Birdwatching in Raja Ampat of Indonesia

Raja Ampat is a famous destination for visitors who love swimming, scuba diving and snorkeling. However, it is also a good destination for birdwatching. A lot of species of tropical birds could be watched and photographed in Waigeo island such as:

• Wilson's Bird of Paradise
• Red Bird of Paradise
• Papuan Eclectus
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
• Palm Cockatoo
• Black-capped Lory
• Coconut Lorikeet
• Great-billed Parrot
• Red-cheeked Parrot
• Yellow-faced Myna
• Rufous-bellied Kookaburra
• Yellow-billed Kingfisher
• Common Paradise Kingfisher.
• Beach Kingfisher
• Collared Kingfisher
• Sacred Kingfisher
• Olive-crowned Flowerpecker
• Sahul Sunbird
• Black Sunbird
• Lowland Peltop
• Pinon Imperial Pigeon
• Pied Imperial Pigeon
• Great Cuckoo-dove
• Black-billed Cuckoo-dove
• Claret-breasted Fruit-dove
• Brown Cuckoo-dove
• Claret-breasted Fruit-dove
• Spice Imperial Pigeon, 
• Golden Monarch
• Willie Wagtail, and etc. 

Red Bird of Paradise

A lot of coastal or sea birds could also be seen there. They include:

• White-bellied Sea Eagle
• Osprey
• Lesser-crested Tern
• Common Tern
• Black-naped Tern
• Common Sand Piper
• Pacific Golden Plover
• Pacific Reef Heron
• Striated Heron
• Great-billed Heron
• Purple Heron, 
• Whimbrel, and etc.

Swimming and Snorkeling

Tour participants who want to enjoy swimming or snorkeling can do it at the house reef of the beach resort or homestay where we stay at. The coral reef of Raja Ampat is the habitat of a lot of species of marine creatures such as moorish idol, butterflyfish, striped surgeonfish, parrotfish, wrasse, wobbegong, anemonefish and etc.

Snorkeling in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat

Birding, swimming and snorkeling tour in Raja Ampat

Orange Skunk Anemonefish

Birdwatching near Sorong city

The tour to Raja Ampat for watching birds could be combined with the tour to the outskirts of Sorong city to watch interesting species of birds such as Blue-fronted Fig Parrot, Orange-fronted Fruit-dove, Brown-backed Honeyeater, Glossy-mantled Manucode, White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Brown Oriole, Helmeted Friarbird, Black-browed Triller, Blyth's Hornbill, and etc. Usually, tourists who are in transit in Sorong city do not have much time. They can enjoy morning birding trip that starts at 05:00 a.m.  and finishes at 10:00 a.m. or afternoon birding tour from 14:00 to 18:00 p.m. 

Participants need to bring their own binoculars. If they do not have the device, as a guide provide a spotting scope that is mounted on a tripod for everyone to share. 

For identification of birds that we see or photograph, we could use Merlin App. 

Booking

If you are interested in taking a birdwatching tour in Raja Ampat and the outskirts of Sorong city, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Related posts:

• Birding and Snorkeling in Waigeo Raja Ampat
• Sorong City Birding Tour
• Sorong Birding and Raja Ampat Snorkeling
• Nature Tour Around Sorong City and Raja Ampat
• Birding in Raja Ampat and Sorong
• Birding in Raja Ampat and Sorong Regency of Indonesia

Also read:

• Birding in Sonder
• Birds in North Sulawesi
• Birding and Wildlife Tour in Tangkoko and Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching and Photography Tour in Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching in the Farmland of Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Birding in North Sulawesi and West Papua
• Birding in Minahasa of North Sulawesi

Sorong City Sightseeing and Birdwatching Tour

Sorong city is the main gate to Raja Ampat islands - a popular destination in Indonesia for marine tourism. A lot of tourists who like swimming and snorkeling fly to and leave from Sorong city every day. They spend one or two weeks in Waigeo, Mansuar, Kri, Gam, Arborek, Batanta and Misool islands.

