SLOW TRAVEL in Sumba, Indonesia
SHIBUI PAPER PLANE NO.27 | PUBLISHED BY SHIBUI & CO.
RIDING ON
SUMBA TIME
SLOW travel GLOBETROTTING | Destination Sumba, Indonesia
Interview with KATE PILCHER (founder and chief guide) | Photography kindly contributed by GLOBETROTTING and NIHI Sumba
Oh Sumba, sweet Sumba! A surprising little gem that looks as exotic as she sounds. Not only sublimely quieter in comparison with her bigger island sister, Bali… Sumba still breathes with old-island culture and charm.
Need we say more? Well yes. Add… discovering empty stretches of white sand beaches fringed with palm trees and dreamy-blue water, remote villages and sampling local hospitality, festivities and cuisine… all while riding on the back of a horse! And did we mention staying at the 'best hotel in the world'?
This is not just a picture-perfect postcard waiting to be taken. This is a Globetrotting horse-riding holiday of a lifetime, and Sumba may very well be the BEST kept secret on the planet! Giddy up!
The Nihiwatu men are traditional dancers of Sumba. Photo courtesy NIHI Sumba.
WOW! Where to start? Before we zoom onto this sublimely unique, travel dream drop in Indonesia, let’s pay tribute to the extraordinary destinations, cultures and moments you have encountered up-close on horseback, since founding your travel agency, Globetrotting (GT). As the founder and chief travel guide, (plus wife and mother of three beautiful girls), please share that pivotal moment in life, when you knew you just had to grab this immersive travel adventure concept by the reigns and gallop all over the globe?
I pretty much had several out-of-body experiences when I was riding the pancake flat plains of the Maasai Mara in Kenya in my early twenties. I was astride a chestnut mare called Witch, (I still remember this fine stead’s name), and for seven incredible, mind-altering days I got within spitting distance of the wild things of Africa.
We were eye-balled by elephant, chased by lions, crossed murky, tea-stained rivers with pods of hippos and snap-happy crocs. I fell in love with the Maasai people and their vibrant, transfixing culture. (Editor’s note: Kate was even proposed to by a toothy-grinning Maasai warrior called James.) Every waking moment of that ride, I felt alive, like I was plugged into electricity.
That particular riding safari was the birth of Globetrotting. She started as a slow burn and now some twelve years later is spread like wild fire across the globe. Modestly so, we have eager-as-can-be globetrotters based all over the world and dreamy riding destinations from Iceland through to Japan. For me, Globetrotting is my true north. It’s the air I breathe and epitomises freedom to me.
Globetrotting is definitely a travel adventure for wild hearts. What is it about travelling on horseback in a foreign country that is hard to beat?
You delve beneath the surface of a country when you’re globetrotting. There is no comparison. Firstly, when riding a horse you can access regions and cultures that are inaccessible by normal tourist routes. For example, on our rides in Northern Mongolia, we ride in regions only reached via horse or reindeer. We stay with the nomadic reindeer people called the Tsaatan.
Globetrotting is raw, bold and adventurous travel… where you eat, drink, ride, dance and sing with the local people of that region. You ride shoulder-to-shoulder with these beautiful people and share a common language and love of horses. It's remarkable and miraculous at the same time. Globetrotting crosses cultures and brings people together no matter their colour or creed.
To say you are an equestrienne is probably an understatement because your devotion and horsemanship go far beyond the boundaries of any paddock. What’s the secret code between you and the many savvy horses you’ve ridden, that creates that instant bond and powerful trust you must need when galloping through foreign terrain?
You're absolutely right! The bright and shining star to all of our Globetrotting rides are the horses. I've been privileged to be partnered with the most amazing horses throughout my GT career. Each ride brings a new favourite horse. And the bond that you form when riding and connecting with your horse for five to ten days is indescribable. There is an unspeakable and mutual trust that needs to be formed between you and your horse to safely cross varied terrain.
For me, when I meet my equine partner for the first time, I'll instinctively stroke their eye and blow in their nose. When I'm in the saddle for the first couple of hours I don't ask too much of my horse, nor put any pressure on them, so we can work each other out. It's a true gift to rendezvous with these sentient beings on a daily basis.
You ‘test’ ride every globetrotting holiday first. As A fearless traveller with some epic adventures solo and with your family, what has been your most enjoyable ‘test’ ride to date?
There are so many, but the ride that bubbles to the surface first was our exploratory ride in Iceland in 2018. Alongside my husband, Steven, we travelled across the globe with our third youngest daughter, Poppy who was 8-months at the time. Just saying this, makes me realise how insane we were! Alongside ten other globetrotters we rode for 8 days herding a mob of 70 Icelandic horses to the third-largest glacier in Iceland. Poppy was in the support vehicle with our amazing nanny and I remember jumping off the horse, breast-feeding her on lunch breaks and jumping back on the horse.
We would swap horses three times a day, ‘tölting’ across the lunar-scape of the Icelandic wilderness. It was phenomenal and I can't WAIT to return with all three of my daughters for the reunion ride.
How many countries have you experienced from the saddle? Is there one travel experience that was so profound it changed you as a person?
I've been privileged to explore 24 countries between the ears of a horse. It all feels like a dream while we're knee-deep in Covid and our travel wings are momentarily clipped. And if I linger too long in past travel memories, I start to feel nauseous with nostalgia.
Argentina has certainly shaped the person I am today. I was fortunate to spend 9 months working on a remote estancia in Patagonia, learning Spanish while working alongside the gauchos and educating young horses. It was a simple, beautiful existence that I've tried to weave into our family life here on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Every time I return to Patagonia, Argentina I have an overwhelming feeling of returning home.
