Sundak Beach: Yogyakarta

There are so many attractions for visitors in Java, and particularly Yogyakarta. It has beautiful, windswept beaches and interesting villages whose occupants make a living from the ocean.

The whole of the southern coastline is battered by massive swells and not really convivial for surfing but I have seen a few foolish tourists tackling the strong currents. Sundak Beach is one of these as Singgir Kartana explains:

Little may be known about Sundak Beach along Gunungkidul’s southern coast, as it is not as popular as other frequently visited beaches in the area like Baron, Krakal and Kukup.

In fact, Sundak has many charms to offer.

Located some 25 kilometers to the southeast of the Gunungkidul capital Wonosari, Sundak has yet to become one of the regency’s main tourist attractions.

But many consider Sundak more beautiful than other more well-known beaches. Apart from its beautiful coast, it also offers a hilly landscape surrounding the beach.

Visitors to Sundak will enter a shade-covered beach, with green trees at the mouth of the beach offering a great place to enjoy the breeze as the rolling waves break onto the white-sand shore.

Though largely undeveloped, the beach has public facilities including a roomy parking area, a rest area, a prayer room, lavatory, stage and playground.

Visitors can also explore a cave not far from the beach. Located to the east of Sundak, the five-meter long cave is situated on a finger of land extending out into the sea.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, visitors are able to enjoy the beautiful landscape and view of other beaches along the coast, including Baron, Krakal, Wediombo, Ngungap, Ngobaran, Kukup and more. There is another cave located down a hill to the north of the beach. Although the mouth of the case seems to be only a small passage, it is relatively roomy inside.

What is unique with this particular cave is that from inside it visitors can observe an underground river measuring some four meters wide and two meters deep, flowing through the cave into the sea. The water of the river is very clear and locals use it for their daily needs.

Visitors also need not to worry about light inside the cave because holes in the roof along sunlight to penetrate the gloom.

The entire area is also cleaner and fresher than other beaches in the region. Although basically a fishing hubs, there is no unpleasant fish smell on the beach. That’s probably because of its location relatively separated from the fish market.

However, when the catch comes in visitors just need to walk some 200 meters down the beach to the market where they can buy fresh fish. Bawal is one of the most popular fish in the area. One kilogram of it usually costs between Rp 20,000 and 25,000.

Locals also catch lobsters, setting traditional traps, and there are plenty of fresh lobsters at the market.

Other attractions include the rare trees locally known as drini, which used to be found only on the nearby Drini Island.

Sarindi, 48, a local villager, is trying to preserve the rare tree by plating them around Sundak Beach.

Access to the beach is simply, with a paved road having been provided by the local government. However, the entrance passage to the beach is damaged and makes for a bumpy ride.
For Rp 8,500 per person, visitors gain access to the four beaches of Krakal, Kukup, Baron and Sundak.

“But so far we only have had a relatively small number of visitors coming. It may be due to the damaged entrance road that they are reluctant to come here,” Marsudi, a parking attendant at Sundak Beach, said.

Another resident expressed his optimism about the future.

“We do believe that if developed properly, this could be the most beautiful beach to visit in the region. We have a racing circuit around here as well as a place where sea turtles lay eggs,” Ponco said

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GUA MARIA TRITIS, LITTLE LOURDES AT JOGJAKARTA

Perjalanan ini sedikit membuat kami merasa pusing, karena kami harus melewati jalan menanjak yang berliku-liku. Namun keindahan alam gunung kidul dengan pemandangan gunung batu membuat kami tetap bersemangat. Menurut cerita penduduk setempat, yang sempat berbincang-bincang dengan kami, pada waktu gempa beberapa bulan yang lalu, kawasan Gunung Kidul ini hujan batu krikil. Dan bebatuan seakan turun dari atas gunung.

Dari parkiran, kami berjalan kaki 2 km dengan medan yang bukan jalan rata, melainkan bebatuan, menanjak dan berliku. Bisa bayangkan, bagaimana sulitnya apalagi kami membawa putri kami yang baru berumur 3 tahun. Apakah kami mampu?

Namun sekali lagi, ini belum apa-apa dibandingkan dengan cobaan lainnya. Rasa tekat dan semangat kami menghantam dan menghapuskan perasaan itu. Membuat kami bersemangat kembali. Dan karna kami sendiri belum perna dan belum tau seperti apa Gua Maria yang ada di Tritis ini? Mengapa harus ada dibalik gunung bebatuan karang ini?
Ternyata benar,…. Memng luar biasa ….

Gua Maria Tritis ini adalah gua yang betul-betul indah dan masih alami. Dengan latarbelakang stalaktit-stalaktit. Perjalanan kami ini ditemani oleh anak-anak desa, yang memberikan petunjuk jalan mana yang lebih cepat dan lebih aman buat kami. Mereka adalah anak-anak dari umat katolik disekitar Gua Tritis, yang memang dianjurkan oleh romo paroki untuk memandu wisatawan dan peziarah yang datang ketempat tersebut. Kalau pengunjung berniat jalan salib, rute yang ditempuh lebih jauh dan memakan waktu 2,5 jam untuk bisa melewati keempat belas stasi yang ada sampai ke bukit golgota. Di Bukit Golgota ini, mirip dengan Bukit Golgota yang asli, yang terdapat juga tiga salib besar tempat Yesus di salibkan bersama dengan Barnabas.
Kata Tritis adalah bahas Jawa yang artinya tetesan air.