The beach area outside Sorong city, tour participants could enjoy hiking, birdwatching, sightseeing as well as swimming and snorkeling

So far most visitors think that Sorong city is only a transit point or transportational hub. As a matter of fact, there are interesting sites which tourists can go, to see and enjoy the natural beauty of the region or to see the wealth of the biodiversity of its flora and fauna.  For Sorong tours, here are some of the attractions:

In e-bird, this bird is called Blue-fronted Fig Parrot (Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii) 
This bird was named after William III - King of the Netherlands (1849-1890)

In field guidebook Birds of New Guinea by Thane K. Pratt and Bruce Beehler, the above parrot is called Orange-breasted Fig - Parrot (Cyclopsitta gulielmitertii). In Greek mythology, Cyclop was a race of one-eyed giants. Psitta is parrot family. Gulielmi means William and tertii or tertius means the third. So, the bird is named after William III - the King of the Netherlands who ruled his country from 1849 to 1890.  

Most of the land in the suburb of Sorong is still covered by tropical rainforest. It is the habitat of a lot of species of colorful birds and butterflies. They can be watched when visitors take 1 or 2 days sightseeing and birdwatching tour. 

Sightseeing Tour in Sorong city

Taking this tour, the participant will be taken to forest area in the hills and coastal areas to watch such birds as Pinon Imperial Pigeon, White-bellied Cuckooshrike, Orange-fronted Fruit Dove, Yellow-faced Myna, Helmetted Friarbird, Sahul Sunbird, Brown-backed Honeyeater, and a lot more. 

Mangrove Tiger Butterfly

Birdwatching and sightseeing activity is easy because participants will walk along the roadside and boardwalk. 

During the wildlife watching activity, spotting scope will be provided to enhance the watching experience of each participant. 

Visitors can bring camera to take pictures of flowers, birds and butterflies that exist in the surrounding areas.

Sightseeing Tour in Sorong city

In addition to exploring the surrounding nature, during the Sorong tours, we will also see unique or historical architectural design of houses or buildings in the city. One of them is the Catholic Church of Christ the King in Kampung Baru area. Its design is inspired by the 'nest' structure of Vogelkop Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus).

For tour package and cost, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or email to: peace4wp@gmail.com. 

Also read: 

• Short Birding Tour in Sorong city
• Birding in Sausapor, Klabili and Sorong City
• Walking, sightseeing and birdwatching tour around Sorong city

• One-Week Birding Tour Across North Sulawesi (A Trip Report)
• Birding in Tangkoko
• Tangkoko National Park: A Wildlife Haven in North Sulawesi, Indonesia
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in Minahasa
• Manado City: Birdwatching and Sightseeing Tour
• Birds in North Sulawesi
• Sorong city tour by motorcycle

Birding and Sightseeing in Raja Ampat by Speedboat

Raja Ampat is a great destination for visitors who like birding, snorkeling and sightseeing. I am guiding a group of American visitors this week (17 to 21 April 2023). Today we had a long hiking in the forest to watch Red Bird of Paradise. It was a challenging trip especially for participants who are not used to walking up steep slopes of tropical montane forest. Fortunately, we were able to watch the paradise bird. 

Shining Flycatcher

We also saw Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Hooded Butcherbird, Blyth's Hornbill, Brown Oriole and Palm Cockatoo and etc. 

Birding and sightseeing in Raja Ampat

In the mid-day, participants of the Raja Ampat tour enjoyed snorkeling at the house reef of the beach resort where we stayed. 

Because the main theme of our tour is snorkeling and birdwatching, I organized a trip by speedboat to small islands in the south of Waigeo where could watch birds and enjoy sightseeing. We landed at a white sandy beach of an island in Kabuy bay where we spent around 1 hour to watch Spice Imperial Pigeon, White-breasted Wood-Swallow, Singing Starling, Oriental Dollarbird, Eastern Osprey, Eclectus Parrot and Helmetted Friarbird. I used 10×50 binoculars that were mounted on a tripod to enhance the birding experience of the tour participants. 

As we continued our trip by slowly moving along the coast, we saw a Beach Kingfisher sitting on a dry branch of a tree. We stopped the boat. All tour participants aimed their digital cameras to take pictures of the bird. 

We continued our trip again along Lesser and Greater Urai islands and along the sourhern coast of Waigeo. In addition to birds,we saw dolphins that were feeding on small fish while swimming very close to the limestone walls of southern region of Waigeo. 

We saw the reddish colour of the sunset. We also saw fishermen of Saporkren villagers were catching fish with their canoes. It was nearly dark when we arrived at the jetty of the resort again. It was a wonderful trip. 

