Wildlife Watching Tour in Wondama Regency

Wondama is a beautiful regency in West Papua province of Indonesia. It is a destination for visitors who like to explore the tropical rainforest that is the habitat of colorful birds, reptiles, mammals, and unique insects as well as the coral reef that is teeming with abundant marine life.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita)

The islands of Wondama regency are surrounded by pristine coral reef. To enjoy swimming and snorkeling there, visitors need to bring their own snorkeling device such as mask, snorkel and swim fins. Striped-surgeonfish, Moorish Idol, Butterflyfish and Anemonefish are some of the many fishes which visitors can see while snorkeling over the coral reef. 

After traveling around the beautiful tropical islands, visitors can go hiking in the forest of just a little outside Wasior town and its surroundings to see Blyth's Hornbill, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Red-cheeked Parrot, and a lot more. There are cuscus possum, monitor lizard and deer in the forest of Wondama. Visitors need binoculars, spotting scope and camera with telephoto lens such as Nikon P1000 to take pictures of these animals.

To reach Wasior town, visitor can fly to either Jakarta, Denpasar, Surabaya or Manado city in Indonesia. After that, they could continue their trip to Manokwari city. Airlines such as Sriwijaya, Batik Air and Lion Air provide regular domestic flight services from the above cities to Manokwari. From Manokwari, visitors could go to Wasior town by passenger boat MV Margareth or by small passenger aircraft - the Cessna Caravan operated by Susi Air. 

Flight route to Wondama

At the moment, visitors who want to enter Indonesia need to undergo strict health protocol and procedures in order to visit Wondama. 

I hope that the situation will be improved in the future so that more visitors could travel to West Papua again. 

Please, support this blog by buying some merchandise that I offer in my redbubble shop in the form of drawings and vector illustration printed on such products as sticker, mug, t-shirt, skirt, bag, and etc.

Blyth's Hornbill - the symbol of eternal love

Digital Drawing of a male Lesser Birds of Paradise

Also read:

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

New Hiking and Birding Destination in Manokwari - Mesirrokow River

I have been promoting a new tourist destination in Manokwari for 2 weeks now. Its name is Mesirrokow river-forest located in the northwest region of the city, approximately 1 hour drive.
Mesirrokow river is a great place for hiking, sightseeing, birdwatching, swimming and camping. In other words it is a paradise for nature lovers. There is a huge forest area that has not been explored by foreign visitors.
Watching Birds
When I guided two Swiss visitors, I saw a lot of Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), Papuan Blyth's Hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus) flying in the sky or perching on the branches of green trees. A good pair of binoculars or a spotting scope will be useful when visiting the river-forest of Mesirrokow.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo in Mesirrokow river of Manokwari

Camping
I spent 3 days/ 2 nights exploring the river. I used 3 dome tents and a large plastic tarpauline sheet to cover us from heavy rain and strong wind.
Taking Pictures
To take pictures of birds, the scenery of the river and wild flowers, I used my old Fujifilm HS50EXR. The followings are some of the pictures that I made during the trip.

Camping at the bank of Mesirrokow river

Yellow Love Petal Flower in Mesirrokow river of Manokwari

Book your river tour in Manokwari
I offer hiking, camping and birdwatching tour for nature lovers who want to enjoy adventure in Mesirrokow river. If you are interested, please, contact me by email: peace4wp@gmail.com

Tropical rainforest preservation in District Senopi

Tropical rainforest of District Senopi is one of the best hiking trip destinations in the bird's head region of West Papua province. I have been trying to help the indigenous Papuan people preserving their rainforest through the promotion of ecotourism schemes for Tambrauw Mountains, Arfak mountains and the Table Mountain. The objective of the promotion is to attract tourists to Manokwari regency so that they can enjoy the natural beauty of the high biodiversity of the forest and at the same time give financial support to the eco-tourism service providers that are mostly run by the indigenous people of Papua. New threat to Papua tropical rainforest occurs every day, from illegal logging to forest clearing for palm oil plantation. When this responsible tourism program can provide jobs and generate income for the Papuan people, they will not be interested in giving  up their  land and forest to the logging companies and palm oil plantation corporations that are now threatening every square inch of the forest in Papua. No Forest-No Tourists, and No tourists means No Money.

