Dunk Island

LAST VISITED JULY 2016

DUNK ISLAND is a compact island abt 4km off the mainland coast opposite WONGALING BEACH/SOUTH MISSION which are a part of the MISSION BEACH area in tropical north Queensland.

Dunk is pretty compact at abt 6X2km, The southern 40% is hard to access without a boat. Abt 70% is hilly/mountainous and covered with rainforest. Virtually all of this is national park. A 1x2km tiangular section in the north-west is flat and has been cleared for the resort, airstrip, a farm and the campground.

You are looking only a few degrees west of due north in this image.

DUNK is 125 km in a direct line from Cairns, 160 from Townsville and 1330 from Brisbane. By road WONGALING is - 160/230/1370km respectively.

Dunk is not part of the GREAT BARRIER REEF which can be seen further offshore. It is a continental island - a former higher area isolated by sea level increase.

THE BEACHES

DUNK has some nice beaches, most in the north-WEST of the island close to the resort, campground and airstrip. The east coast at left is largely beachless as is much of the southern peninsula on both sides.The section between PALLON and COCONUT beaches is largely mangroves.

You are looking south-south-east in this image so that those nice north-west beaches are at the BOTTOM RIGHT of the image.

BEST BEACH?
I dunno what is the best beach: I reckon this would vary depending on personal wishes:

BEST LOOKING 

BRAMMO BEACH.

BRAMM0 is the resort beach, stretching 800m from the the foot of the hinglands to the pier. Past the pier it becomes the northern shore of THE SPIT.

BRAMMO from in front of the camp area looking towards MT. KOOTALOO. The resort is out of frame right.

Most of the sand is not coarse and this beach is sheltered from the prevailing south easterly trade winds. Latter makes Brammo Bay a popular overnight mooring for cruising yachts.

Looking west - note some rock and stone exposed in area close to camera low tide - ditto down in front of the camping area just this side of the pier. Better mid beach.

THE SPIT
- is arguably just as attractive as BRAMMO.

THE SPIT from the MT KOOTALOO viewpoint.

Northern side of the spit a continuation of BRAMMO BEACH - southern side of PALLON BEACH. When prevailing south-easterly trade winds get blustery the lack of protective landscape or vegetation means it can get a bit blustery on the sand (this can actually be a blessing on hot days) although the water on the northern side tends to be smooth. Not so the southern side, where the south-easterlies can chop up water.
During my visit some kite surfers took advantage of this exposure - made THE SPIT their base.

End of THE SPIT a great place to check sundown over the mainland.


MOST POPULAR 
No doubt BRAMMO is most popular when the resort is open, but if daytrippers are the only visitors it seems MUGGY MUGGY attracts more. Maybe because it's accessed is by a short and pleasant rainforest track from the east end of Brammo - and that water-taxi handouts mention 
good snorkeling (um too shallow and coral bleached when I visited).

MUGGY MUGGY must get the award for MOST TROPICAL too. Those palms in back of beach don't hurt - provided some nice shade.
Plenty of big pebbles in the foreground but there is no shortage of finer sand on MUGGY MUGGY.
Pic a bit dull, shot on an overcast day threatening to rain.


MOST ISOLATED (of those not needing a boat for access)

COCONUT

This 1km long beach on the central west coast abt 45 mins walk from the resort/campground is broken in many parts by rock outcrops and fallen trees. It looks a bit like an extended MUGGY MUGGY. It faces south so is not as well sheltered from prevailing wind. But a pretty good spot fer people wanting to get away from it all.

Southern parts of COCONUT are a bit more open.  Note even though it is a west coast beach, you aren't going to get any cool sunsets because its orientation is more to the south. At least not mid year when the sun's trajectory is more to the north - this is about 2 hours before sunset but already the beach is in shadow.

LEAST ATTRACTIVE

PALLON BEACH

PALLON is another west coast beach closer the resort than COCONUT which runs over 1km from just south of the airstrip to  the camp area/start of the Spit region. Long, featureless, tends to be parallel to the south-easterly trades so not all that sheltered. Some exposed rock at lower tide times in southern sections - better up near the campground.

THE TREKS

DUNK is a great trekking island. Those hills and rainforests make for some attractive walking on a variety of tracks:

SHORT FLAT AND EASY
- THE MUGGY MUGGY TRACK

This goes from the eastern end of BRAMMO beach – flat, thru nice rainforest, surface not tricky. 540m – 10mins one way. You are looking due East above. I tilted this Google Earth image to bring out the highlands behind, but it doesn't work all that well.

