INDONESIA


WILD WELLNESS


Legendary surf camp turned luxury resort Nihi Sumba is further highlighting its Indonesian roots with a new wellness programme


Lauren Jade Hill A


s we enter the small village of Wehola, we follow a narrow path between traditional wooden houses – distinguished on the eastern Indonesia island of Sumba by their peaked and thatched roofs – where colourful woven fabrics hang on lines, buffalo horns decorate the walls, and cattle peer out from the space beneath these stilted homes. This path leads to the heart of the village, where some of the residents have gathered to display their handmade ikat fabrics and basketry. My small group is passing through on a hike


from Nihi Sumba, a resort on the island’s southwest shores that began its life as the surf camp Nihiwatu in 1989, when Claude Graves built a retreat beside Sumba’s most famous surf break. It was transformed into the luxury hotel it is today in 2012 by American wn>nViiÀ hÀià ÕÀVh >n` -oÕÌh ƂvÀiV>n hoÌiliiÀ >mià V Ài`i° 7i «>Ãà ÌhÀoÕ}h v>Àml>n` >n`


forest, up hillsides, past buffalo herds and between ÀiVi wil`Ã] ÕnÌil Üi Ài>Vh Ìhi VlivvÌo« loV>Ìion ov Nihioka, the remote resort’s oceanside spa. I’ve signed up for the Spa Safari, which combines venturing across the neighbouring valley and glimpsing local life with a raft of wellness therapies in one of the clifftop spa suites. The experience includes sumptuous breakfasts and swimming in the ocean from a private cove – all of which


combine to create a wonderfully indulgent itinerary. At Nihioka, bamboo bridges connect wooden


platforms, which are built amid the rocks and trees, featuring an ocean-view pool and open-sided breakfast pavilion. From the cliff, I watch waves crash against the VÕÀÛi` Ã>n`Þ ÃhoÀià >n` loV>l wÃhiÀmin ëi>À wÃh off the rocks. Horses graze in the nearby paddy wil`à L>Vki` LÞ L>n>n> ÌÀiià >n` «>lmÃ] >n` yoÜiÀà }ÀoÜ >lon} Ìhi Üin`in} «>ÌhÜ>Þ Ìo i>Vh ë> suite. After breakfast and a swim in the ocean, the subsequent hours are spent sampling a sequence of relaxing treatments, from Sumbanese Lulur exfoliation using rice powder, green tea extract and spices, to a facial incorporating coconut oil, mint leaf, green tea, rosella tea and red rice.


Island inspiration


The Nihi Spa Safari is one part of the resort’s inspired wellness offering, which has been enhanced this Þi>À ÜiÌh Ìhi l>ÕnVh ov iÌà 7il` 7illniÃà VonVi«Ì° Curated by luxury spa consultant Melissa Mettler, the new developments include four immersive retreats and the installation of treatment spaces, such as /hi ÕÌÌiÀyÞ i`iÌ>Ìion oÕn}i] ÜhiÀi in`i}inoÕà LÕÌÌiÀyiià yÕÌÌiÀ >à «>ÀÌ ov iÌà VonÃiÀÛ>Ìion «Ào}À>mmi° Ƃ ÀiyiVÌion ov Ìhi oÛiÀ>ll iÌhoà Lihin`ª


72 ASPIRE MAY 2024


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