PANAITAN ISLAND

Panaitan island, or Pulau Panaitan, is a large and clawshaped island-nature reserve that sits by itself in open seas about 10 kilometers northwest of the Ujung Kulon National Park and just off the southwest tip of West Java. Panaitan is a bonafide no-man's island, except for a few Indonesian forest rangers who patrol its shorelines and isolate its population of wild deer, tigers, panters, snakes and numerous other forms of rare and endangered wildlife.

Beyond thin strips of beach the island is home to very dense forest and thick primary jungles alive with many dangerous animals of the meat-eating variety. Hepatitis,malaria, jagged coral reefs, rocky cliffs and, yes, even well-developed sharks, are other factors which could make this island interesting in the wrong way. Be prepared with plenty of food, water, survival gear and whatever else you might need when you head for this place because Panaitan is one of those end-of-the-world places where there is literally nothing between you and thousands of mils of open sea.

Pussy PointGetting out there in the first place can be a serious hassle, given bad roads, haggling for a boat, and perhaps even puking your way across a heaving sea, but once you are in the confines of Panaitan's picture-perfect bay on its south side you will find yourself in a great Indonesia surfing heaven. You will also be very far away from crowds, civilization and the rest of the world.

Creation in this bay by God are several primo surf spots, ranging from huge outer-bay cloudbreak bombies, one of the most perfect left point breaks in the world, and inner-bay reef breaks that peel and fire like finely tuned machines. It's a beautiful place, an island of dreams, where you meet more dolphins than humans and where you really feel at one with the universe.