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This Indonesian village of 100 residents creates perfect surf conditions during 90

Published

5 months ago

June 29, 2025

This Indonesian village of 100 residents creates perfect surf conditions during 90

The fishing boats drift lazily in Selong Belanak’s perfect horseshoe bay as I step onto sand so blindingly white it could be mistaken for Caribbean powder. I’ve just traveled 55 kilometers southwest of Lombok International Airport to reach what might be Indonesia’s most favorable beach ratio – fewer than 100 residents sharing a 2-kilometer stretch of immaculate shoreline with perhaps a dozen morning visitors. Standing here in June 2025, I’m witnessing the beginning of the perfect 90-day window when consistent offshore breezes create ideal beginner surf conditions.

Lombok’s 90-Day Perfect Window: June-August 2025

Selong Belanak sits at the heart of Indonesia’s seasonal sweet spot. The dry season from May to September delivers reliably sunny days with minimal rainfall, but June through August offers the perfect combination of gentle waves, clear visibility, and comfortable temperatures hovering around 28°C (82°F).

“Each morning feels like discovering a secret that somehow the rest of the world hasn’t caught onto yet,” a visiting Australian surfer tells me as she waxes her board. “I’ve been coming to Indonesia for fifteen years and nothing compares to this.”

What makes this window so precious is its ephemerality. By September, winds shift and swells grow larger, making conditions less ideal for beginners. And if travel patterns continue as predicted, next year’s perfect window may include significantly more visitors.

My local surf instructor points toward Warung Budi, one of approximately 15 surf schools dotting the beach. “Three years ago, we had maybe five lessons per day. Now we sometimes have twenty groups during high season,” he explains while demonstrating proper board positioning.

Like Ishigaki: Japan’s Hidden Beach Paradise, Selong Belanak offers a rare combination of accessibility and tranquility that’s becoming increasingly difficult to find in Southeast Asia.

The 100:1 Beach-to-Visitor Ratio Bali Can’t Match

The numbers tell a compelling story. While Bali’s Kuta Beach packs thousands of tourists into similar stretches of sand, creating what amounts to a 1:100 space-to-visitor ratio, Selong Belanak flips the equation. Here, each visitor enjoys approximately 100 times more beach space than at Kuta.

This mathematical reality translates into tangible experiences: unobstructed photos, easy parking, no reservation requirements at beachfront warungs, and instructors who can provide personalized attention rather than mass lessons.

“I came from Kuta yesterday where I couldn’t find space to lay my towel. Here, I have an entire section of beach to myself. It feels like stepping back in time to what Bali must have been decades ago.”

The comparison to Santo Antão: Africa’s Uncrowded Paradise is apt – both destinations offer authentic experiences without the Instagram crowds that have transformed other once-peaceful locations.

The road to Selong Belanak was paved only seven years ago, which partially explains its preserved character. Previously, reaching this crescent-shaped haven required navigating difficult dirt tracks, effectively keeping mass tourism at bay.

Why Travel Experts Compare It to “Phuket 30 Years Ago”

South China Morning Post recently described Selong Belanak as “Phuket before mass development” – a comparison that resonates as I watch fishermen mend nets beside simple bamboo-constructed warungs.

What makes the parallel to Tenerife: Europe’s Hidden Hawaii particularly apt is how both destinations balance natural beauty with accessibility. Like Tenerife’s volcanic landscapes, Selong Belanak’s dramatic backdrop of emerald hills creates breathtaking contrasts with turquoise waters.

Travel + Leisure Asia’s 2025 coverage highlighted Lombok’s infrastructure improvements, including newly launched ferry services from Bali and expanded flight options at Lombok International Airport. Yet despite these changes, Selong Belanak maintains its cultural integrity.

Integrating Authentic Sasak Culture Into Your Visit

Beyond surfing, the surrounding villages offer windows into Sasak cultural traditions that have largely disappeared from Bali’s tourist centers. In nearby Sukarara village, weavers create intricate textiles using techniques unchanged for centuries.

Local guides greet visitors with “Kemalaya” (peace) – often accompanied by a ceremonial offering of leaf-wrapped coconut water that symbolizes purity and hospitality in Sasak tradition.

Like Koh Yao Yai’s Authentic Thai Experience, Selong Belanak demonstrates how tourism and tradition can coexist when development respects local values.

Later, as Sarah photographs the sunset from Merese Hill (a 10-minute drive away), I reflect on how precious these moments of discovery feel. The Sasak have a saying – “Endak lupak asal” – never forget your origins. As travelers, perhaps our responsibility is to remember the original character of places like Selong Belanak, even as they inevitably evolve with each passing season’s perfect window.

