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Surfing contest, cultural festival in celebration of South Nias 14th anniversary
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Indonesia is known to be one of the world’s surfers’ paradises. (Shutterstock.com/EpicStockMedia)
T
o commemorate the 14th anniversary of South Nias regency, the provincial administrations plans to hold two interesting events called South Nias Open Surfing Contest 2017 (NSOSC 2017) and South Nias Regency Traditional Song, Culture and Tradition Festival.
The two events will be held for four days from July 25 to 28 at Sorake Island. They are results of a partnership effort between the provincial administrations through South Nias culture, tourism, youth and sports department with South Nias Surfers Association (APNS) and supported by tourism ministry.
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“We’re going to hold a surfing competition and it’s open for local and international surfers. The main goal is definitely to increase the number of local and overseas tourists to South Nias,” explained South Nias cuture, tourism, youth and sports department head Anggreani.
The surfing contest itself is an annual event and the last time it was held was last year at Ya’ahowu Party.
Other than providing winners with Rp 87 million worth of prizes, NSOSC 2017 aims to scout new talents in Nias that can be trained to compete in National and International leagues in the future.
“NSOSC 2017 is divided into three categories: Men’s (16 years and above), women’s and grommet (men’s and women’s),” Anggreani added.
As for the festival, it will feature traditional dances and rituals of South Nias such as faluaya, famadaya harimao, stone-jumping, moyo dance and fataelesa.
Read also: Four Indonesian destinations named best dive sites in Asia by CNN
Sorake beach is a haven for surfers, it’s included in the 10 best surfing spots in the world and said to be the second best after Hawaii. During the months of June – July surfers flock the beach because the waves are able to reach up to 10 to 12 meters high. Another uniqueness of the beach: one will not find anything but coral reefs in it.
Nias island is reachable by sea using a ferry boat from Sibolga city in North Sumatra with a distance of 85 miles or 12 hours. Travelers will then arrive at Mount Sitoli, the biggest city in Nias Island. Continue the journey from Mount Sitoli to Teluk Dalam city for about four hours using a four-wheeled vehicle. However, for a shorter traveling time, a flight is available from Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra. (asw)