You get the proper rainforest canopy affect along here. Several spots where you can pop out onto the rocks and check BRAMMO BAY.

MODERATE DISTANCE/SLOPES/EFFORT - NICE VIEWS

- MOUNT KOOTALOO TRACK

This starts from the east at the same point as the MUGGY MUGGY track and climbs to the island’s highest point - 271m/888ft.  Track distance is 2km,- 40 mins. Steady uphill (no flat sections) , slopes moderate to fairly steep but never reaches this 70yo geezer’s rating of “very steep”, let alone “heartbreaker” or “don’t send flowers”. 

The track passes thru similar vegetation to the MUGGY MUGGY track. Surface is pretty good with a distinct lack of roots, loose rock. I can't remember any stairs or even single step-ups. This track was once an access route to a WW2 radar station.

Disappointingly there are only a few glimpses of the panorama until the summit. And nowhere including the summit do you get a view eastwards.

Outlook at the top is pretty good. This is the view due west....

....this to the south-west over LUBBER BAY. Biggest of the nearby islands is BEDARRA ISLAND - another resort island (with an operating resort).

This is such an improvement - when I first came up here over 10 years ago all I could see were the trees around the summit. Somebody, either THE RESORT or QUEENSLAND NATIONAL PARKS, has done a lot of work.

Viewpoint board explains what you are looking at and how landscape was shaped.Also info boards up here about the old radar station and a bit of left over machinery. Click-expand for details.

LONG DISTANCE

- THE ISLAND CIRCUIT TRACK

This is a big one - the full loop is just over 9km - say 3-3.5 hours.

The first section is the uphill part of the VIEWPOINT TRACK - however soon after you begin descending on the southern part of the summit circle, take the well marked track off to the left towards the south-central part of the island. This descends thru PALM VALLEY to hit the west coast at COCONUT BEACH. It turns west just behind the beach, does another turn and starts heading back towards the north behind the mangroves and along PALLON BEACH. Crossing THE SPIT near the pier, it does a last leg along BRAMMO BAY. 

DON'T BE TEMPTED TO SHORTCUT - the airstrip and resort are private property and are patrolled.

SLOPES - the downhill section to COCONUT BEACH has a lot more distance to lose height compared to the first section up to the viewpoint and so slopes mainly vary between gentle and moderate. Maybe a few short stretches of fairly steep. Doesn't matter all that much on account you are going downhill if you do a clockwise island circuit.

At the south west corner of the walk (the western end of COCONUT BEACH) there is a very short stretch reaching properly steep status with a few quick stairways. Behind the mangroves and along the beaches is flat.

SURFACE - the downhill section is pretty good underfoot. There seemed to be more vegetation detritus underfoot than the previous uphill section. Towards the bottom were a few roots and these became more common in the section behind COCONUT. Ditto stones etc. But not a difficult section underfoot. The section behind the mangroves is very good. PALLON BEACH can get a bit skinny at full tide and soft sand at the top of the beach made walking a bit difficult. A huge fallen tree forced a wading detour out into the water. THE SPIT and BRAMMO BEACH are easy.

Start of the descent - slope and surface not too challenging, rainforest nice.

PALM VALLEY - I got the impression the area is still recovering from TROPICAL CYCLONE YASI - it was nowhere near as lush and dense as when I first visited.


THE RESORT
DUNK ISLAND RESORT has been closed since being cleaned up by TROPICAL CYCLONE YASI in Feb 2011. That's a hell of a long time out of action. Rebuilding is going on at a pretty gradual rate. There seem to be a few rebuilt areas that are operational - apparently these are for the use of the owners' relatives and friends. The resort is closed to the general public.

Not much has been done to this section of the resort since Yasi. About 70% of other buildings seemed similar in July '16.

This small section behind the eastern end of the beach seemed to have been refurbished - a few lights showing at night.

The reception pavilion looked as new too, as did the pool. I read the pool was completely covered with sand washed in from the beach by the cyclone's tidal surge.


THE CAMP GROUND
DUNK's nice little camping area is NOT closed - and like my previous visit this is where I stayed.