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Track Season Begins Saturday – Syracuse University Athletics

Published

13 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Syracuse track and field team kicks off its 2025-26 season on Saturday at the Cornell Greg Page Relays.

MEET INFO:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 6

Location: Barton Hall | Ithaca, N.Y.

Live Results: Here

ORANGE ENTRIES:

‘Cuse will start the day in the 60-meter hurdles at 11 a.m. Tawakal Omar and Jamir Brown will make their Orange debuts for the men. Twenty minutes later, Billie Frazier, Emeline Clark, Ivana Richards, Peyton Rollins and Marissa Saunders will race for the women.

The 60-meter dash will kickoff at 11:35 a.m., with Syracuse’s participants coming from a host of Orange men entered. At 11:50 a.m., Bianca Williams, Indie Wallace-Persaud, Jada Williams and Esther Granda will all race in the women’s event.

Samantha Bloch, Kayla Harding, Lizzie Bigelow, Blake Parker and Hailey Schuemann will take on the mile at 12:10 p.m., before the finals of the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash events begin starting at 12:40 p.m.

Grace Finnegan and Luise Hiltzbleck will run in the 3,000-meter run at 1:55 p.m.

Elijah Mallard will represent the men in the 300-meters, followed b Nylah Robinson, Leah Bellow, Mia Hernandez and Andrea Pomales at 3:20 p.m. to close the meet for ‘Cuse.

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No. 4 Gophers Host Fairfield to Open NCAA Tournament

Published

18 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MINNEAPOLIS — The No. 4 seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers are getting set to host the NCAA Tournament as they take on the Fairfield Stags (25-5, 17-1 MAAC) on Friday night at Maturi Pavilion. The first match of the day between No. 5 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) and St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 Summit) will begin at 4:30 p.m. CT and ESPN+ will televise. Minnesota’s match will begin approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first match. The winners of each of Friday’s matches will compete on Saturday night at 7 p.m. inside Maturi Pavilion for the right to go to the Sweet 16.

This season marks Minnesota’s 30th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance, including their 11th straight. The ‘U’ is 28-1 all-time in first round matchups.

GAME 1 INFORMATION

No. 5 Iowa State vs. St. Thomas

Friday, Dec. 5

4:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

GAME 2 INFORMATION

No. 4 Minnesota vs. Fairfield

Friday, Dec. 5

Approximately 6:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Sam Konstan (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

GAME 3 INFORMATION

Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

Saturday, Dec. 6

7 p.m. CT (30 minutes after game one ends)

Maturi Pavilion

Minneapolis, Minn.

TV: ESPN+ – Andrew Cornelius (Play-By-Play) and Meredith Nelson Uram (Analyst)

Radio: GopherSports.com – Tanner Hoops (Play-By-Play)

Live Stats

TICKETS

Fans can buy tickets for the first and second round matches here.

HEADING INTO THE MATCH

Minnesota leads Fairfield, 1-0, ISU, 25-7, and UST, 3-0

First Meeting: 2019 (Fairfield), 1975 (ISU), 2021 (UST)

Last Meeting: 2019 (Fairfield), 2021 (IST), 2025 (UST)

NOTES TO KNOW

997 — Career kills for Julia Hanson.

258 — Keegan Cook won his 250th career match as a head coach Oct. 12 vs. Ohio St. He’s at 258 for his career.

40 — Minnesota is 40-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches at Maturi Pavilion. The last loss was in 2018 vs. Oregon (Sweet 16).

34 — Minnesota ranks 34th nationally (2nd B1G) with 274 blocks.

30 — This year is Minnesota’s 30th ever NCAA Tournament appearance. That is the 11th most of any program in the country.

24 — Julia Hanson has 24 matches with 10+ kills this year in 30 chances (missed Loyola Chicago match).

23 — The ‘U’ ranks 23rd nationally and third in the Big Ten with 2.61 blocks per set.

19 — Minnesota ranks 19th nationally (5th B1G) in hitting % (.278).

14 — Sweeps in 29 matches for the Golden Gophers. They’ve won seven matches in four sets (1-2 in five).

13 — Times this season Minnesota posted 10+ blocks as a team. They’re 10-3 when going for 10-or-more blocks (losses at Oregon, Purdue, Wisconsin).

12 — Minnesota is 12-4 at home this season. Only losses were to UCLA, USC, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

11 — 2025 is Minnesota’s 11th straight NCAA Tournament. They’ve made 26 of the last 27 (missed 2014). They’ve made three Final Fours, four Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight since 2015.

