The Bono is Open For Business

by on Friday 30th August, 2013   50194 Visits   Comments


There have been some newcomers since the first tentative explorations. As with every spot that garners international attention, it wasn’t long before tour guides, local surfers and groups of visitors were joining the crocodiles for some lunar powered fun. 


Three years in, how has the scene changed? 


What problems have you faced setting up the tours? 


Have you had any dangerous moments?


As surfers, we’ve been stuck on dry land, in front of the bore, when you hit the shallows. Eddie calls one corner “Donkey Bay” because you don’t want to follow the bore all the way, because you get dragged in ankle-high waters, trying to avoid whatever comes at you. Nothing like death, but stressful, and easy to snap a fin! Bono eats fins, we actually break quite a few, bring an extra set!

There has been a huge emphasis on crocs but I’ve been there 6 times, around 35 days riding and I’ve never seen any!  I am not saying there are no crocs but the chance of seeing one is very slim, and to have one swimming in turbulent waters and get you, feels like being struck by lightning twice, or something like that.

It’s always a breathtaking rush to see the first whitewater wall of the day coming at you, because there is so much water behind and there has been so much anticipation prior than that. But it’s like a love meeting, when you wait for a date, your heart is racing because you know something intense will come. It’s not really fear. Once your start riding the wave, it’s game on, and the fear disappears like it never happened.

Can you foresee crowds becoming a problem? 

So far, no. Local guys have no boats because of the costs, and when they do use a local boat as a backup, no way the local speedboat can impact the wave like our RIB’s are doing to rescue the surfers. Locals are riding 2 sections out of 10, hey that’s their land, right! And those 2 sections, are the end of the line, so you’re happy to finally share with some guys.

If there were other operators, that’d be a problem because riding space is actually not unlimited and boats would create wakes and be dangerous for some riders. Boat drivers usually look behind at the Bono, not at the other guests if they jump in the front. We’ve met the government and told them Bono is not Mentawaii. Surfers, or waveriders bring the show. If they want crowds, which they do, those crowds have to sit on the bank.

If they come on boats, they will alter the pleasure of riders, and become dangers, and expose themselves. During the Bekudo Bono Carnival, some local boats have capsized and guys can’t even swim. So trouble may happen on this side.

What are your highlights from surfing the bore? 


Do you have any big plans for the future? 

No big plans, just plans to make it even. We’re a bunch of friends, called the Bonoboyz, who put a bit of money on the table to run those operations. No one wants to grow it as a real business because we don’t live there and we have no plans to do so. So, we just need want the dice to keep rolling, knowing it’s not a huge recreation area for big numbers. We’re trying to set up some “rodeo Bono ” for the non-surfers to have a taste at this amazing natural phenomenon, because we need some money to keep up our operations with good standards. But we have no plans to build a hotel, “a Bono lodge”, get a handful of boats or things like that. It may happen in the long run from other sides, or because of pressure, but not in the coming years. Time to come to check it out before the circus comes to town!

Photos courtesy of BonoSurf.

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