After a drop in swell overnight, the Rip Curl Search Pro - Somewhere in Indonesia moved back to the originally planned location, just a couple of bays up the coast from yesterday's dramatic lefthand reefbreak affair. Although essentially slated as the alternate break, the mystery left provided epic, bowly, spitting kegs and dished up probably the best surf the Dream Tour has seen in two years.

It would be a hard act to follow for sure, but Round 2 play got under way today at another world class set up, a legendary left point of immense character and foreboding presence. Boasting a majestic back drop of 300 feet high limestone cliffs, garnished with jagged volcanic rocks at the bottom, the seriously voluminous caves carved into the escarpment complete a scene of rare and exotic beauty. Throw in bowling 6-8 ft thick walls, warping their way down the point into the big blue bay, and you have a scenario the old school, pre-Dream Tour boys must be green with envy over. Oh well fellas, better to have been paid to surf slop than to dig holes like the rest of us, but still . . .

The Point includes such a massive line up that a certain lottery element is involved, but somehow the favourites all got up today, more or less. One of the early heats, featuring Bede Durbidge and a wildcard, Rip Curl's junior prodigy Owen Wright, was an exciting clash, Owen having Bede on the ropes and needing a decent score with a minute or so to go. But Bede is downright gnarly in these sorts of situations, and he calmly threaded a deep pit and followed it up with a series of huge on the face hacks to bank a 9 odd and send the bemused grommet to the airport. This guy is a true smiling assassin. The long period ground swell, though still solid this morning, became inconsistent during the day and increasingly long lulls eventually led contest director, two time world champ Damien Hardman to call the round off after Heat 10. Sets were still sweet at 6ft plus, but the time between drinks was just too long for 30 minute heats.

The boys hit the Point for a post contest session, and Pancho Sullivan, Dane Reynolds and Danny Wills all had some moments on the big ski slope faces. Rob Machado, now residing in this part of Indonesia, delighted the lingering cliff top crowd with a trippy performance on his Tom Wegener shaped pauwlonia wood alai board, a modern version of an ancient Hawaiian design. These boards are flat, finless and carved from solid timber, and from the skittery look of Rob's turns on this far out design, the average mere mortal would have no chance on it. But variety is the spice of life and in the Spice Islands, what could be more appropriate?

.