7 — Jordan Taylor ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 1.21 blocks per set, a team-best. That mark leads all Big Ten freshmen.

7 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 23 aces. Gilk and Swenson rank ninth with 22.

7 — Gophers head coach Keegan Cook is 7-26 against AVCA Top-25 ranked opponents in three seasons. (Wins vs. No. 15 Baylor, No. 5 Oregon, No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 11 Purdue, No. 23 Indiana and No. 24 Penn St.).

5 — Minnesota ranks 5th in attendance at 4,558 per match (avg.).

5 — Minnesota ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 183 service aces.

5 — During Big Ten play, Julia Hanson ranks fifth in the league in kills per set with 4.02.

5 — Julia Hanson is fifth in the B1G with 4.69 points per set.

4 — Julia Hanson is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.02 kills per set.

4 — Minnesota lost four starters to season-ending injuries in OH Alex Acevedo and Mckenna Wucherer, MB Calissa Minatee and L Zeynep Palabiyik.

3 — Gophers earned All-B1G honors in 2025. Julia Hanson (1st), Stella Swenson (2nd, Freshmen) and Carly Gilk (All-Freshmen).

3 — Straight 20+ kill matches for Julia Hanson in the Illinois, USC and Wisconsin matches. She’s the first Gopher to do so since Stephanie Samedy (’21). She’s hit 10+ in 11 of the last 13 matches.

2 — The Gophers rank second in the B1G in total blocks with 287.

2 — During league play, the Gophers ranked second with 1.77 aces per set. They hold 129 aces (2nd in B1G).

LAST TIME OUT

• The then No. 18 Minnesota volleyball team split its final home weekend, defeating No. 11 Purdue in four sets and falling to No. 10 Wisconsin in three sets. Julia Hanson had 19 kills while Stella Swenson went for 40 assists in the win over Purdue, the Gophers lone top-15 win this season. No Gopher reached 10 kills on Friday vs. Wisconsin as the team was held to just .132 hitting.

GOPHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• The 2025 season marked the 30th year the Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament. With an at-large bid, the Gophers advanced to the tournament for the 11th straight season and 26th in the last 27 seasons.

• In the first round of NCAA Tournaments, Minnesota is 28-1 all-time. In round two, Minnesota is 21-7.

• The Gophers all-time record in NCAA Tournaments is 62-29. Minnesota has made the Final Four six times (2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2019), national title game once (2004).

• The program has had 31 straight winning seasons, dating back to 1995. The ‘U’ has won 10-or-more Big Ten games in every season except for one dating back to 1999. The program has finished in the top six of the B1G standings every year since 2015.

GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS

• The ‘U’ entered the 2025 season with a No. 11 ranking in the Preseason AVCA poll (finished 18th in 2024).

• At the end of regular season, the ‘U’ moved up to No. 17 on Monday, going up one spot from last week.

COACH COOK IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• Keegan Cook is 19-10 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament. He led his Washington teams to one Final Four, three Elite Eights and two Sweet 16s. Both years at Minnesota, the ‘U’ has gone to the Round of 32.

HOSTING NCAA’S AT THE PAV

• All-time in NCAA Tournament matches at Maturi Pavilion, Minnesota is 40-4. Two of the losses came to Iowa State, in the 2008 (second round) and 2011 (Sweet 16) NCAA Tournaments. The other losses were in 2018 to Oregon (Sweet 16) and 1993 to Notre Dame (Sweet 16). Minnesota has won six straight NCAA matches at Maturi Pavilion.

SCOUTING FAIRFIELD

• Fairfield (25-5, 17-1 MAAC) is led by third-year head coach Nancy Somera. In her three seasons at Fairfield, the team has posted a 69-24 record, including a 50-4 mark in league play. They’ve won three straight league titles.

• Fairfield is 0-1 against Power 4 Conference opponents this year, losing 3-2 to West Virginia early on in the season. They have not lost a match since Oct. 24 at Quinnipiac. Offensively, they’re led by Marnie Krubally (2.93 kps) and Allie Elliott (2.69 kps). All-time, they’re 0-14 in the NCAA Tournament. In 2000, they became the first MAAC team to win a set in the NCAA Tournament (3-1 loss at #15 Pepperdine).

SCOUTING IOWA ST.

