I’m sitting bareback on a Sumbanese horse, waist-deep in salty water on a remote Indonesian island. Clearly, I’m taking the Year of the Horse very literally. And why not? This isn’t just any cycle: it’s the Year of the Fire Horse, that rare, once every- 60-years return said to signal movement, independence and forward momentum. And if there’s one place you’re guaranteed to meet a horse at every turn, it’s NIHI Sumba. This is not your typical horse ride, but then this isn’t your typical resort. For generations, Sumbanese horses have been guided into the sea as part of daily life here. Swimming with them is exhilarating – an experience unlike any other.
I’m told that going to the NIHI Sumba is a journey to the “edge of wildness … where untamed luxury meets boundless freedom”. I’ve heard of barefoot luxury but never untamed luxury, and I already like it. The NIHI experience starts at the airport, where someone else checks in your bags, hands you your boarding pass and escorts you to the departure gate. I’m led like a sleepy child – my own two children trailing behind me – happy to have someone else take care of everything so I can finally switch off.
Getting to NIHI Sumba involves a one-hour flight from Denpasar in Bali to Tambolaka in Sumba Island, and there are four flights daily. When you arrive on the island, it’s a 90-minute drive in an open-air Jeep to the resort, with a freshly cut coconut in your hand and baked cakes wrapped in banana leaves to nibble on. Sumba is twice the size of Bali, yet hosts a fraction of its visitors. Unlike Bali, there’s no traffic or overtly touristy towns here. We arrive at NIHI Sumba and are handed a cold towel and a welcome drink made from local fruits as we sit beneath a traditional Sumbanese sky-high roof (the higher the roof, the better: culturally, it represents being closer to God). I look out and all I can see is bright blue ocean and even brighter blue sky. We’re taken down to Nio Beach Club for lunch by the pool, where the turquoise water is offset by pretty yellow-and-white striped umbrellas and daybeds.
There’s a nail station by the pool, as well as a masseuse. I’m told daily 15-minute massages are complimentary. I slip off my shoes and don’t put them back on until we leave. We’re then taken to Mandaka Surf Villa, our home for the next few days. It’s a lush, private, one-bedroom retreat with direct access to the resort’s Boathouse. (It usually sleeps two but an extra bed has been added for one of my daughters.) The accommodation options here are vast: there’s Marangga Estate for larger groups, Mamole Treehouse set high in the forest, and Raja Mandaka: the crown jewel. Each villa is incredibly private. Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio is staying at the resort at the same time as us, with her Australian boyfriend Buck Palmer, and yet I don’t catch a single glimpse of her. Then again, I’m not looking.
I can’t take my eyes off the ocean. Cindy Crawford has also stayed here, along with Jennifer Lawrence (she honeymooned here), Heidi Klum, David and Victoria Beckham… you get the gist. It’s a celebrity haven. There’s a bathtub bigger than my swimming pool (OK, I exaggerate, but it’s huge), and my girls are in and out of the bath and private plunge pool constantly. For the next few days, I leave the decisions to my private butlers. I have two – Doris and Upi – who share updates with me over WhatsApp. Every evening, I receive the following day’s schedule. It’s like having a PA, except I don’t work and exist purely to enjoy a luxury island. The Boathouse is where the surfers live – coming in and out of the ocean, watching the waves closely. It’s also where “Happiest Hour” takes place, as the sun melts into peachy hues each evening. There’s live music – local musicians performing acoustic tracks – and night after night I sip margaritas while watching the waves crashing into Nihiwatu Beach.
Just last year, NIHI became one of only three resorts in Indonesia to receive the prestigious Three-Key distinction in the Michelin Hotel Keys. Dine at NIHI and you’ll understand why. We drink banana and mango lassis by the pool and order the same dessert every day from the beach club: hot cookie dough with vanilla ice-cream. We quickly settle on our two favourite lunches: fish tacos and poke bowls made with freshly caught raw fish. There are Indonesian favourites on the menu, along with Western options. In the evening, dinner is served by candlelight at Ombak Restaurant. In the mornings, I walk along the beach, past the horse stables and yoga pavilion, taking it all in. Another morning, I take my girls to their first yoga class. Afterwards
they’re as zen as you’d expect a tween and a teen to be. There are also waterfalls to visit, ping pong, chess or pickleball to play, mountain biking, jet skiing, surfing, paddleboarding, fishing, chocolate making – it’s endless. But everything at NIHI Sumba comes back to the horses. Equine wellness is woven into everything: yoga with horses, massage or reiki with horses, an “equine connection” experience. They are what make this place so unique.