The small campground is nicely positioned close to the spit and just off the island's pier. I found my (1st) spot and was setting up 5 minutes off the water taxi.
There are 8 small tent sites immediately behind the beaches and one central  group site. All are connected by concrete paths thru the bush.
The DAYTRIPPERS' AREA is immediately adjacent and its facilities are used by the campers too. So we have a bbq area, picnic tables and an amenities block with HOT SHOWERS. 
Hey, this cost me $6.50 a night. Contrasr -FITZROY ISLAND camping cost $35 and had cold showers.
DUNK campground is owned by QUEENSLAND NATIONAL PARKS and you need a permit - but this is dead easy to get. Actual booking seems to be handled by an online branch of the RESORT and was straightforward. It looked like the resort was handling cleaning too. 
More info -  https://www.dunk-island.com/index.php/camping

My first campsite - #6. Each site had its own clearing in the bush, beach access and a picnic table. The booking process involves choosing your campsite - a map and photos of each are shown. I liked the look of this one behind  PALLON BEACH, plus it was quite close to the amenities block. #6 had room for at least 3 tents my size without crowding. btw if you like the idea of a secluded site cut out of the bush, #7 would be my pick.

Dinner that night was pretty basic. The SUNSET CAFE was closed and as a fly/bus traveler I haven't the room to bring proper coolers and cooking stuff to take advantage of the free gas bbqs in the daytrip area.

SUNSET CAFE is adjacent to the DAYTRIPPER/CAMP areas - was closed both days I visited. The second - a Friday - was understandable with bad weather and the water taxi not running. The first, a real nice Thursday with the water taxi booked out, was contrary to the website which says it would be open Thurs thru Sundays plus public and school holidays. The latter had recently finished - maybe the owner was bushed from the action.
No big deal with me - although I would have liked something hot to eat and a nice cold beer at the end of the day.

The nearby amenities block. As said, hot showers. Downside - only seemed to be serviced every 3rd day or so: daytripper use had messed it up a bit and used all the toilet paper (fortunately I carry my own). No laundry facilities - I used the wash basins and my own multi-fit plug: always carry some wash powder.

Free bbq facility - not too bad and used by boaties who had come ashore for dinner off their yachts and cruisers moored in BRAMMO BAY. Smart move - have you ever tried to cook in a small boat galley?
3 or 4 picnic tables nearby - hidden by the dark.

THE WEATHER CHANGES
My first day on DUNK was real nice - sunny, warm and moderate south-easterly trade winds.
But around 3am next morning it did a turn for the worse - a LOW PRESSURE TROUGH hit, turning winds to the south west and intensifying them greatly. For the next 3 hours til sun-up my tent rocked and rolled, threatening to take off for OAHU.
So first light I switched to the sheltered lee side of the camp area.

I had my pick of all 4 sites on the BRAMMO BEACH side (the 2 campers there had packed up and left quite early). This is #3,  a nice site a bit further from the amenities block but with even closer beach access and room for about half a dozen tents my size.

This second camp site was still a bit blowy but not bad – until as darkness fell it started to RAIN PRETTY HARD and got REAL COLD. 

I don't like reading in a cramped humid tent. No lights or shelter elsewhere in the camp area, the daytrip tables had no lights or shelter, the bbq set up had okay lights, limited shelter but a million big green ants running around where I wanted to sit and the amenities block was a bit smelly for more than a few minutes stay. So I turned in around 7.30PM – but being a geezer and only needing 3-4 hours zzz a night I was awake by 11PM. That was one loooong, cold, wet (condensation) night. 

Next morning I packed up the wet tent (I HATE THAT!) and caught the first boat off the island – way earlier than originally planned.

Breakfast before the boat. Check the standing water. At least the bbq facility had shelter from the rain. Check those puddles.

Heading for the mainland - if you click-expand you will see the rain on the windscreen.
I wrote a trip report for TRIP ADVISOR titled "WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH ---- VAMOOSE". 

OK, I wimped out. But I have to say I enjoyed my short stay, and the bad weather has made it more memorable. 
One thing's for sure - DUNK is a very nice island.



GETTING THERE

I went across to Dunk with MISSION BEACH DUNK ISLAND WATER TAXI (07-4068 8310) which has an office opposite this launch site on WONGALING BEACH. 
The trip didn't take much more than 10 minutes and was fairly smooth despite the choppy seas. The driver gave a good safety spiel and had useful information about the island. The office distributes a good map which includes the walking tracks.
The office was well informed - told me that the approaching low pressure trough with its strong winds would whip up appreciable surf on the above beach, making beach launches impossible - thereby cancelling my pickup from the island. But they arranged for an alternative outfit which must run each day due to contracts with the island resorts to bring me back.
DUNK WATER TAXI also has an informative website with lots of good island info.
Cost July 2016 $35aud return for daytrippers - $50 for campers.
One complaint - they don't have a courtesy bus for people without cars. Luckily I was staying in a backpackers' only 15 min's walk up the road.

