I think it was the shortest boat ride ever to another island that I have ever taken in East Nusa Tenggara. Only thirty minutes across by boat from Kupang Harbour and we will reach another island called Semau. Did you ever actually notice this island before? I didn’t. Until I was informed that friends and I would head there during our #Xplor NTT trip last November. Most of my friends in the group had been there before several years ago. So, that was the second visit for them. While for me, it was my first, and I didn’t know what to expect.
After we got off from the small motorized boat that sent us to the island, the journey did not end there. We had to take about ninety minutes of car ride to the opposite side of the island to get to our accommodation at Liman Beach. The road was bumpy – almost all the way until we reached the section where the road was in super good condition. I thought that was the end of that bumpy journey. However, after that a few hundred meters long ‘comfortable to our butt’ road, we got back to the bumpy unsettling road. And our destination was still far from that point.
As strange as you may think, I am actually quite enjoying the journey. I mean, being at the not that so being developed places yet – away from the modernization for a while, it is actually quite healing. Life in the big city can be too overwhelmed sometimes. I was fascinated seeing the houses with fences made from piling natural rocks as our car passing by the houses. The colorful flowers found in the garden of the houses remind me of my childhood drawing. How peaceful.
Sunset at Liman Beach
The sight of houses slowly disappearing as we were approaching the seaside. We finally reached the accommodation where we stay put for that night – a row of cottages with a sea view at Liman Beach. Although they are not exactly by the beach, a few meters walk is what we need to get to the beach. We reached there when the sun was about to set. We dropped all of our belonging at our cottages and quickly got ready to catch the sunset.
My heart was pounding as I walked to the beach and looked at the view in front of me. The sound of the waves crashing the shore, so soothing to our ears. The sandy beach, which is a bit pink in color, and the ocean’s unblocked view are beautiful. Even though we didn’t really get the full sunset that day, the overall view with the sky colors gradually changed was still admirable. This worth all that bumpy journey.
Sunrise at Liman Hill
Then come the next morning! It was quite a struggle for us to wake up that early after days of a long trip. The morning view from the top of Liman Hill is something that we shall not miss while we are there. The sky was still dark when we set off from our cottages heading to Liman Hill. The hill doesn’t look that far, but because we are walking on the beach with thick sand, well, that slows down our pace by few times. And that is why the short distance takes longer than we expected.
The lady from the coffee stall near our cottages where we bought and enjoyed our coconut drink the night before told us that it took about fifteen minutes to reach. When the locals said so, we usually better doubled the duration. Although it is more tiring than the usual walk on a solid path, it is still nice to feel the sands on our feet. I tried to step lightly, but considering my weight, each step I took sank deep in the sand effortlessly. Every step felt heavy, but a happy week it was that morning.
Approaching the hills, the sandy part was slowly disappearing, taken over by the solid ground. We could see the ground was so dry, forming an interesting crack pattern. The terrain going up to the top of the hill was dry and sandy. It was a bit steep but still manageable. Once we reached the top of the hill, we could see a 360º view of our surroundings. On the left is the vegetation as far as my eyes can see, while on the right is the view of the ocean—calming view too good to be missed.
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In our recent conversation with the local government, we learned that they had included the plan to develop and improve the island’s infrastructure. It gave us hope that during our next visit to the island, we will have better road access already. In fact, according to my friends who had been to Semau Island years ago, they said that the island’s current condition had already improved compared to their previous visit.
Liman Beach is just one of the beaches on Semau Island. Several beaches along the island’s coastline can be explored, although not all of them have a long beach and Liman Beach’s facilities. One of my favorites besides Liman is Uinian Beach.
What do you think? Would you come to Semau Island and watch the sunset at Liman Beach?
