Wooden Boats in Manokwari Bay

Dorey bay of Manokwari is the center of marine activities for seafarers. They can be fishermen, merchants or passengers waiting for wooden boats. As a boat enthusiast, I like taking pictures of the boats in this bay. Boats are important marine vehicles that function as means of transportation for the villagers living along the coastal villages of West Papua province.

These boats transport goods and people to villages in places as far as Numfoor island and Wondama regency. One of the boats that interest me most is a passenger wooden boat that was designed and constructed to look like the modern steel vessels operated by PELNI, a state owned passenger liner in Indonesia. Although they are different in sizes and materials. Both of them play the same role - transporting passengers.

If PELNI ships transport passengers and cargoes throughout the Indonesian archipelago, this passenger wooden boat transports people and goods to Oransbari, Ransiki, Windesi and perhaps Wasior town around the Cendrawasih or Geelvinkbaai.

If you visit Manokwari, I suggest that you take a short trip to Anggrem area of the city to see the beauty of the bay and the daily activities of the people living near the beach with their boats and canoes as their marine crafts. by Charles Roring

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Manokwari bay in the afternoon
Wooden boats in the Dorey bay of Manokwari

Manokwari bay in the afternoon

In my previous article, I wrote about Manokwari bay early in the morning. Now I am writing about the bay which is called Dore or Dorey bay in the afternoon. Different from the morning time where the waters of the bay look peaceful and calm, the scenery of Dorey bay of Manokwari city in the afternoon looks busy.
Fishermen and seafarer were busy working with their canoes and wooden boats. In Anggrem area of Manokwari, traditional wooden boats were loading goods to be delivered to coastal villages along the Cendrawasih bay (Geelvinkbaai).

These wooden boats are another tourist attraction which travelers can see while visiting Manokwari city, the capital of West Papua province in the Republic of Indonesia.

Next to the busy wooden jetty, and wooden boats, Papuan were also busy feeding their pigs at the pigpens that had been constructed along the beach of Anggrem area. These pigpens were basic wooden platform above sea water. I just knew that there were pigpens there. As the travel writer of this blog, I am planning to promote Anggrem as another tourist attractions where we can see how the Papuan live and work to survive from the dynamic and rapidly growing economic activities of Manokwari city.

 Dorey bay is one of the most beautiful bays in the world. Here travelers can see and experience the beauty of Manokwari city, a tropical city with all of its dynamics. Some coral islands in the Dorey bay are perfect sites for scuba diving especially for the coral reefs and shipwrecks. At the south of the bay the blue Arfak mountain has become the natural habitat for bower bird, birds of paradise and hundreds of orchids while at the north of the bay, the Table Mountain with its hiking trails provide wonderful attractions for tourists who want to explore the caves and watch the bats as well as the goliath cockatoo and hornbills. If you are interested in visiting Manokwari city to see the beauty of the Dorey bay as a tourist and need a travel guide, please, do not hesitate to contact me Charles Roring

The Beauty of Dorey bay in Manokwari of West Papua

Manokwari city - the capital of West Papua province in the Republic of Indonesia is located in the Dorey bay of Manokwari. This is one of the most beautiful bays in the world? Well, if you read this statement, you might say that I am exaggregating something. Well, it is not my statement, it is a statement from a world traveler whom I met. Here in the bay, there are some tropical islands have spectacular view with rich coral reefs and shipwrecks around them. The Dorey bay of Manokwari has been attracting tourists and researchers from around the world. 

 In 1855, European evangelists - Otto and his wife and Geisler landed in Mansinam, the largest isle in the Dorey bay to preach Christianity to the indigenous Papuan people. Two years later British Naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace visited the Dorey bay to study the natural history of New Guinea and birds of paradise. Later he published The Malay Archipelago. He talked alot about the nature and lifestyle of the indigenous Papuan who were great artists. In 1920s Prince Leopold from Belgium visited the Dorey bay of this New Guinea (now known as West Papua) also to study the birds of paradise. This year alone 2010, I have escorted tourists from Russian, Norway, England and the Netherlands traveling around the Dorey bay of Manokwari. 