I came back from DUNK with MISSION BEACH CHARTERS (07-4068 7009) which launches out of CLUMP POINT HARBOUR further north. Distance to Dunk is about 11km - twice that from WONGALING BEACH - but only took abt 15 mins or so. I'm thinking this outfit may suite movement impaired people more - it's kinda tricky hopping onto a beach-launched boat even in fairly calm conditions.
This outfit's boat is smaller but seems designed for rough conditions and rode the relatively roough seas on the way back well. And DRY, thanks to a very good canopy.
Bec in the office was great. She rang me on Dunk and told me exactly when I would be picked up and then rang my WONGALING backpackers' to arrange for them to send their courtesy van the 10km or so to transfer me on arrival at Clump Point. They were a little late so she rang me again an hour later to ensure I had been picked up.
This outfit can do a lot more than transfer you to DUNK. Check the website.

 

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IF YOU SEE MISTAKES OR HAVE EXTRA INFO, PLEASE POST IT BELOW. BUT IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABT DUNK, PLEASE ASK IT IN THE FORUM WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED VIA THE INDEX. I CHECK THE FORUM MOST DAYS BUT DON'T REVISIT THESE INDIVIDUAL PLACE PAGES ALL THAT OFTEN.

Jatiluwhih Rice Terraces

visited June 2016

Outlook from one of the several roadside warungs (cafe/restaurants) in the small village of Jatiluwih.

Pre-sunrise from our accommodation. Agung, Bali's highest mountain, is the higher peak.

Although JATILUWIH is supposed to be THE top rice growing area for visitors I'm not too sure.
I thought the terraces were more spectacular around west Bali's BELIMBING, slightly easier to access on arrival and quicker to reach from Kuta at TEGALLALANG a bit further east, the countryside maybe a bit nicer to walk thru at east Bali's SIDEMAN - and of course if you want to walk an attractive rice growing area with quick access from Kuta and a heap of nearby accommodation, the UBUD RICE FIELDS do the job real well- although they can't match the others terrace-wise.
But yeah, JATILUWIH is a pretty good combo of these other places - the terraces look pretty good, they are very easy to access from the village, the whole area is not excessively far from Kuta and the busy south, and the general countryside is attractive. And certainly if walking tracks thru such countryside is your thing, it has more and longer of these than the other places.

Jatiluwih is slightly less than 60 km from the airport - subtract a few for Kuta. The trip should take around 2.25 hours unless very late at night or early am.

Jatiluwih's surrounding rice are stretches in a narrow V south of the village, roughly following several parallel ridge/gully lines. The east, west and south place markers indicate the directional extent of the walking tracks. It's hard to put a linear scale on images with uneven relief - it is 3km in a direct line between the 2 place-markers at "village" and "south.

The village is a tiny gem - here is the eastern section from our accommodation's restaurant. There's a whole bunch of warungs/cafes overlooking the rice fields along this section. The best IMHO is BILLY'S TERRACE CAFE right at the top where the road does a sharp right.

More of the same a little further up the road. These are good images to click-expand.

Much the same area from the top of one of the ridges in the rice fields. There is a rather deep gully between this and the village.

Jatiluwih village from Google Earth. The touristy section pictured above is between the two placemarkers. I ventured up around the corner - we have the typical Balinese ribbon village with a few very short streets off to the side. Straight line distance between the 2 place markers is 375m.

Village beyond corner. Not touristy at all. No doubt you could get a very cheap meal but our accommodation TERAS SUBAK and other places in the touristy zone could do that. But that area had few stores - there were quiet a lot of small places along the above strip if you needed the basics.


OUR ACCOMMODATION

TERAS SUBAK was one of the first places reached entering the village from the eastern side. The road in shot was quite busy during the day with lots of day-tripper cars and buses arriving. After dark things were pretty quiet until about 0530 when workers began congregating across the road from the camera prior to setting off into the adjacent fields - see below.