As a global travel agency there is no doubt your community have missed travel lately. How do you think global tourism will respond to getting back on the travel saddle again?
When international travel re-opens again there will be a shift towards small group travel, remote travel, adventure travel. More meaningful, deeply-felt experiences… where we remove ourselves from the outside in search of raw, wild and authentic travel experiences. Fortunately, Globetrotting has always and will always lean in this direction. And there is nothing quite like social distancing from the back of a horse.
Our travel will always be crowd-free because we're all about taking the path less travelled. That's the beating heart of GT.
GLOBETROTTING IN SUMBA
Oh Sumba, sweet Sumba… a little gem that looks as exotic as she sounds. In one sentence, can you tell us why to book a globetrotting horse riding holiday to this surprising destination?
It's the BEST kept secret on the planet!
Not only a sublimely unique and quieter island in comparison with her bigger (and most popular) Indonesian sister, Bali… Sumba is blessed with mesmerising beauty, ancient culture, slow world charm and ‘the world’s best hotel in the world’! How did you meet her Kate? And what was your initial impression?
Her name was whispered to me by an on-the-pulse, well respected travel journalist. I couldn't believe that a horse culture-rich travel destination was right under my nose. I was completely oblivious. The more research I conducted the deeper my desire to venture there. And it was SO MUCH better than I could ever expect.
As soon as we stepped out of the one-room airport, the humidity hit us in the face. It was the waft of burning incense and the bright smiles of the Sumbanese that saw us fall head-over-heels in love with this tiny, big-hearted island. And the two hour transfer from airport to hotel was pure luxe. We cruised through tiny villages while we sipped on freshly cut coconuts and ate freshly baked pastries. The girls were bug-eyed for the entire journey, gasping at the buffaloes, goats, chooks, horses roaming the dirt streets and the architecture of the Sumba huts with their quaint high-pitched, thatched roofs.
On arrival on the island was it easy to explore and mingle in with local life?
What I love about Globetrotting's Sumba ride is how island life is weaved so beautifully into the itinerary. That's really important to us as a travel company. That our guests can ride alongside the local people and really understand their daily life.
I felt like I was stepping into a forgotten world; creeping through palm tree groves, going on wild and free canters along pristine coastlines, sitting cross-legged with locals in their homes chewing betel nut while learning about their daily existence, swimming bareback in shimmering turquoise oceans, interrupting herds of water buffalo as they wallow in the rice fields and trotting through lush, fragrant rainforest.
Photos: Since the mid 18th century horses have been an integral part of the local Sumba way of life. ‘Pasola' is a traditional festival of western Sumba to celebrate the rice-planting season; Local horseman compete in a cultural, spear-fighting competition which is played by throwing wooden spears at the opponent while riding a horse. Photos courtesy NIHI Sumba.
Tell us about the traditional horse culture on the island?
For the people of Sumba, life is inseparable from their horses. The Sumbanese soul is spiritually linked to the horse and that’s why this island excites Globetrotting to no end. Sumba horse culture is wild and exciting and the backbone to this ride. It’s believed horses have been part of Sumba life since the mid 18th century. The Sumbawa pony breed is named after the island on which they’re bred. These horses are quick, agile, athletic and fast, with great endurance and a willing temperament. The Sumba and Sumbawa ponies have a heavy head, short, muscular neck and low withers. In village life the Sumbawa ponies are used for packing, riding, light draft work and of course Pasola, (A horse-mounted, spear-fighting competition originating in western Sumba,) The other breed of horse is the Sandalwood pony which is named after the Sandalwood trees which were a major export of the country.
The Sandalwood pony is one of the finest in the country, partly due to the Arabian blood running through their veins. They are exported to Southeast Asia for racing and also amateur bareback racing on the island.
What is the terrain like on the island and where can you ride?
It’s magic! You have the quintessential white sand beaches with bluer than blue water. A coastline fringed in palm trees. And then you creep back into lush, chartreuse-green knolls, water meadows of rice and swirling dirt tracks. It's a wonderland with much diversity and varied terrain. The perfect landscape to explore from a horse.
What’s a most memorable encounter you had with locals?
Funny you should ask. On one of the days, we rode to a local village that was a 3 hour ride away. When we reached the village we were invited to join a family in their house. With bare feet we sat cross-legged on the thatched deck and were asked if we wanted to try betel nut. It would be rude to say no, right? As soon as I chewed down on the betel nut my mouth was retching with the bitterness. (It’s customary to spit and chew, spit and chew.) All the elders in the village were giggling at my distaste for their loved betel nut.
OFF THE SADDLE… AT NIHI Sumba
And, the dream doesn’t stop after the ride either. When off the saddle, GT riders recover in the luxurious surrounds of the five star resort, NIHI Sumba, which for the second consecutive year has won ‘best hotel in the world.’ So how do you rate NIHI Sumba?
Let's just clarify… you get your own private pool and your own butler when you stay at Nihi Sumba. ‘Excuse me… say what?’ Yep! It’s off-the-charts, 'I'm a celebrity’ kind of luxury. Steven and I were accommodated with a bedroom the size of our house! And don't get me started on the food, wine and cocktail hour! If you're looking for a hallmark travel experience to treat yourself, this one is it. And as soon as international travel opens up, we're SUPER keen to return.
What’s the one thing you can’t travel without while on a horse riding holiday on Sumba?
It sounds cliché but your camera. Seriously. The colours are so vivid. The experiences are unbelievable. This will be a riding holiday that you will remember until your last breath.