Our next activity for tomorrow will be watching Wilson's Bird of Paradise. 

If you are interested in taking a birding, sightseeing and snorkeling tour with me as your guide or tour organizer, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Also read: 

• Snorkeling in Raja Ampat

Birdwatching and Wildlife Watching in Sorong and Raja Ampat (7 Days)

I have just completed a tour for two visitors from the Netherlands. We spent one week exploring the rainforest of Klasow valley in Sorong regency as well as the tropical jungle of Waigeo in Raja Ampat islands. 

Wildlife Watching and Sightseeing Tour in Sorong and Raja Ampat

We went hiking early in the mornings and in the afternoons to look for Lesser Birds of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Glossy-mantled Manucode, Red Bird of Paradise and Wilson's Bird of Paradise. 

During the one week tour, we saw a lot of species of tropical birds including Golden Myna, Yellow-faced Myna, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Slender-billed Cuckoo Dove, Claret-breasted Fruit Dove, Azure Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Sacred Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Beach Kingfisher, Red-cheeked Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Papuan Frogmouth, Frilled Monarch, Hooded Monarch, Blue Jewel Babbler, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Eastern Osprey, Willie Wagtail and a lot more.

Birdwatching in Raja Ampat

While in Raja Ampat, we did sightseeing and snorkeling tour by speedboat to Piaynemo karst and then on our return trip to the beach resort where we stayed, we visited Sand Bank (locally called Pasir Timbul) near Lesser Mansuar island and Friwen island which was located near Gam island. We also enjoyed snorkeling along the Friwenwall where we saw various kinds of fishes, and corals both the hard and soft ones. There are hundreds of species of reef fish that we saw. 

Birdwatching in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat

This tour is suitable for anyone who likes to see the wealth of avifauna and the marine life of West Papua. 

If you are interested in taking 1 week wildlife watching and snorkeling trip in West Papua, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Snorkeling Holiday in Manokwari

written by Charles Roring

The sea in Manokwari is calm now. It is a good time to enjoy swimming and snorkeling especially in the beaches that have coral reef. To see coral reef, fish and other marine creatures, I need snorkeling equipment such as masks, snorkel, and swimfins. I also bring a good underwater camera such as Nikon W300, or Olympus Tough TG-5 to take pictures. I usually bring my Fujifilm XQ2 that is inserted into its waterproof case.

Red and Black Anemonefish (Amphiprion melanopus)

Morning time is good because the sea is calm. Visibility can be more than 20 meters. The sunlight can reach most part of the coral reef. Before taking pictures, I swim over the reef to find fish or beautiful reef garden. When I find some interesting fish, I will dive until I am close or nearly on the same level as the fish. By doing that, I could make pictures that look brighter. Red and Black Anemonefish, Lemon Damsel, Blue Damsel, Goldhead Damsel, Blenny, and Wrasse can easily be seen in shallow water. After spending around twenty to thirty minutes snorkeling, freediving and shooting fish, I will swim back to the shore and take a rest.

Coral Reef Garden in the north coast waters of Manokwari

Sometimes, birds like Lesser Frigatebird, Black Noddy and Crested Tern can be seen flying in the area. Big butterfly such as the Ornithoptera priamus is common innthe coastal area too. I also guide tourists to the beach to enjoy snorkeling with me.
I provide life jackets, and some masks for tourists who want to visit Manokwari city as their holiday destination. The snorkeling holiday can be combined with hiking tour along the coastal forest and villages of Manokwari. In the hiking tour, tourists could see how local people live in their daily life. We can see birds, butterflies, beetles, frogs, and various kinds of tropical plants from the common coconut trees to the beautiful hibiscus flower plants.
Coral reef is similar to tropical rainforest. It is the natural habitat of hundreds of species of fish. Coral reef also turn CO2 gases into Oxygen and provide food and life in the ocean. This marine ecosystem has to be protected.

Tropical Reef Fish: Moorish Idol

Please, support this blog by purchasing the above drawing on various products of Redbubble such as t-shirts, tanktop, zip hoodie, scarf, iPhone, duvet cover, and a lot more. You could also see other artworks in my Redbubble shop at this link: Nature Art.