Rainforest in Tambrauw Mountains

Senopi Village of Tambrauw Mountains
Senopi is a district located around 200 kilometers from Manokwari city. Most part of the region is still covered with tropical rainforest. Its nearby Kebar district has the largest savanna in the birds head region of West Papua. Some tourists have already visited Senopi. They went there to enjoy hiking tours in the jungle where they would see male lesser birds of paradise dancing on the branches and twigs of a tree located some two hours walk from the village. Early in the morning and in the afternoon before sunset, male birds of paradise gather in a tree to perform courtship dance in front of some female birds of paradise as their spectators. This is a very beautiful scene for nature lovers. Besides watching birds of paradise, tourists can also see various kinds of tropical rainforest animals such as kuskus, tree kangaroo, boars and other beautiful birds such as hornbills and sulphur-crested cockatoo.

The best time to see the birds is early in the morning. They usually can be found in flowering or fruiting trees. It is not difficult to reach Senopi. Once you arrive in Manokwari, you can go to YAT Losmen or contact me  via my email peace4wp@gmail.com to arrange a car to the village.
Other important tourist attractions in Senopi are the population of deers (Cervus timorensis) that you will sometimes meet while hiking through the jungle of the district. More birds species can also be seen on the Aiwatar Hill which is located some 4 hours walk from Senopi. It is better for you to stay one night by the Kamundan river and very early in the morning  you can climb the hill to watch the birds drinking salty water that comes out of the ground until they get drunk.

I have been traveling a lot in recent months taking pictures of birds, butterfly, coral reef, ornamental fish and anything that represents the high biodiversity of the tropical rainforest and coral reef of West Papua. But my bird watching journey to Airwatar Hill is one of the most memorable experiences that I've ever had. Unfortunately, this birding center is still not known among the birding communities around the world.
I hope that the increasing number of tourists going to Senopi to enjoy hiking tours will help the indigenous Papuan villagers improve their living condition and at the same time protect their forest and its surrounding environment for future Papuan generations. by Charles Roring

Also read:
6 Hiking tour destinations in Arfak mountains
Rainforest of Arfak Mountains as tourist destination
Tropical rainforest a great tourist attraction in Manokwari Papua

Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo from the Table Mountain of Manokwari

I, Rhett Butler - the founder of mongabay.com and Nico Nauw went to the Table Mountain of Manokwari on 2 August 2010. We did some bird watching and insect watching. Although this mountain was very closed to the city and was frequently visited by hunters, we were able to see sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua Galerita), hornbills and other species of birds. Rhett brought his long lens camera so he could easily shoot the white cockatoo that was playing with his friends on the branches of a tall tree. It was still morning time when we heard the sound of cockatoo breaking the quiet atmosphere of the tropical rainforest. Carefully Rhett walked toward the source of the sound trying to find where the bird was in the canopy of the forest.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

I, and Nico Nauw - my friend who was now working as field or forest guide, decided not to make much noise in order not to attract the attention of the birds above us. I was a little bit doubtful whether Rhett could get a clear photograph of the sulphur-crested cockatoo. Why? Because we were on the eastern side of the forest that morning and the cockatoo birds were shouting from trees that were also located on the east of us. He had to face the sun ray which was not good for photography. Finally, Rhett shot his camera to the birds. He didn't show the result instantly. Two or three weeks after he had returned to the USA, Rhett sent me two folders of photographs that he took from Manokwari (the Table Mountain and the Arfak Mountains).   
Cockatoo birds are very sensitive to the existence of human beings at their surrounding area. Once they know that there is human down there, they will fly away. So, when you go to Manokwari for bird watching, don't be hurry to see the birds when you hear their screaming sounds in the trees. Try to walk slowly and keep hiding under the leaves and twigs of the understory vegetation. You only need to spot them and aim your camera at them and shoot. 
Also read:

• Watching Hornbill and Caving in the Table Mountain
• Caving in the Table Mountain
• Hiking and Bird Watching in the Table Mountain

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