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Sumbawa is a lot drier and more barren than the other Indonesian islands we have visited so far. On top of that, we can see many fires where people burn off the vegetation. I wonder why?



It's not completely barren, as we soon discover.



The main roads are very good and there is little traffic. We have a bit of time, so we decide to explore the SW before heading East on the main road. Suddenly there are a lot of trucks on the road, the surface is really bad and then we discover  Maluk, which turns out to be a mining town. After riding up and down the coast in search of a place to stay, but finding everythiing full or too expensive, we end up back in Maluk at the Kiwi Bar. It was in fact run by a Kiwi, but expats soon tell us that his marriage broke up and he is back in NZ, minus his legs. Apparently, he drunk too much of his own booze... There is a nice empty beach.



In the Kiwi Bar we meet a couple, who we first met on Lombok. They travel on two small bikes. The next day they leave before us to seek out a dirt road that may run along the South coast. We meet  them again and ride together some distance, but the road gets rough. Just as we decide to turn around a local couple on a small bike come along and they confirm that the road does indeed go through, but they have a puncture, so I get out my toolkit and compressor and fix it for them. While doing this we can hear noise in the distance and soon some expat trail bikers pull up for a chat. They tell us that some of the track is very rough and we would have to ford several rivers. We turn around.





In Taliwang we try to take an alternative route NE, but this soon ends at a reservoir. On the way back I stop briefly to admire the buffalo racing:













The lady running this lunch stop was very impressed with Su's achievements and took a particular liking to her.