Snorkeling in Raja Ampat around Kabui Bay

There are a lot of snorkeling sites in Kabui bay of Raja Ampat. The most popular ones are along southern beach of Waigeo island. In my recent tour with some European tourists, I saw coral breams, parrotfish, squirrelfish, dolphins, triggerfish, puffer, surgeonfish, butterflyfish and a lot more. Access to the coral reef can be done by swimming from the beach or by descending from the wooden jetty of the guesthouse where we stayed at. 

The coral reef was a very rich marine environment. The coral looked hard like a rock but actually they were very fragile. Tour participants who enjoyed swimming, snorkeling or freediving were very careful when they were near the reef.
I highly suggest that visitors bring their own snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, and swimfins) if they want to swim and see marine life in Raja Ampat.

Coral Reef in the Southern Beach of Waigeo island

I brought my Nikon W300 and used it to take pictures of the fish and the coral reef. Visibility was very good especially in the morning when the sea water was very calm and clear. I could see fish easily up to a distance of around 10 meters. To propel my movement in the sea when I freedived to drop off reef, I wore a pair of swim fins. With a smaller mask and the underwater camera I reached a depth of around 5 to 7 meters below the surface. To stabilize my body, I held a big rock using my left hand and operated the camera with my right hand. 

Healthy Coral Reef

After taking some pictures of the underwater world, I returned to the surface again. In addition to snorkeling, I also organized sightseeing and birdwatching tours to several small islands in the Kabui bay and to a beach in Gam island. We saw pufferfish in the shallow water, we immediately inform our guests not to touch the fish because its spikes were poisonous. If one got stung by the fish, he or she would suffer severe pains.

Karst in Kabui bay

I brought my 10×42 mm Visionking binoculard and Kinglux 20-60×60 spotting scope mounted on a tripod. I greatly enhanced our birdwatching experience. Using that birding devices,  we were able to see Spice Imperial Pigeon, Singing Starling, Olive-backed Sunbird, Stephan's Emerald Dove, White-breasted Woodswallow, Torresian Crow, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Beach Kingfisher, Pacific Swallow, Blyth's Hornbill, Brahminy Kite, Hooded Butcherbird, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo and a lot more.

If you are interested in taking a sightseeing, snorkeling, hiking and birdwatching tour and want me to be your guide, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
Also read: Raja Ampat Snorkeling

Birdwatching and Snorkeling in Raja Ampat and Sorong

I have just completed a birdwatching and snorkeling tour in Raja Ampat and Sorong. I guided four tourists from Australia, Germany and France. They were Gunther, Ulser, Kathrin, and Alex. In Raja Ampat, our main targets were Wilson's Bird of Paradise and Red Bird of Paradise. We were able to watch them very well on the second and third days. To watch Wilson's Bird of Paradise, we had to wake up early in the morning at 04.00 for making some preparation and drinking some tea or coffee. When it was still dark, we left our guesthouse by boat to a beach that was located around 1 kilometer. When we landed, we still had to walk up steep slopes for around one hour to the birding site. Late February and early March were mating season for the bird of paradise. We were able to watch the birds for more than 1 hour. It was a nice experience for everyone who participated in the birding tour. 

The Red Birds of Paradise whose lek was on top of the mountain behind the guesthouse presented us with their beautiful courtship dance performance. We were able to watch them well using binoculars. 

We also had a tour to several islands in Kabui bay by a motorized boat where we watched Olive-backed Sunbird, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Singing Starling, Eastern Osprey, Brahminy Kite, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Blyth's Hornbill, Willie Wagtail, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Stephan's Emerald Dove, Hooded Butcherbird, and a lot more. Because I brought spotting scope, we could watch birds in distant trees using a more stable optical device. Participants of the tour were able to watch birds better.

White sandy beach in Gam island

In Waigeo island, we stayed in a guesthouse that was built above the water. From its verandah, we could see coral reef, and fish. Dolphins frequently passed by the guesthouse. I did some snorkeling in the morning after watching Red Bird of Paradise. I used Nikon W300 to take pictures of the reef fish, and corals. The water is so clear, I could see the marine life easily.

In Sorong, I guided birdwatchers to a mountain ridge area where visitors could watch Yellow-faced Myna, Black-browed Triller, Double-eyed Fig Parrot, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Black Sunbird, Helmetted Friarbird, and a lot more. Because the forest is close to Sorong city, visitors can stay in a hotel and do day trips to watch birds.