TERAS SUBAK (the low place associated with the 2 white vehicles - the higher roof is a rather flash restaurant popular with day trip coach groups) from the rice fields. The peak behind is GUNUNG BATUKARU, Bali's second highest peak at 2276m. It has Bali's biggest crater (shaded area at top) but this is open to the south west side, so there is no lake like nearby BATUR. Bakukari is actually the western most of the string of volcanoes which make up Bali's central vocanic area.


Be aware when booking accommodation that a lot of places giving a JATILUWIH location are actually several km outside town - often in neighbouring villages.
TERAS SUBAK was the least expensive place we could find right in town at $aud29 (about $us21 at the time) with breakfast - as a matter of fact it was one of the better value joints in the whole area.
Of course "better value" implies it was an okay place - and indeed it was. One of the better upcountry joints I've stayed at over the years.

Our room (one of 4) was spacious, had plenty of natural light and okay lighting at night. No aircon, but a fan was fine - places this high don't get real warm. You can see the clothes storage and sink at back - the bathroom was behind the wall in left of image - not too pokey with good quick hot water.
The king size bed had a soft mattress. I prefer something fairly firm but I must admit this one was deliciously comfy. The general condition of the room was a bit rough around the edges, but well short of the need to refurbish.
Outside was a nice patio - a good place to sit and watch the passing parade on the main street. Not to mention the rice fields and sunrise.
The free wifi was patchy - mainly because the staff kept forgetting to turn the modem on each morning.

Outlook from our patio - people walking in the fields mid shot (better seen if you click-expand) are on the main walking track which starts about 30m east of TERAS SUBAK.

TERAS SUBAK roadside restaurant. Views here not as good as up the street (tip - the joint closest to the corner [BILLY'S TERRACE CAFE]was best in this regard) but place attracted a reasonable number of passing day trippers and was popular with locals. The latter may have been because prices were typical Bali budget restaurant in level - very good value: it's hard to get a cap cay for 20k (abt $us1.50) in touristy areas these days. The inclusive breakfast was basic - a choice of omelette, toast or pancake plus tea/coffee but big eaters can find plenty of extra stuff on the pay menu. The food itself wasn't too bad at all, the beer cold and the service pretty good.

WALKS

Some of the rice field walks (coloured routes - others are roads and lanes) around JATILUWIH. These signs were placed at the start and finish of each route and also at strategic spots along the way.

THE SHORT WALK
This is a popular one, because not only does it NOT take up a big chunk of a day-tripper's time (often these dudes have other up-country destinations on their dance card) but also gives a very good exposure to rice growing country - it's all there: the terraces, irrigation and drainage ditches, threshing areas, other produce growing areas, nearby field workers and oxen etc.

Short walk in yellow - about 650m long/say 25mins with stops. Interestingly, it doesn't seem to be on the map-board one image above this. Nor was it on the hiking map our accommodation gave us. Maybe it is a very recent addition to the area's treks - done to provide day-trippers with a nice short informative walk. Other walks are a bit time-consuming.
My "start" and "finish" points are of course interchangeable - I did them that way because most walkers seemed to be doing the same. I reckon the day-trip guides might like it because their patrons have an excellent elevated (above the road) warung right opposite the finish (BILLY'S TERRACE CAFE). Views are definitely better in this higher southern part of town. However if you are very unfit you will find the opposite direction easier - there is the warung/restaurant of TERAS SUBAK virtually across the road from the finish and an elevated flasher place behind. Note TERAS SUBAK views not as good but food/drink prices a steal.

The SHORT WALK starts across the main road 30m east of TERAS SUBAK. This path along the top of one of the ridges is also part of the LONG WALK. 
A short distance behind camera a sign directs SHORT WALK trekkers hard to their right - where the track quickly starts to drop into the gully which parallels the above ridge.

This is shot from towards gully bottom looking back up the track - slope not too steep if you decide to walk the route in the opposite direction.

At the bottom of the slope you turn hard left and begin to move along a creek/irrigation ditch for abt 300m. This is real nice country: views of rice terraces, other produce areas, some uncleared patches of bush and bamboo, water buffalo in pens, field workers up close - yada.

After following the gully bottom for several hundred meters the sign leaves no doubt where you need to do a hard right to begin the climb back up to the village.

This climb has the steepest gradient and most steps of any walk in the area. However you are climbing for only 200 meters max and so it will not tax people of reasonable fitness. 
If unfit, it may be better to start here and descend this slope - as said, the climb out of the gully at the other side is a fair bit easier.

