G-Land
surf break in Indonesia
G-Land, also known as Plengkung Beach, is an internationally renowned surf break on Grajagan Bay, Banyuwangi, Alas Purwo National Park, East Java, Indonesia, about half a day by road from the popular tourist destinations of Bali. It is most commonly reached via boat charter from Bali.
The discovery in the protected jungle of Alas Purwo began when West Australian surfer Barry Middleton searched intently for surf breaks throughout Indonesia, Timor, Roti, Flores, Sumba, Sumbawa, Lombok, Bali, Java and Sumatra. After discovering and surfing all the coral reef surf breaks of Bali, Barry started his search on the southeast coast of Java during mid-1971. Before that, whilst surfing in Western Australia, he had witnessed the huge rolling swells traveling north through the Indian Ocean. He had a theory there was great surfing potential in Indonesia.
His discovery was noted by Bob Laverty, and so the legendary tales began. Barry and Chris Lilley later set up the founding camp with the help of a Javanese fisherman who used his machete to cut bamboo from the Jungle and build Barry and Chris a huge bamboo bed to get away from the hundreds of hermit crabs and also built cupboards to stop the crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis) and East Javan langur (Trachypithecus auratus) from raiding there provisions. Four years after the discovery, a mate of Barry's Mike Boyum helped set up the first surf camp at G-Land, which was possibly the start of the paying surf camp concept that has since spread across the globe. Balinese surfer Bobby Radiasa took over the operation in the late 70s and still runs it today.
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