Visitors who want to take snorkeling and birdwatching tour with me to Raja Ampat and Sorong need to bring binoculars, snorkeling mask, waterproof camera (for taking pictures of fish and coral reef) and super zoom camera for shooting birds in tall trees. The duration of the tour is 3 days in Raja Ampat.

Booking:

Please, contact tourist guide: Charles Roring

E-mail: peace4wp@gmail.com

Whatsapp: +6281332245180

Snorkeling in the Drop-off Reef of Manokwari

I often go the beach to guide tourists who like snorkeling and recreational free-diving. The sites that we visit are north coast, and south coast of Manokwari city. There are coral reefs in this regency that are suitable for snorkelers.

An Italian and Indonesia snorkelers in Manokwari waters

Begining snorkelers usually swim over the reef flat area. The more adventurous ones choose drop-off reef as their snorkeling and free-diving site. Snorkelers have got more freedom to move in deeper waters. I could provide life-jacket for snorkelers who want to see marine life in drop-off area of the coral reef. Fish that can be seen in deeper water include parrotfish, damselfish, butterflyfish, moorish idol, grouper, anemonefish, wrasse, and convict surgeonfish. In my recent snorkeling tour to north coast reef with Italian and Indonesian tourists, I saw Striped Surgeonfish, Three-spot Dascyllus, Yellow-tailed Blue Devil and Striped-Surgeonfish.
In addition to seeing fish, we could also see sea cucumber, urchin, sea star, and sometimes turtles in the sea.
Visitors who take the snorkeling tour with me can borrow my snorkeling equipment (mask, snorkel and fins) but I suggest that they bring their own that is suitable and fit on their face and feet. Bringing a good underwater camera such as Nikon W300 will greatly enhance the snorkeling experience.

Green Coral Reef in Manokwari waters

As the capital of Papua Barat province, Manokwari can easily be reached by tourists. After taking international flight to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, visitors can take a domestic flight to Manokwari provided by such airlines as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Nam Air, and Batik Air.

Coral reef in the north coast of Manokwari

When we take snorkeling tour, we must avoid several important things such as: not standing on the coral, not provoking marine animals.
If you plan to travel to Manokwari and want me to organize your snorkeling tour in the regency, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Snorkeling Tour with Clownfish in Manokwari

by Charles Roring

I often guide tourists in Manokwari on snorkeling tours to many of its coral reef sites. Our main target was to see beautiful tropical fish and colorful reef. One of the fish which snorkelers like to see is clownfish. There are various species of them. Some that I have seen include Pink Anemonefish, Spinecheek Anemonefish, and Clark's Anemonefish, Red and Black Anemonefish, and False Clown Anemonefish. They could bee seen at depths of 1.5 to 10 or even 15 meters.

Finding Nemo

There is a big colony Red and Black Anemonefish (Amphiprion melanopus) in the north-east coast of Manokwari. It is not far from the beach. Beginning snorkelers who are not confident of swimming over coral reef can wear lifejacket that I provide for the tour.

Red and Black Anemonefish

I see several colonies of Pink Anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion) in the southern coast of Manokwari. The coral reef where they thrive is not at the beach of the mainland. It is like a shoal at sea.  There are a lot of species of fish that can be seen in this shoal. Some of them include spotfin lionfish, boxfish, butterflyfish, grouper, moorish idol, and Triggerfish.

Another species of fish that I see in deeper water is Spinecheek Anemonefish (Premnas biaculeatus). The fish lives at a depth of around 10 meters below the surface. I have to make extra effort to take picture of this fish.

Snorkeling Tour
I offer snorkeling tours for tourists who want to see the beauty of marine life in Manokwari city. Visitors can stay in one of the many hotels in the city and do day trip to coral reef sites. I have got some snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, fins) which tourists could use but I highly recommend that snorkelers bring their own equipment that are perfectly fit on their face and feet.

Traveling by boat in Manokwari

How to get there
Visitors need to take international flight from their country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia). After that they can continue their flight to Manokwari city by Boeing 737,  Airbus 320, or Bombardier CRJ 1000 operated by such airlines as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Nam and Batik. Tickets can be bought at traveloka.com

Booking
If you are interested in taking a snorkeling trip (combined with some hiking and sightseeing tour) in Manokwari and want me to organize your tour, you could send text to my whatsapp: +6281332245180. Or you could send email to: +6281332245180

Watching Birds and Snorkeling in Manokwari

Last week, I guided two German tourists to Arfak range. They were Peter and Claudia. We spent 4 days/ 3 nights hiking, birdwatching, butterflywatching and sightseeing. The weather was sunny in the mornings but mostly rainy in the afternoons.

