Discovering the other Bali

Ever since Sophie Lee's character in ‘The Castle’ returned from her honeymoon sunburnt and braided and announced that "Bali is chokkas of culture', I've always associated the island with bogan tourism.

So when I was invited to experience the new Komune Surf Resort the natural question was, is it still possible to discover the Bali that originally drew tourists without being surrounded by aggressive idiots or spending a fortune?

Our group arrives in Denpasar on a typically humid day, surrounded by young blondes carrying boogie boards.

We zoom away from Kuta until the traffic thins out and there is little but forest, rice paddies and tucked-away villages. The resort lies on the less developed eastern coast of Bali, which is a promising start.

Between two rice paddies, past a garden tumbling with banana trees and passionfruit flowers, and down a grassy path we find the resort, the sea – and the surfers.

They casually hold surf boards, half naked, impossibly tanned and tattooed. They stare at the sea with a glazed, hypnotic expression.

The resort overlooks Keramas, a reef that produces a world class wave with, what I'm told, are mouth-watering right handers.

I'm not entirely familiar with surf culture, so it takes a while to realise how serious this stuff is. The break was part of the ASP world tour and one of the resort owners is none other than former pro surfer Luke Egan.

One person who understands what originally drew tourists to Bali is businessman Tony Cannon.

Like the other surfers, he's standing bare chested and staring out at the sea.

I heard he's been coming to Bali for years, first as a young surfer and then with family in tow. But any attempts at an interview soon fall away as he wanders off into the cool blue surf for a 'board meeting'.

Yoga classes and massages are organised. We eat lunch and discover that the food is organic, and mostly grown on site.

The mocktails are such amazing juice combinations – think mint, carrot, ginger, pineapple – that alcohol seems a bit mundane and I barely imbibe throughout the week.

We start the quiet process of unwinding. Days are spent reading and lounging about.

It takes a while to realise there's no thumping music. Only little wooden signs around the accommodation area saying, "whisper zone".

Tony becomes loquacious one evening and we learn the story of the resort.

Years ago he saw a picture of a hidden surf break in a magazine, hired a car, and proceeded on foot to this spot simply to enjoy the waves.

He'd been looking for an investment opportunity, and began planning a few huts for surfers.

Conversations started with the local villagers. Luke Egan and former Fitness First director Tony de Leede came onboard.

They agreed to hire villagers (an equal amount from each of the two main families) and were heavily involved in making environmentally friendly construction and landscaping decisions.

They deliberately kept the communal areas away from sleeping areas for privacy and created a nice place for non-surfers to hang out.

When the resort opened, they were pleasantly surprised to discover it was a hit with families as well as surfers.

Tony convinces us to head out for a surf and finally we venture into the waves. The main reef is obviously for hard-core surfers, so we walk over the soft black volcanic sand towards the smaller waves.

There are few people around, the ocean heaves, the sky is wide and clear. These smaller waves are still apparently up there with the best Sydney has to offer.

So when a wave arrives, I get dumped again, again and again. After a massage, we visit some temples and little artisan shops in Ubud, before enjoying the balmy evening underneath the palm trees.

Someone comments that being here feels a little bit like being on holiday in a time when everything was more low key. I realise they're right. I've found what lured Aussie tourists to Bali in the first place.

IF YOU GO

Getting there:

The resort lies on the east coast of Bali around 1 hour by taxi from Denpasar Airport.

Staying there:

Visit www.komuneresorts.com. Prices start from $91 per night, with lots of packages available.

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bali keramas paddies rice surfing tourist