Jungle trails. Bracing waterfall pools. Mopeds on mountain roads. Now we are talking!

The last time we rode mopeds was 3 years ago in Koh Phangan where we met Frenchie no. 2 family 😘 and spent our time happily buzzing around the island together. This time the roads were steeper and more potholed, the number of dogs laid in the road was greater and James much bigger. Back then he was small enough to sit up front but now he had to ride pillion, which caused a few tense moments going up crazily steep hills wondering whether he’d remember to keep holding on.

One thing that hasn’t changed though is James’s love for speed. “Why is mummy riding so slowly?”, “Go on daddy, overtake mummy so I can shout hurry up Miss Daisy as we go past”, “Can you go down the next hill faster”. Clearly James had mistaken a family holiday for MotoGP 🤪

Our first foray was to an organic coffee farm further up the mountain – via the backroads so that Miss Daisy could get used to the roads. I spent a fascinating half hour chatting with the farmer about soil health, shade trees and how organic farming supports biodiversity. Sadly, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that my cup of his finest Arabica contained enough undrinkable sludge to stand a spoon upright. The real surprise? Organic Luwak coffee (yes, the one involving Civet poo) actually tastes pretty good!

The beauty of having mopeds is the freedom to explore. Much to James’s annoyance we visited more waterfalls and went on a guided walk through a protected rainforest on the side of a crater lake. The rainforest is one of the few remaining pockets of native mountain forest in Bali, protecting everything from giant trees and rare birds to the streams that feed the crater lake. Thankfully our guide distracted James from complaining too much by feeding him interesting nature facts. She even wove James a traditional headdress, which he wore proudly for the rest of the walk. Although we didn’t dare point out that he may regret the photos in later life 🤣 The complaining about having to walk was also reduced by canoeing back across the lake to our starting point.

With our mopeds doing most of the leg work, one afternoon Lucy decided it was time to get some exercise. Lucy enjoyed a 3 km run along the scenic but very steep rice terrace trails so much that I thought I’d give it a go. One wrong turn later I got completely lost and I’d inadvertently turned it into a 7 km adventure and only got home by asking bewildered rice farmers for directions back to town. Note to self: Google maps is completely useless without my reading glasses!

A couple of days before arriving in Munduk James asked “Mummy, when do you think you will teach me how to cook?” (No gender stereotyping here 😳). Enter Rumah Tua’s Balinese Cooking Class.

Rumah, holiday let manager, fixer, entrepreneur, chef and mother, was so generous, kind and patient with James. She didn’t waste any time putting him to work chopping, grinding, grating and frying. The number of ingredients and work (no blenders used here folks) that goes into Balinese food is staggering. The end result was delicious, although we aren’t confident that James will be able to recreate it when we get back home.

It was sad to give the mopeds back but it was time to head down the mountain to Pemuteran on the north west coast. After the traffic and bustle of southern Bali, Pemuteran felt like a quiet backwater – Although it still has its fair share of noisy motorbikes. But, it isn’t just a sleepy beach town. It’s quietly become one of Bali’s conservation success stories.

A short swim off its black sand beach is Bio Rock, the world’s largest reef restoration project. Then there’s the Reef Seen turtle sanctuary, who buy wild sea turtle eggs that local fishermen find on the beaches. The eggs are then safely incubated, hatched, and the young turtles raised in tanks for a few weeks until they are strong enough to survive in the wild. This compensates the locals and protects the eggs from predators and illegal wildlife markets, giving them around ten times better odds of surviving in the wild.

Also, a 45 minute speedboat ride away is Menjangan island, a marine protected area and no take zone, managed and policed by the local community. All this from a small town with a chilled vibe with just a handful of dive shops, cafes and restaurants.

Snorkelling in the crystal clear waters of Menjangan we found some of the best condition coral we’ve seen for many years. No sign of bleaching, overfishing, litter or anchor damage. The fish diversity was incredible and James got to swim alongside several critically endangered hawksbill turtles which left us all buzzing. It’s easy to feel gloomy about the state of our oceans, but places like Menjangan remind you how quickly nature can recover and thrive when people decide to protect it.

The rest of our time was spent enjoying the chilled vibe, cool cafes and beach front restaurants, and of course repeated visits to see the super cute baby turtles. James also got plenty of time to hone his Paddle boarding skills by ferrying Lucy around to the bay. This more sedate form of transport suited Miss Daisy nicely.

Fully recharged, we were ready for our next adventure. A flight east to the island of Flores  – home of remote islands and the Komodo dragons!