Feline Owlet-Nightjar (Aegotheles insignis)

The site for watching Magnificent Bird of Paradise was around 1 hour walk from the Lorikeet Guesthouse where we stayed. I organized a trip for Peter to watched that beautiful bird. He had to wake up at 04.40 to make some preparations and to have breakfast before leaving for the birding ground at 05.00. Claudia, his wife joined the morning walk but she had to return to the guesthouse because the trails were steep and quite tough for her. So, she only watched birds at the garden of the Lorikeet Guesthouse. There were colorful flowers such as Rhododendron zoelleri, Rhododendron konori, Pink Hibiscus, New Guinea Impatiens, orchids,and a lot of other flowers which I do not know their names.

Rhododendron zoelleri

On the third day, we did a short walk to a small river where we watched a Feline Owlet-nightjar sleeping on the branch of a tree. The bird was sitting still. We approached him carefully and slowly. When we were around 3 meters below him, we turned on our cameras and shoot him. It was quite difficult to find the bird. But we were lucky. 

In addition to Feline Owlet-Nightjar, we also saw Vogelkop Bowerbird, Female Black Sicklebill, Western Parotia (juvenile) at a place on the way to the top of the mountain. Near the guesthouse, I saw several species of small birds such as Island Leaf Warbler, Spectacled Longbill, Western Smoky Honeyeater, Green-backed Robin, Blue Gray Robin, Olive-crowned Flowerpecker, Glossy Swiftlet. 

When the sun was shining brightly in the mornings, I saw butterflies hopping among the flowers to eat its nectar. One of them was Ornithoptera tithonus. Alot of rain still fell on Arfak mountains, and it was cold especially at nights. The weather was only nice in mornings and in afternoons. It was not in favorable season for traveling in January but we really enjoyed our trip. 

Snorkeling Trip in Manokwari

In addition to guiding tourists to Arfak mountains, I also offer snorkeling tours to coral reef areas near Manokwari city. Visitors who join this tour could enjoy swimming over coral reef to see hundreds of species of tropical fish such as Striped Surgeonfish, Butterflyfish, Anemonefish, Lionfish, snapper, Dascyllus, Grouper, and Moorish Idol. There are a number of coral reef sites in Manokwari which we can explore to enjoy swimming and snorkeling.

Coral Reef in Manokwari

Marine Life in Manokwari

Blue Sea Star

I have got some snorkeling masks, and snorkel which I could lend to tour participants. I highly recommend that visitors bring a waterproof camera such as Nikon W300 or a small action camera such as Go Pro. Taking pictures of fish and other marine animals can be fascinating because underwater environment is colorful and very beautiful.

How to get to Manokwari city

As the capital of West Papua province in the Republic of Indonesia, Manokwari city is connected with Jakarta by regular daily flights provided by Garuda, Batik Air, Sriwijaya Air, and Nam Air. Tickets can be bought from online store such as traveloka.com. 

Flying route from Jakarta to Manokwari

Booking

If you are interested in taking a trip to Manokwari and want me (Charles Roring) to organize your trip, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or whatsapp: +6281332245180.

Snorkeling Tour in Coral Reef of Manokwari

Manokwari city is the capital of West Papua province of Indonesia. It has been visited by tourists who want to enjoy snorkeling, freediving as well as trekking and wildlife watching. As a tourist guide in this city, I offer snorkeling tours for visitors who are interested in exploring the marine life that thrive in coral reef areas along the coast of Manokwari. Visitors could see a lot of species of reef fish during the tour including butterflyfishes, angelfishes, spadefishes, surgeonfishes, damselfishes, snappers, jacks, anthias, groupers, hawkfishes, parrotfishes, and sweetlips.