The view immediately after regaining the main road right at the tight corner about 450m up the street from the starting point which is opposite the last building top-center of image.

Outlook walking back down the main road is not bad either. The track from the gully comes up roughly where that structure is top right.



THE LONG WALK

Long is the correct term - this one goes for abt 7.5km and took me the best part of 2.5hours (although I ambled along and had plenty of stops). It starts at exactly the same point and finishes only 30m further south than the SHORT WALK .
No linear scale on this image - straight line distance between "start" and "shortcut" place-markers is 2.6km

Starting point once again 30m east of TERAS SUBAK, These panorama images click-expand nicely.

Hands off message to tourists.

Go past the signed-posted right turn for the SHORT TRACK - a short distance further along the ridge the path does a dropping left turn, quickly followed by a right. Note "TRACKING ROUTE"sign keeping walkers on the straight and narrrow. Well not so narrow - most of this walk was on similar width "lanes" - locals use these to motorcycle around and transfer the harvest and equipment on compact 4 wheel things. Very easy underfoot of course - no rocks, roots, steps etc.
The few hundred meters along this section is the steepest of the 7.5km (fits my category of FAIRLY STEEP, which is under my STEEP, VERY STEEP, HEARTBREAKER categories - not to mention DON'T SEND FLOWERS). I also did it the other direction and can say it would force unfit people to have a rest.

Cool local

Nice

About 15 minutes into the walk you hit this intersection. Bear left. The right hand track is a diversion which I deal with down page.
Image a bit blurry - I shot this on the move.

About 35mins into the walk the track descends into a wooded area, does a right and left and in another 10min reaches this temple area (abt 2.2km into the treck).  This is the PURA LUHUR BESIKALUNG. It looks to be a pretty imposing structure, but was closed to public entry to 2 times I passed by. Good news is that there is a fairly modern bathroom block a short distance to the left of pic.

Past the temple the track parallels a small river. Vegetation is much the same as above - not too much rice growing down here, but certainly some vegetable plots and quite a few fruit trees incl citrus and banana. Also some good bamboo patches. After about 10 minutes you reach this bridge - the path on the other side leads to the lower section of a fairly big village called BABAHAN - the LONG TRACK needs you to keep going this side to the right of image. Note far right of image the path-side TRACKING ROUTES sign as shown up page - complete with "YOU ARE HERE" arrow. The locals have gone to a lot of effort to make these walks user-friendly.

Past the bridge the track continues to follow the river. Scenery and activities are similar, in addition to which are several chicken hatcheries and a piggery. 
Less than 10 minutes from the bridge you will come to an intersection - the track leading uphill to the right is a SHORTCUT which cuts about 2km off the walk. I found this short section fitted my STEEP category - a real good work-out. Once again less fit people may not be whelmed.
If you don't want to shortcut and to do the full walk, continue alongside the river (I think the track may veer left a bit at the intersection). This continues for another km or so where another sign instructs you to turn hard right, where you begin the slow gradual climb back to JATILUWIH village. 
Slightly less than a km on from the turning point you will reach the intersection where the SHORTCUT rejoins. In hindsight I have to say the SHORTCUT makes sense - there is not too much to see on the longer almost 2km loop. I did it because I could say I had done all the sign-posted walks**
**that's not to say that keen trekkers cannot do more - these tracks have branches and extensions which lead to local roads and you can access many neighbouring villages and attractions like temples if you are real keen. TERAS SUBAK'S map has a reverse side which shows many of these in all directions around JATILUWIH - of course a rental moped or your own vehicle would make this much easier.

The return track follows a ridge all the way to JATILUWIH. Slopes mainly gentle to moderate - maybe one short section reaching the lower part of FAIRLY STEEP. Note the workers center-left of image.

Finally back to the haripin area of JATILUWIH. That's the nicely positioned BILLY'S TERRACE CAFE at right. I resisted a visit - I scuttled down to TERAS SUBAK near the last roof in image on account Lady Tezza would want reassurance I hadn't been trampled by a water buffalo in my near 3 hour gallop thru the boon docks. Besides, the beer at TERAS SUBAK was likely to be colder than BILLY'S on account of fewer customers.


