This adventure I went on with my friend Georgina and a guy named Julian who we met in Medewi. We all decided to get on our scooters and go on a mission to find a waterfall that one of the locals had told us about. The waterfall was called Juwuk Manis.
We asked a few locals how far away the waterfall was by scooter. Initially we were told 10 minutes, but when we stopped to ask for directions we were told 2 to 3 hours! After looping back to double-check, the scooter hire guy seemed convinced it would take 30 mins, so we decided to head off to the waterfall with no real idea of how long it would take to get there!!
The directions we were given were to turn right onto the main road, drive for 3kms and turn left at the police station. Follow the road “up up up” until you get to a “big tree”. Yup, these were the directions we got! We were a bit unsure about our main landmark being a “big tree” because – as Julian pointed out – “there are a lot of big trees in Bali”. It made me laugh and feel kind of nervous about actually finding it!
We decided to head off anyway for the adventure. 3km to the police station, and then up, up, and UP. The scenery was beautiful on the way. We wound our way through little villages with pretty houses and tiny temple-like meeting places. We passed children as young as 8 driving scooters with their younger siblings as passengers. And dogs, lots of dogs. Eventually, we came to a small tunnel over the road and Julian pulled over. I hadn’t noticed, but when he pointed I realized that the tunnel was actually a HUGE tree growing over the road!
It was here that we met a local guide hanging out on the side of the road. Lucky! He wanted to take us on a waterfall tour for 200,000 IRP ($20 NZ Dollars). He said it was another 6km away. Georgina was more keen for an adventure than a guide, but I wanted to make sure we found it, so we decided to ask him to guide us to the start of the waterfall for 100,000 IDR ($10 NZ dollars). Just as well, because there was a fork in the road further up and we wouldn’t have known the way!
After taking a right, going down a steep hill and through a tiny village, we eventually arrived at the entry to the waterfall. It was in the middle of nowhere! We would never have found it without the guide. It was 5000 IDR (50 cents NZ) to enter the waterfall and 2000 IRP to park our scooter (20 cents NZ).
Access to the waterfall was down A MILLION (not quite a million) steps. It was beautiful. Through the tropical rain forest and many banana plants. The local guide said that they had many banana plantations in the area, which provide bananas to the main towns like Denpasar in Bali.
It took 10 min to walk down to the waterfall. The waterfall itself was very pretty and the guide told us that the water was holy and that many of the local Balinise people bathed in the holy water to cleanse their body and souls and “take away stress”. He also said that tourists were not always allowed down to the waterfall, until 1992, when they opened it to the public.
Georgina decided to try some rock climbing up the waterfall onto a little ledge. I tried as well but ended up falling in the water and not making it up onto the ledge. It was super slippery and one rock I held onto completely broke off and I lost my balance and fell in the water! It was a lot of fun and the water was clean and refreshing.
On the way, back we stopped for some Satay Chicken from a little roadside vendor. It cost 10,000 IDR ($1 NZ). It was yummy!
We all loved this mellow adventure but I would definitely recommend organising a guide, but if you wanted directions and wanted to try to get there yourself, you could do it …. It ended up taking 1 hour there and 1 hour back (so not 10 mins, 30 mins, OR 2 hours!)
More Infomobile +64 (0)27 294 6949 / amber@adventureseeker.co.nz
www.adventureseeker.co.nz
| Activity | Tramping |
| Where | Juwuk Manis, Bali – 40 minutes from Medewi Beach |
| Cost | Entry if you find it 5000 IDR(50 cents NZ) or 400000 IDR(40 NZ dollars) with a guide |
| Contact | Wayne Dipte ph 08563725760 (Bali number) wayne@phoenix5.co.nz |