Coral Reef in Manokwari city

Beginning snorkeling visitors can enjoy snorkeling in reef flat area easily. More experienced snorkelers usually swim to drop off reef to see bigger fish and other marine animals. They usually do freediving to certain depth of the sea. In my previous snorkeling tours with some British, New Zealander, Italian, and Indonesian tourists, I took pictures of Blue Devil (Chrysiptera cynea), Striped Surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus) and anemonefish. I used a small pocket camera Fujifilm XQ2. I had to dived to the coral reef to take pictures of the fish. In order to get good photographs, I had to stay in the water for at least one minute.

Tropical Beach in Manokwari

Usually, my left hand holds a rock to keep my body in flat and stable position and my right hand holds the camera. I have done this hundreds of time. When I stay calm in the water without many movements, I can take better pictures of the fish and coral reef. Fish will not feel intimidated and are willing to swim closer to me.

Coral reef and Tropical Fish in Manokwari waters

I have got several sets of snorkeling device (mask,snorkel,fins, and lifejacket) which I can lend to visitors who want to take a snorkeling tour with me in Manokwari. I can also organize snorkeling tours to Raja Ampat, and Tambrauw coast for visitors who want to explore these parts of West Papua. The snorkeling tour can be combined with hiking, and wildlife watching.

Anemonefish and Blue-Devil Fish in Manokwari waters

How to get to Manokwari?
You need to fly from your country to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. After that, you could take a flight provided by such airlines as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Batik to Manokwari city. I could meet you at the airport or at the hotel where you stay.

Flight route from Jakarta to Manokwari by Batik Air

Booking
If you are interested in visiting Manokwari and want to take this snorkeling tour, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Also read:

• Birdwatching and Snorkeling in Sausapor
• Sorong city Sightseeing and Birding Tour

Also read:

• Manado City Birdwatching and Sightseeing Tour
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in Sulawesi

• Birdwatching in Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching in the Farmland of Sonder town in Minahasa Highland

Hiking Snorkeling and Freediving in Manokwari

I have just completed a 3 day-tour for British, New Zealander, Italian, and Indonesian tourists in the forest and coral reef of Manokwari. We did hiking trip in the hill forest to see such animals as millipede, spiders, butterflies, and birds. We also explored a natural cave to see its bats, frogs, and snake. The sounds of Black-capped Lory, Hooded Butcherbird, Helmetted Friarbird, Olive-backed Sunbird, Yellow-faced Myna, and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo could be heard while we were walking under the canopy of the tropical trees.

Italian tourist was taking a tour to natural cave in Manokwari

The next day, we had another trip to coral reef area of Mansinam island. The sea was quite calm and the visibility was good enough for me to take pictures of the marine life especially the colorful fish. The two British girls, Jess and Leila, whom I guided were very good swimmers. I asked Leila to do a freedive so that I could take a picture of her underwater. She said,"yes." So, I dived first to a depth of a round 5 meters below the surface to wait for her. When  she dived, I took some pictures of her in the blue water. One of them is presented below. It is a nice photo.

Recreational Freediving in Manokwari waters

I brought my camera Fujifilm XQ2 that I had inserted into its waterproof case. The morning sunlight allow me to take pictures of Black-backed Butterflyfish with greater details.

Black-backed Butterflyfish (Chaetodon melannotus)

However, for fast loading of this article on the internet, I have to resize the photograph and only present its smaller version on this blog.
On the third day, I guided an Italian and Indonesian couple on a trip to the same forest, and then to two small lakes in the southern suburb of Manokwari city to enjoy its beautiful view.

Striped Surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus)

In the afternoon, at approximately 15.00, we continued our trip to the north coast of Manokwari to enjoy snorkeling and freediving again. The waves were quite big in late December but we could still enjoy the view of the coral reef, particularly the fish the live in the rocks that were close to the shore. I was able to take pictures of the Striped Surgeonfish (Acanthurus lineatus), Three-spots Dascyllus, Yellow-tailed Blue Damsel (Chrysiptera cyanea) and Cinnamon Clownfish (Amphiprion melanopus).
If you are interested in taking a hiking tour in the forest as well as snorkeling trip in Manokwari city and want me (Charles Roring) to organize your trip, please, contact me by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Raja Ampat Snorkeling

Raja Ampat is considered as the best and the richest in the world for the wealth of its marine bio-diversity. There are thousands of species of fish and other sea creatures that live in the coral reef sites of the islands. They are the natural habitat of a lot of marine animals from the tiny pygmy seahorse to the beautiful sea star and colorful lionfish and diagonal sweetlips. As a tourist guide I organize snorkeling tours to the archipelago for tourists who want to visit small uninhabited and remote islands where not many visitors go.