Once a day, the herd is let out onto the beach – your butler lets you know what time. They walk down gracefully and, on first sighting, I count three foals. When they reach the end of the beach, guests are invited to pat them. Even the foals stand still for a scratch. The staff then signal when it’s time to go home, and they gallop back to the stables in unison – their hooves drumming loudly along the sand. I can’t help but think what a glorious life these horses have on this island. One night, we watch pony racing with local boys riding bareback. These are sandalwood ponies – smaller, sturdier, built for this terrain – believed to descend from Mongolian horses brought to the island centuries ago. In Sumbanese culture, horses play a role in the spiritual life of the island.
A half-day spa safari is a must-do while at NIHI and getting there is an experience in itself. You can drive (15 minutes) or hike. We opt for the two-hour hike (or rather, I tell my kids we’re hiking, and they object, then complain the entire way). When we finally arrive, it feels like stepping into a utopia on the edge of the island. Local workers plant rice in the fields. Retired horses roam and graze. We change out of our muddy clothes and into bathrobes and bamboo slippers. We’re told to choose up to five treatments from the menu and then we’re taken to “the treehouse” for breakfast, perched over a small beach. It’s high tide and it feels like we’re dangling above the waves. We spot turtles and dolphins while eating fruit, pastries and eggs.
I opt for four treatments: the equine connection massage, a hydrating hair “smoothie”, a body exfoliation, and a deep-tissue massage using a buffalo horn to relieve deep-seated tension. On the first treatment, the spa manager, Dina, clarifies that “the horse isn’t massaging you”. As my feet are rubbed, a horse named Bindi is led beside my bed. Her halter is removed and she stands quietly while I stroke her back. The rest of my treatments take place in a private hut overlooking the ocean. Beneath my massage bed, a mirror has been placed so I can look out to sea rather than the floor. It’s little touches like this that make the stay so special. After two and a half hours in the spa, I’m so relaxed that returning to modern life feels impossible. Back at our villa, our laundry magically reappears – clean and pressed – beside our bed each night. It’s like having a wife. Also helping you truly switch off is a kids’ club – NIHI Wildlings – offering full-day programs for children aged four to 12. The resort also houses an on-site sea turtle hatchery, which works to reverse damage to Indonesia’s turtle population. One afternoon, I’m told there’s been a hatching and that the day-old turtles will be released into the ocean at dusk. We gather at the shoreline as a bucket of tiny hatchlings is gently tipped onto the sand. One by one they begin their slow, determined journey, instinctively following the fading golden light towards the water.
In 2021, American entrepreneur and billionaire Chris Burch purchased the resort for his sons: Nick, Henry and Sawyer. He invested $US30 million into the property, which began life as a low-key surf retreat, founded in 1988 by New Yorkers Claude and Petra Graves. Given Burch co-founded Tory Burch (with his then-wife), it’s no surprise to see those touches throughout – from the yellow beach cabanas to the chic bathrobes. But his impact goes far beyond aesthetics. As part of making the resort environmentally sustainable and supporting the local community, Burch established the Sumba Foundation, focusing on education, nutrition, healthcare, water and job training. “We support thousands of people,” he has said, and you can see it as you travel around the island. As James McBride, the CEO of NIHI, explains, Burch’s work has helped reduce malaria by 90 per cent, provide water wells to villages, and support thousands of families. “It’s one of the most joyful things I’ve ever done in my life,” Burch has said, adding that Sumba “is the most beautiful place in the world”.
He’s right. You’ll never forget it. Of course, home time comes far too soon, but I leave grateful to have this island tucked safely in my memory box.
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