 At the south of this bay, beautiful blue mountain called Pegunungan Arfak, stretches from west to south east of the bay. At the foot of this bay, tourists can enjoy the beauty of Lake Kabori. There are still many beautiful things that tourists can see while visiting Dorey bay of Manokwari city in West Papua province of the Republic of Indonesia. I will write about them one by one and upload my travel journal to this blog. If after reading the posts in this blog and you become interested in visiting this city, you can contact me, Charles Roring, as your travel guide via my email: peace4wp@gmail.com

Dorey bay of Manokwari City

Dorey bay is the name which Alfred Russel Wallace, a British naturalist, mentioned in his book "The Malay Archipelago". He came to the bay in 1858 to conduct research on birds of paradise and anything that was related to natural history of New Guinea island. Since then people who read his book have come from all over the world to Manokwari to see with their own eyes this beautiful Dorey bay.
Well, in general it is similar to other bays in the world. But every bay has its own history and uniqueness. Here in Dorey bay, tourists can travel around some small islands. The most famous one is Mansinam. It is a small island that is located at the outer most part of the bay. Mansinam became the first to receive German missionaries who went to this Netherlands New Guinea to preach Christianity. Mansinam is considered by the indigenous Papuan people as the island of civilization.
The photographs that I show below is about children in Mansinam island who were fishing at the harbor. They have been resized, and optimized in Adobe Photoshop CS3 before being uploaded into this blog. 

Children were fishing at a jetty in Mansinam

During World War II era, Japanese forces constructed a lot of bomb shelters to defend Manokwari against their enemies, the Allied forces. The Imperial Japanese Army deployed 50,000 soldiers to Western New Guinea to reinforce their defense line in the Pacific. Lieutenant General Fusataro Teshima from 2nd Army led the troops and chose Manokwari as their headquarters. 

Activities that can be done around the small islands of Dorey bay are swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking and bird watching. Tourists can also meet the villagers who live in Mansinam and Lemon islands and have friendly conversation with them about interesting topics. For shipwrecks sites, Dorey bay is the best in Indonesia.

If you want to snorkel or scuba dive in Dorey bay, don't forget to bring your own gear. Although these Mansinam and Lemon islands are located close enough to Manokwari city, they are very calm. The pace of living looks slow.

 As a tourist guide, I provide a tour package for tourists who want to travel around the islands in Dorey and see the beauty of their coral reef.

Coral reef and butterfly fish in Mansinam island

Don't forget to contact me via email: peace4wp@gmail.com when you have arrived in Manokwari city, I will be happy to be your tourist guide and arrange your tour around the city or even deeper into the interior region of Papua that is suitable to your needs and physical condition. by Charles Roring
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Hiking, Snorkeling, and Freediving in Manokwari

David Scott Enjoyed Snorkeling in the Dorey bay of Manokwari

As a nature lover, I like traveling around hiking in the tropical rainforest of Papua or just swimming and snorkeling at the beach of Mansinam or Lemon islands. Snorkeling is a fun activity is you want to enjoy the beauty of Papua's nature particularly its coral reef and colorful ornamental fish.
Last Wednesday 31 March 2010, I accompanied Mr. David Scott to Mansinam islands in the Dorey bay of Manokwari Papua. Manokwari is the capital town of Papua Barat Province in the Republic of Indonesia. It stretches along the Dorey bay where two or three islands protect the city from big waves that flow from the Geelvink bay (now also known as Cendrawasih bay).
Besides snorkeling, we also visited the old church and a well made by Dutch missionaries who worked in Mansinam island after German evangelists Otto (and his wife) and Geisler began spreading Christianity in 1855. At around 12.30 p.m. I, Paul and David Scott took a brake at a wooden stage across the Lahai Roi church. During the lunch brake, I and Mr. Scott were discussing Wallace expedition in the Dorey bay. From his book, the Malay Archipelago, Alfred Russel Wallace said that his boat landed on Mansinam island and Otto went to meet him. I know Wallace expedition in Dorey bay, that's way I could discuss the content of the book with him. David Scott said last night he read the pages of the book where when Wallace was going into the forest, Papuan children were shouting "Arfaki, Arfaki" at him trying to warn him not to go into the forest because the people from the Arfak tribe could kill him. Wallace ignored their warnings and continued to go up to the mountain, which in our opinion is what we now call the Table Mountain.

Bird watching and snorkeling in the Dorey bay around Mansinam island can be done especially in the morning when the weather is bright and the sea is calm. We swam around along the southern beach of the Mansinam island. Mr. David Scott brought his own snorkeling gear which was good for observing beautiful corals and the fish.

 

The islands in the Dorey bay of Manokwari are also good for scuba diving. There are shipwrecks around that can be dived on. When I, Paul and Mr. David Scott visited these islands, we did not bring any diving gear. I am not a PADI certified diver either, so I could not guide tourists underwater. Well, I think in the future, I will get my diving certification. Mr. David Scott commented that the two days tour around forest and the islands in the Dorey bay were fun. He thanked us and left for his hotel when the sun nearly set in the West. 

If you are interested in traveling around Manokwari, I can help you by arranging some guided tours that are suitable to your needs and physical condition, just contact me via email: peace4wp@gmail.com or cell phone: +62181332245180  by Charles Roring