Tetesan air ini berasal dari stalaktit yang kemudian ditampung untuk digunakan sebagai obat. Letak Gua Tritis ini jauh dari perkampungan penduduk. Gua Tritis ini diresmikan oleh Romo Lamers SJ pada tahun 1979.

Ini adalah Gua Maria yang amat terkesan buat kami sekeluarga. Saran kami bila anda mengunjungi Gua Maria ini hendaknya anda membawa bekal seperlunya saja, seperti air minum mineral, botol kosong untuk wadah air suci dan lilin. Karna nanti kalau anda kembali ke tempat parkiran, jalan yang dilalui terus menanjak. Dan bagi orang tua yang sepuh, anda cukup menyewa tenaga pembawa tandu dari tempat parkiran sampai kedalam gua, dengan membayar upah seratus ribu rupiah pulang-pergi.

Sebelum perjalanan Anda dari Jogja sampai ke Gua Maria Tritis, Anda bisa mampir sebentar untuk berziaarh di Sendang Ngijorejo. Disinipun Anda bisa menemukan Gua Maria Ngijorejo. Gua Maria Ngajirejo inipun kami peroleh informasinya dari salah seorang ibu, yang sempat berkenalan dengan kami. Ia adalah umat di gereja Ganjuran dan juga salah satu ketua lingkungan yang ada di Gereja Ganjuran. Info-info seperti inilah yang membantu kami. Sekaligus menjadi sebuah petunjuk buat kami untuk dapat mengetahui keberadaan Gua-Gua Maria lainnya yang mungkin kami sendiri tidak tahu keberadaannya.

Gua Maria Ngajirejo, letaknya di belakang landasan AU Gading, Gunung Kidul. Dan kurang lebih 1,5 jam kami tempuh dari arah kota Jogjakarta. Perjalanan dari kota Jogja menuju kawasan inipun kami lalui dengan jalan yang berliku dan menanjak. Butuh konsentrasi yang lumayan baik dari pengemudi kendaraan. Ditambah waktu itu pun hujan rintik. Kami tak banyak memperoleh info tentang Gua Maria ini, hanya saja suasana di Ngajirejo ini cukup hening dan sepi, letaknyapun ditengah pedesaan .

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Yogyakarta Handycraft

Jogja is noted as batik centre, but other craft industries in and around the city includes silver, leather, pottery and puppets. Even if you don’t intend to buy, galleries and workshops are open free of charge for visitors to observes traditional Javanese crafts in present.

Malioboro is great long-colorful bazaar of souvenir shops and stalls offering a wide selection of cheap batik bags, leather works, cotton clothes, silver wares, wood masks and puppets. Skillful bargainer gets lower prices here. A good range of batik could be venture at Margaria Batik and several other shops, like Terang Bulan, Taruntum, and Batik Keris. Mirota Batik, at the opposite side of the street, offers a wide variety of handicrafts and a good point to get an idea of general prices. A labyrinthine Beringharjo traditional market, left side before the bottom of the street, is always worth a browse, especially for cheap and batik and textiles. Another popular site for batik is Tamansari, only minutes away from the centre of Kraton. You can arrange a batik course with Pak Hadjir (Intensive Batik Course), close to the main pool, for only US$30.

Jogja is an influential axis in the development of the traditional musical instrument gamelan. The instrument played in royal houses to people night firs in remote villages, from star hotels to a humble pendopo (open pavillion) of a village head in hundred kilometers out of Yogyakarta. To see how to make the musical set, you can visit Mpu Triwiguno Studio at Jalan Ori I/119 Papringan, Depok, Sleman, some 5 kilometers from th Adisucipto Airport. To appreciate the sounds, you can attend a gamelan reherseal at Kraton pavilions (please check on traditional performances section for exact schedule) or the department of Karawitan at Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) at Jalan Parangtritis km.6, Sewon, Bantul.

Another height of Javanese craftsmanship is, undoubtedly, Keris the traditional dagger. A master of the weapon’s art is the 70 year old Empu Djeno Harumbrodjo, who lives in a tranquil and green village of Gatak, Sumber Agung, Moyudan, in the regency of Sleman, about 15 Km westward of Yogya city. He can make only 2 pieces of classical Keris in a year. His works of arts are really masterpiece, physically and spiritually. Check in any art shop in Malioboro or Prawirotaman if you wish to get Keris of lower qualities, and of course, prices.

Visit Kasongan, seven kilometers south west of Jogja, to see astonishing array of potteries. The village has developed as a centre of earthenware since late 1970’s. Another pottery village is Pundong, approximately 15 kilometers eastern of Kasongan.

Silver work can be found all over the town, but the best area to shop is in Kotagede, a long known as silver works centre 5 km south east of Jogja. Hundred of silversmiths, work on their tiny rooms to spacious workshops of bigger industries, were producing filigree work, a specialty here, and other designs and styles. Several large factories, like Tom’s Silver, HS Silver and MD Silver, offered a guided tour to see the process with no obligation to buy their products. Bantul’s Gabusan Craft market was opened in the end of 2004. The newly built complex 10 kilometers South of Jogja, includes promotional outlets for hundreds of crafts maker from Bantul Regency.

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