Would you climb a volcano at 2am? How to spend 48 jam-packed hours in Bali

Before we were full time travel bloggers, Jess and I loved planning cheeky weekends away together to get away from the 9 to 5 and find a little adventure. Living in Perth our go to weekend away would have to be Bali.

Being only a few hours north of Perth, we simply jumped on a plane after work on Friday, spent two days jamming as many adventurous activities into our weekend as possible before heading home Sunday night – it’s the perfect mini getaway.

Here’s what we got up to on our latest 48 hour adventure in Bali.

Saturday 9am : White water rafting in the Bali jungle

After landing at Denpasar airport the night before and getting a good night’s sleep in our little villa in Ubud we were ready for the weekend ahead. We grabbed a coffee and some fruit before heading deep into the Bali jungle for a morning of white water rafting.

Once we arrived we were geared up and taken down a million steps through lush jungle towards the river.

We hit the river, jumped in our rafts and headed towards our first set of rapids where our adventure would begin. We splashed down the rapids, hitting mini waterfalls and tight corners before ending in a still area to enjoy our surroundings. 

Saturday 2pm: Snorkelling the reef and dinner on the beach

After our adrenaline-filled morning we headed to the beach for an afternoon in calmer waters. We brought along our snorkelling gear and found a little reef with colourful coral and beautiful fish to gaze at. There are a lot of hidden gems like this along the coast of Bali, just ask a local and they will point you in the right direction to a pretty beach.

After a few hours in the water we headed back to our villa to freshen up before having a sunset dinner on the beach in Jimbaran. The tables are literally on the sand, with fire lanterns and live music adding to the atmosphere. We ordered our food and watched the sun set on an amazing first day in Bali.   

Sunday 2am: Climbing an active volcano

Okay, you may look at the time and think we are crazy but trust us, what comes next is worth the 2am wakeup call!

We had already been awake for 15 minutes anxiously anticipating the challenge ahead when our alarm sounded at 2am. We were about to spend the morning hiking the active volcano, Mt Batur. Rising 1, 717 meters above sea level, Mount Batur is the second largest volcano on the island of Bali.

We got dressed, brushed our teeth, and shot back a cup of coffee before we staggered through the dark streets to meet our taxi driver. Once we arrived at the base we met up with our hiking group, turned our flashlights on and the climb began.

After a couple of hours, pulling ourselves up volcanic rock, we finally made it to the top – we had never felt such a sense of accomplishment.

We sat there, hot chocolate in hand, enjoying the sun rising above Indonesia. An hour or so passed before we made our way back down the volcano (which is much easier than going up, trust us).

Sunday 2pm: Tasting the world’s most expensive coffee

To get through the flight back to Australia we decided to end our time visiting a coffee plantation overlooking some beautiful rice terraces. When we arrived our guide took us through the plantation sharing with us the types of coffees and spices they grew.

Our ears pricked up when we heard him say “this coffee here is one of the most expensive in the world”.

This type of coffee, known as Kupi Luwak, is produced by civet cats, yes you read that right – coffee produced by a cat!

The Civets eat the coffee beans allowing it to ferment in their stomach before expelling the seed through their faeces. Sounds enticing doesn’t it? The beans are then cleaned before being roasted, grounded, and brewed into coffee as per usual. The guide claimed that the Civet cat coffee is smoother and mellower than your standard ‘cuppa joe’ due to the enzymes produced in the Civets stomach.

We soon found out that back home this coffee goes for around $30 for a cup, but here in Bali we were able to sample this peculiar coffee for 50,000 Rupiah, around $5 Australian. Quite an odd way to end our time in Bali, but it was an adventure nonetheless.

And if you were wondering, our guide was right - the coffee was some of the best we had ever tasted!

Things you should know:

• You no longer need to worry about having American dollars in your wallet for your VOA (Visa On Arrival). This can easily be paid in Australian dollars. Last time we checked it was $35US (exchange rate pending) but we recommend looking at the Indonesian immigration website for up to date information.
• You are only gone for a weekend so just pack light, we recommend a backpack only as your luggage - trust us we did it can be done.
• Don't drink or brush your teeth with the local tap water, only use bottled water with seals intact.
• It is very common to "haggle" or bring down prices in Bali. The locals are very used to negotiating prices whether for tours or clothing items.

Stephen Parry travels the world fulltime with his fiancé Jess Valentine, sharing their adventures on their blog Flying The Nest as they go. In 2015 Stephen won Cover-More's Ultimate Traveller video competition, check out his video here.

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The views, opinions and positions expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and are meant as travel inspiration only. They do not reflect the opinions of Cover-More Insurance. You should always read the PDS available from your travel insurance provider to understand the limits, exclusions and conditions of your policy and to ensure any activities you undertake are covered by your policy.