• No. 23 Iowa State (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) is led by 21st-year head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch. ISU has made the NCAA Tournament in 17 of her 21 years at the helm. This year, ISU holds key wins over No. 18 Baylor, No. 6 Arizona State and No. 16 TCU. ISU will be making it’s 18th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

• Alea Goolsby (3.26 kps) and Morgan Brandt (9.52 aps) pace the offense while libero Rachel Van Gorp (4.83 dps) leads the defense. Van Gorp was the unanimous selection for Big 12 Libero of the Year while Brandt became the second Cyclone ever to win Big 12 Setter of the Year. Five total Cyclones made the all-league teams.

SCOUTING ST. THOMAS

• St. Thomas (21-9, 11-5 Summit) is led by 23rd-year head coach Thanh Pham. After finishing third in the Summit League in 2024, the Tommies took second this year before they took down top-seeded South Dakota State to win the Summit League tournament title and make their first Division I NCAA Tournament.

• The Tommies set Division I program records with 21 overall wins and 11 Summit League wins, and rank among the top 25 nationally in aces per set (9th), kills per set (12th), assists per set (14th), and attacks per set (22nd).

• Morgan Kealy won her second straight Summitt League Setter of the Year award while Tezra Rudzitis and Megan Wetter joined her on the first team. Anya Schmidt was named the league’s Freshman of the Year.

MINNESOTA’S HISTORY VS. FAIRFIELD, IOWA ST. AND ST. THOMAS

• Minnesota is 1-0 all-time vs. Fairfield. They last met in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, a 3-0 sweep for the Gophers.

• The ‘U’ is 25-7 all-time against Iowa State. The two teams last met in the 2021 season, a swep at the Diet Coke Classic for Minnesota. In the NCAA Tournament, they have met two times, with the Cyclones holding a 2-0 advantage. ISU defeated Minnesota in 2011, 3-1, at Maturi Pavilion. The match was a Sweet 16 game. In 2008, ISU beat Minnesota in four sets in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Pav.

• The Gophers are 3-0 all-time vs. UST since the Tommies became a Division I team in 2021. The first two matchups were sweeps in 2021 and 2024. The third was a four-set win for Minnesota this fall (25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 25-18). Julia Hanson had 18 kills and 10 digs to lead the ‘U’ in the match.

STRONG SCHEDULE PREPS ‘U’ FOR POSTSEASON

• The Gophers went 3-6 vs. ranked opponents in 2025. Minnesota was one of nine Big Ten teams to make the 2025 NCAA tournament. Of the Gophers 11 non-conference opponents, seven made the NCAA Tournament.

• The ‘U’ enters the postseason with a top-15 RPI and earned the No. 13 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• In all, the Gophers faced 15 teams that make up the field of 64. Against teams that made the postseason, Minnesota posted a 9-8 record this season.

THREE GOPHERS EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS

• Freshman opposite Carly Gilk, senior outside Julia Hanson and redshirt freshman Stella Swenson all earned all-league honors. Hanson was named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection while Swenson made the second team and the all-freshman team. Gilk joined Swenson as a Big Ten All-Freshman Team honoree. Lauren Crowl garnered Minnesota’s Sportsmanship Award.

• Hanson earned her second straight First Team All-Big Ten honor while Swenson and Gilk earned their first honors from the Big Ten.

UP NEXT

If they are victorious, Minnesota take on the winner of No. 5 Iowa State and St. Thomas on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. CT. ESPN+ will televise again.

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Creighton volleyball defeats Northern Colorado

Published

33 minutes ago

December 5, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Creighton volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-straight season. The Bluejays have their sights set on making it to the Final Four, and that pursuit started on Thursday at the CHI Health Center.This is the fifth straight season that the Jays are hosting the tournament. Check out this fire block from the Jays.Creighton dominated in the first set 25-12.Things were pretty close in set 2, but a 3-0 Bluejay run gave them the 15-12 lead over the Bears.With a slam, the Jays were up 18-15.Northern Colorado got to 25 first, winning set 2, 25-23.The Bears were off to an early lead in set 3.A 5-0 run for CU tied things at 14 apiece.The Bears won set 2, 25-23.The Jays were putting it all out on the court after dropping two sets.A 4-0 run pushed the Jays up 12-4.Creighton won set 4, 25-17.Creighton took the lead in set 5.The Jays defeated the Bears 15-8 in the fifth set to win the match 3-2.Creighton will play Northern Iowa at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the CHI Health Center.Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |

Creighton volleyball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th-straight season.

The Bluejays have their sights set on making it to the Final Four, and that pursuit started on Thursday at the CHI Health Center.

This is the fifth straight season that the Jays are hosting the tournament.

Check out this fire block from the Jays.