Pianemo Karst in Raja Ampat

Karst islets in Raja Ampat

Snorkeling and recreational freediving can easily be done in Raja Ampat. I can guide solo traveling tourist up to a group of snorkelers who want to swim over pristine corals to see surgeonfish, moorish idol, butterflyfish or crabs that live in the shallow reef flat or deeper reef slopes of Raja Ampat islands. Here is the typical program:

Raja Ampat Snorkeling and Birdwatching Tour

ITINERARY

Activities: snorkeling, hiking, birdwatching, sightseeing tour
Day 1

• I will meet you at the airport or at a hotel in Sorong city
• I will organize your transfer to Raja Ampat by fast passenger boat
• We need two hours to reach Waisai harbor
• Transfer to homestay (breakfast, lunch, dinner are provided). Food is mostly Indonesian style with rice, fried fish, fruits, vegetables and chilli plus tomato and onion sauce as the main ingredients. Bread, peanut jam, snacks, biscuits and syrups or juice can be bought in supermarkets in Sorong city.
• Take a rest for 1 or 2 hours
• We can enjoy snorkeling at the house reef at the front waters of the homestay.
• Make sure that you do not step on the corals. 

During the whole trip, plastic and other non-biodegradable wastes must not be thrown to the environment. Just put them into the trash bins.

Day 2

• Early in the morning we could wake up at 04.45 to make preparations for watching Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra). We could drink some tea and eat some biscuit first. After that at 05.15, we can start walking up the slope to the tree where the paradise birds usually gather to dance. It takes around 1 hour of hiking to reach the birding site. We can enjoy watching the paradise birds until 09.00. When we walk back to the guesthouse, we can stop for a while at the view point on a hill that overlooks the sea and the Kabui bay. We can spend some time there to enjoy the scenery and watch the birds.
• Arriving at the guesthouse, we can enjoy breakfast. After that we can do a tour to enjoy sightseeing tour in the island inside Kabui bay.
• We can also stop at a small island to enjoy snorkeling, beach walking and birding.

Day 3

We need to wake up at 04.00. By a small boat, we will go to a place where we need to go hiking for watching Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus respublica).

Day 4

We can go further to visit  sand banks that are located in the middle of the sea near Kri islands. A snorkeling trip to places like Friwen or Mansuar island or Gam island can be organized. Upon special request, I can organize a trip to Piaynemo for visitors to see the beautiful landscape of the karst islets.

Day 5

We still have time to enjoy snorkeling in the morning. After an early lunch we can leave our guesthouse to the harbor of Waisai. There, we will go by fast passenger boat to return to Sorong city.

Day 6

We could do another hiking trip to a hill in Sorong so that we could watch the view of the city and also watch birds. At the end of the day, we will bring you back to your hotel where you will stay for one night. After that, the next day, you could go to Domine Eduard Osok (DEO) airport by car to fly back to your country.

End of the trip.

Please, consider the above itinerary as reference only. It can be modified according to your length of holiday and interest.

What you need to bring
Clothes: For your trip to this tropical region, t-shirts, shorts, jeans (for traveling in the city), swimming suit, hat.
Equipment: Snorkeling gear (mask, snorkel, fins), camera that can be used for underwater such as GoPro or Nikon W300, Super Zoom camera for bird photography such as Nikon P1000, or Canon SX60HS or D-SLR camera with Sigma 150-600 mm sport (optional), head torch, watch, extra baterries and their charger.
Medicine: Anti insect lotion, sunblock lotion and any medicine that you need while you are traveling.

Map Location of Raja Ampat

How to go to Raja Ampat

• It is very easy to go to Raja Ampat. First, fly from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia)
• When you have arrived, you could continue to Sorong by regular daily flights served by Garuda, or Batik or Sriwijaya or Lion Air.
• I could meet you in Sorong and organize your trip to the the islands. 

Booking

If you are interested in taking the trip to Raja Ampat and want me to organize your tour, you could contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Related Posts:
Snorkeling and Birding in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat
Snorkeling Vacation in Raja Ampat Archipelago
Snorkeling and Sightseeing Tour in Raja Ampat