THE DIVERSION

Seen in white above, this is not really a short cut of the LONG WALK on account it is roughly the same distance at 1300m (and in fact takes a bit longer because the last 25/30% narrows to a bush track). But okay, it was on the trekking maps and so I had to check it out - pleasant enough, it heads along a parallel ridge above the main track, rejoining just short of the temple.
Interestingly, TERAS SUBAK's map showed a variation - a short track leading off from roughly the "narrows" place-marker and heading left towards the return part of the blue LONG TRACK which terminates at "finish". I couldn't see any evidence of the cross track but it was dead easy to miss these narrower paths if un-signposted. And not being shown on the official map boards, perhaps the locals thought it didn't warrant a sign post. 

Here's the DIVERSION heading off to the right from the main LONG TRACK about 15 mins from the start near TERAS SUBAK. The diverstin branch is not as wide or paved as well as the main track, but is still used for agricultural purposes and so is pretty good - at least for the first 70% or so.

Some real nice countryside along here.

After about 800m the agricultural laneway comes to a dead end. At first it's hard to see this narrow continuation of the route - it dives down the side of the ridge and into an area of bush and non-rice farming.
Note the flattened rice in the pic - there were lots of instances where fairly large sections of a rice field had been smacked down. Locals told me a recent storm with very strong winds was the cause.

The route becomes a real narrow track thru mixed farmland and bush. After a few minutes it crosses this stream, after which it begins a short climb to....

....emerge thru the gap at right onto the main track. I walked past this point (slightly north of the temple) twice previously and missed the side track completely. In retrospect, the usual tracks diagram at far left indicates where to divert if you want to do my DIVERSION walk in reverse.
From this intersection you can either turn left towards the camera and go back to the village at the TERAS SUBAK end (abt 2km) or turn right and complete the LONG WALK - back to the hairpin area of the village is abt 3.5km via the SHORTCUT or 5.5km via the full route.

THE EAST TRACK
This is the only track on the official tracks board that doesn't start in town. Having done it I can report that it doesn't really show anything new, so if you are a bit bushed maybe this is the one to give a miss. On the other hand if like me you have to do all the tracks and like to see the full area, it is not wasted time.
In a way it is a bit like the DIVERSION - it is another that ends with a haul along a very narrow path and a final climb up to join the LONG WALK track.

To reach the start you need to walk along the main road north-east of JATILUWIH for abt 700m from the TERAS SUBAK end of town. This is thru pleasant countryside although the road (it's not a major arterial route) is quite busy. 

Total distance from "start" to "warung" is about 1400m. Downhill except the last 150m or so - slopes gentle to moderate.
The start of the track is well sign-posted. The first few hundred meters similar in appearance to the LONG WALK track. About 250m in you turn hard right and head downhill past a walled religious shrine or similar. Not far past this the track turns left again and continues downhill thru some nice rice growing country. After about 400m the wider track ends...but similar to the DIVERSION, there is a much narrower path which continues a short distance to where it reaches a creek and drainage ditch. Here you should turn left and continue to walk along the concrete top of the drainage ditch. After about 300m......

....you will see the building top right. I recognized this as the only open warung on the LONG WALK track. Near those bushes ahead I found a path which led uphill (I think it may have started with a few steps) just past the warung on this side, where you can turn left and quickly reach the LONG WALK track. 
It's about 1km back to the TERAS SUBAK part of the village on the LONG WALK track.


GETTING THEREEvery driver in the south touting for a fare can take you up here. It is such a popular day trip many can show you pix of the area. Plenty of tour companies run vans and coaches to the area. As said before, many have JATILUWIH as part of a multi-destination tour. It's kinda a natural for people also wanting to see the LAKE BRATAN/BEDEGUL region not too far to the north-east.

Our driver from Sanur approaching the toll booth about 3km short of JATILUWIH. Cost is 45k + 5k for parking. Keep your ticket - there are similar booths at the start of walks: cost 20k but when we showed our ticket the dude waved us past. I guess van and coach passengers don't get an individual ticket at the initial toll booth.

We paid 400k for the trip up from Sanur. I thought this a bit high but at the time I was too lazy to go get competitive quotes. We arranged for the same driver to come up at the end of our stay and transfer us back down south. I have found up-country drivers use the "captive market" and less competition things to charge outrageous prices.
Trip took 2h 10mins - it's not very far but the traffic for 70% of the trip is horrendous. Btw - the last 8km or so leaves the main arterial route and takes a side road to JATILUWIH. This is badly broken up and very narrow in parts, esp. through villages. I don't know how those tourist coach drivers do it. 
From Kuta time taken should be about the same and prices similar (although if I had the time, I'm sure I could get it down to 300k each way).