified! This was the highest I had ever jumped. I also wondered if I would make it out of the water without getting scraped on the rocky exit point. We both decided to leave our shoes on because the exit point had lots of sharp corally bits to climb over. Taking a couple of deep breaths, I jumped from 13m, letting out a big loud scream on the way down! Then it was little swim around the corner to get out. Karen was there with the 4m long bamboo stick to help get us out. We hung on and she helped pulled us in. I went in first because I was worried that a big swell would come around the corner. I managed to make it out and gave Karen a big hug. I was so stoked to be back on land! Georgina came in next and Karen assisted her up again with the stick. That bamboo stick made all the difference!! We headed back up and Georgina was keen for another jump. I needed a breather! Karen and Sarah said they were definitely not keen to jump yet, but when Georgina did another jump I said to Sarah “you can definitely do this jump”. She said “maybe the smaller one”. She asked if she could borrow my shoes if she jumped and I said “yes, of course!”. “DAMN IT, now I’ve got no excuses!”, she said. Sarah got into her bikini, put my shoes on and made her way to the 10m jump. She stood on the edge, and then turned around and said to me “NO, I’m not doing it!”. I said “of course you can!” and then counted down “Three, Two, One”. Sure enough, Sarah went for it!
Karen followed from the top jump. She was really nervous but really keen at the same time. Half way down, she seemed to change her mind and tried to flutter her way back up! This made her photos look like she was an Irish tap dancer! I did one more jump, and so did Georgina. A few other guys had seen us jumping and walked around to have a go too.
We all had a blast doing this adventure. We felt pushed out of our comfort zones and we also felt really blessed to be in such a beautiful location at sunset. It was the kind of activity which makes you feel really “alive”! Overall, we had a blast and loved the challenge mother nature provided us. “Do one thing every day that scares you”… Yup! Definitely did this today!