THE UMA
This is the traditional communal longhouse of the local Mentawai tribes. The Uma, with it's distinctive gable design and seated verandah is not just a 'thing' made of planks and bindings, but as Glen Reeves writes on his site mentawai.org, "it is an institution used to effect specific outcomes in the world, and as a strategy of interaction in the cosmos when things go wrong or life is threatened". We have based the design of our Bilou Villas on the Uma, and maybe this spiritual connection will help our guests to chillax even more!
​
THE BILOU -
Otherwise known as the Mentawai Gibbon, is a primate living exclusively in the Mentawai Islands.
Did you know: The Bilous are monogamous. Except for Basil, that cheating bastard!
​
ABOUT US
Indonesia and the Mentawai Islands run deep in the veins of Chantal and Gideon Malherbe…. Gideon first fell in love with the Ments when he explored the area on a fishing boat during 1996. This lead to him and Chantal building the legendary 120ft ketch Indies Explorer during 1998. Over the years they did more than a 100 Mentawai charters, and followed this up later with a Pacific crossing on their catamaran Shimmi with their 2 boys, Josh and Indie. Chantal then founded All Aboard Surf Travel, which gave further depth to her knowledge of surf travel.
In 2014 the Malherbe family once again cruised through the Ments, this time on their 40ft monohull Reef Knot…which led to their discovery of Bilou Beach. The family has now ‘swallowed the anchor’ as the saying goes, and have settled on Bilou Beach, building 4 self catering villas.