Sunday, June 2, 2024

Sightseeing and Easy Birding Tour in Sorong City

For tourists who only have 1 or 2 days in Sorong city of Southwest Papua Province, I offer an easy sightseeing and birding tour for them. The trip usually starts very early in the morning at 06:00. We will meet you at the hotel and then go by car to the outskirts of Sorong city. There is forest area that mostly consists of mangroves. There, we will get off the car and walk along the boardwalk or roadside to watch Rainbow Bee-eater, White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Oriental Dollarbird, Willie Wagtail, Orange-fronted Fruit Dove, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Orange-breasted Fig Parrot, Common Sandpiper, Striated Heron, and etc.

birding in Sorong
One of the birdwatching sites in Sorong
We may also see such birds as Spotted Dove, and Scaly-breasted Munia. These birds are not native of New Guinea. They are introduced species. Perhaps they blonged to city dwellers of Sorong which have escaped from cages. 

Binoculars

Tour participants need to bring a good pair of binoculars in order to watch birds well. In general, birdwatchers use the 8×42, and 10× 42 or even 10×50. Sometimes avid birders bring camera with telephoto lens or spotting scope. However, it is not a must. Bringing binoculars during birdwatching tour greatly enhances the birding experience. Famous brands such as Nikon Monarch, Swarovski, Leica and Vortex are quite expensive but they will give lifetime satisfactions to their owners. 

birds in Mangrove forest
Brown-backed Honeyeater, Sahul Sunbird, Shining Flycatcher

When we walk through the mangrove forest, do not forget to apply anti insect lotion on your skin. 

After 09:00, the activity of birds is usually low. We could leave the forest and continue our tour to traditional market to see products and services that are being traded by local people. 

We will continue our trip to Buddhist Temple that is located on a hill overlooking the main harbor of Sorong.

We will also visit Cathedral Church of Christ the King whose design was inspired by the "nest" structure of Vogelkop Bowerbird. 

We will return to your hotel to allow you to have lunch and rest. 

At 15:00, we will pick you up again and then continue our trip to the outskirt of Sorong city where we will do walk a long a boardwalk and do birding to find Yellow-faced Myna, Brown Oriole, Black Sunbird, Orange-bellied Fruit Dove, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, White-throated Needletail and etc. 

At around 17:30, we will return to Sorong city and bring you back to your hotel. 

If tour participants still need more days of birding tour at the outskirt of Sorong city, it could be organized in a customized program.

Booking

For information on the cost, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. 

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BIRDWATCHING AND WALKING TOUR IN MINAHASA HIGHLAND

The highland of Minahasa is a beautiful destination for tourists who love nature. As a tourist guide, I offer tour program for visitors are interested in seeing the mountainous landscape of Minahasa highland and at the same time watching various species of tropical birds. 

The duration for the tour is between 4 days to 1 week depending on the availability of time that participants have and the number of places which they want to visit. 

birds in Sonder of Minahasa regency
Purple Heron, Zebra Dove, White-eyed Drongo, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Brown-throated Sunbird, Collared Kingfisher

On Day 1, we will begin our tour by meeting you at Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado City and then organize your transfer by car to Tomohon town. After checking into the hotel, you could take a rest for around 2 hours to restore your energy from a long flight. We will bring you to Pine forest a little outside of Tomohon where you could enjoy walking around while watching such birds as Sunda Teal, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Gray-rumped Treeswift, Barn Swallow, White-nest Swiftlet, Pale Blue Monarch, and etc. We will have lunch and then continue our birding tour to the slope of Tounelet village in District Town of Sonder where we could watch Sahul Sunbird, Chestnut Munia, Sooty-headed Bulbul, Scaly-breasted Munia, Slender-billed Crow, and Cattle Egret, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, etc. At around 18:00, we will return to your hotel where you could enjoy dinner and take a rest.

Kengkang Waterfall, butterfly, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Flowers of Tincep Village, Kengkang waterfall
Waterfall, Flowers in Tincep, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Yellow Zinnia and a butterfly, Sahul Sunbird (female)

The next morning (Day 2) we will do morning walk from hill forest of Sonder. Breakfast box will be arranged with the hotel. We will walk along the road down to Sonder town to watch such birds as Crimson Sunbird, Brown-throated Sunbird, Black-faced Munia, Sulawesi Cuckoo Dove, White-faced Cuckoo Dove, Sulawesi Hanging Parrot, Mountain White-eye, Zebra Dove, Grey-cheeked Green Pigeon, Black-naped Oriole, White-eyed Drongo, Sulawesi Drongo, Collared Kingfisher, Finch-billed Myna, Black Sunbird, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, and a lot more. 

birdwatching phography in Sonder of Minahasa
Sulawesi Cuckoo Dove (Macropygia albicapilla)

There are a lot of butterflies in the highland of Minahasa. Some of them are Blanchard's Tree Nymph, Blanchards Wood Nymph, Lime Swallowtail, Gigon Swallowtail, Great Eggfly or Blue Moon Butterfly, and etc.

Papilio gigon, Papilio demoleus, Hypolimnas bolina
Some butterflies in Sonder of Minahasa

We will have do birding walk in the terraces of paddy field to look for Purple Heron, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Chestnut Munia, White-breasted Woodswallow, Rock Pigeon, Eastern Yellow Wagtail, Cinnamon Bittern, and a lot more. At around 12:00, we will have lunch and then take a rest. At 15:00, we could do birding, walking and sightseeing again to see the beautiful landscape of Minahasa. Back to hotel for dinner and then rest. 

Mountain White-eye
Mountain (Warbling) White-eye

On Day 3, we will go to Mount Mahawu to see its beautiful scenery and watch some birds in the area such as Scaly-breasted  Kingfisher, Sulawesi Myzomela, Crimson Sunbird, Red-eared Fruit Dove, Superb Fruit Dove, Yellow-billed Malkoha. 

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Minahasa highland tour
Tour the Minahasa Highland
Where is Minahasa and How to get there?

Manado city is the main gate to visit Minahasa. The birding walk activity will be focused around a small district town of Sonder whose territory consists of mountains, hills, valleys, rivers and wetlands. They are covered by forest, agricultural trees and shrub as well as paddy plants.

  • It is very easy to visit Minahasa. First, visitors need to fly from your country to Singapore. After that visitors could take a direct flight by Scoot Air to Manado city. There is also direct flight from Guangzhou to Manado served by Southern China Airlines. 
  • If visitors fly to Jakarta, Surabaya, or Denpasar, they could continue their trip by taking domestic airline to fly to Manado city.
  • There is also daily flight between Sorong city and Manado city.

traveling to Minahasa
Flying Route to Manado City
Minahasa highland map
Sonder is a small district town in the highland of Minahasa which is a great destination for birdwatching, sightseeing and walking tour activities.

Booking

For information on the cost, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. 

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