Flowers in My Neighborhood

I made pictures of some beautiful flowers today. I have just returned from my afternoon walking exercise around my neighborhood. I walked to a football field around 500 meters (1,640 feet) from my house. A long the way to the field, I saw some tropical flowers. There were Yellow Beach Hibiscus, White and Red Bougainvillea in the frontyard of Saint Agustinus church. 

Yellow-beach Hibiscus

When entered the military compound next to the church, I saw some flower plants along the road-side too. Very beautiful white plumeria stood by the wall fence. There were also jasmine flowers on the other side of the road. They were planted by families of the military officers who live in the compound. In Bali the plumeria is called Frangipani but here in West Papua, we call it Kamboja.

White Plumeria

Crepe Ginger Flower (Cheilocostus speciosus)

Near the corner of the road that turns to right, I saw another white flower that usually grows in the forest edges. Its English name is Crepe Ginger Flower (Cheilocostus speciosus). I approached it and took one photograph of the flower. I did not bring my pocket camera Fujifilm XQ2. I only used the camera feature of my Samsung Tab A. In wikipedia, it says that this plant has got a lot of medicinal functions such as for fever, rash, asthma, an intestinal worms. 

As a walked up the slopes to the football field, I saw some pink orchid flowers at the front yard of a house. I stopped for a while to take pictures of the orchids. They look like Cattleya Orchids.

Orchid

The weather today was nice. It was not very hot. So, I enjoyed my walking exercises around the track of the football field. There were tens of people in the field. Some were playing football whereas others were just jogging or walking. Most of them were young men and women. 

Rainfall in this city is decreasing in its frequency starting from June. I hope to see more flowers where ever I travel. written by Leo Charles Roring
Also read:

• Rainforest Flowers
• Red Hibiscus and White Passion Flowers
• Passion Flowers
• Wild Flowers

Birdwing Butterfly and Red Hibiscus Flower

Please, support this blog by clicking and purchasing the following artdrawing of mine below that is printed on various products in Redbubble website: This birdwing butterfly Ornithoptera priamus lives in the jungle of New Guinea - the largest tropical island in the world. I saw this butterfly when I was guiding a British tourist on a rainforest tour in the northern coast of West Papua. 

https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/20916614?asc=u

Butterfly and Red Hibiscus

Related Post: Flower Tour in Minahasa Highland

Rainforest Camping Tour in Tambrauw Mountains

Blyth's hornbill (Rhyticeros plicatus).
This vector artwork was created by Charles Roring

Destination: Lowland rainforest near Syuan River of Tambrauw Regency
Duration: 5 days/ 4 nights
Availability: All year round
Cost: Please, send e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com for prices and customized itineraries

I have just returned from a camping tour in the lowland rainforest of Tambrauw mountains. I guided a tourist from Luxemburg who wanted to stay in the jungle for several nights. We built three tents at the bank of Syuan river and did some walks in the forest to see birds, butterfly and various vegetation of the tropical jungle. At night, the sounds of insects, and other nocturnal animals became our natural music that we enjoyed, together with the flow of the water in Suan river.

Preparations

There were things that I and my friends had to bring to the forest to serve our guest such as tents, air mattresses, rechargeable lamps, eating and cooking utensils, binoculars. We also contacted local people from the nearby village in Syuan river to work as guides and cooks. Several days before the trip, we contacted a driver to charter his 4WD car for this trip. 

The Rainforest trip

I met our guest at the airport of Sorong city. First, we went to my friend's house to put his bags which he did not need for the forest trip. After that we went to local market called Pasar Remu to buy fresh vegetables and other food materials that we would need in the jungle. I bought smoked fish, eggs, rice, fruits, and tempe.

When everything was ready, we headed directly to Tambrauw regency. It was a long ride approximately 4 hours. We needed have lunch in Sausapor town and then went to inform the local police about our tour. When all the paper works were ready, we continued our trip to Jokte village to pick up our local guides. Then we left for Syuan river. The 4WD car stopped at the riverside near the road. The scenery of the surrounding forest, and mountains and the river was really beautiful and peaceful. We took all of our things from the car and guided by the villagers, we walked along the banks of the river deeper into the jungle. 

Sharing Food with Local People

We built our first camp at around 16.00 local time and then prepared our evening tea and coffee.  At night we had dinner. We shared them with the indigenous Papuan villagers who guided us in the jungle. They were really nice and were happy to share their foods with us too. During the whole jungle trip, they caught fish, shrimps in the river. The women who worked as cooks picked some vegetables and cassava in the garden for us. 

Our Tents at the bank of Cuan River
in Tambrauw Mountains of West Papua

Birdwatching
The rainforest on both sides of Syuan river was the natural habitat of such tropical birds as Blyth's hornbill, sulphur crested cockatoo, egrets, Goliath cockatoo, black capped lory and paradise birds.  Near our second camp was a deeper water. We liked to spend time there to swim and enjoyed the surrounding view of the forest. In the afternoon when all birds began to return to their nests, we saw two sulphur crested cockatoo at the tree close to our "swimming pool." They were so beautiful. Birding in Syuan river was very easy. We just need to walk along the sides of the river and observe the sky and the trees. To take picture, we used bridge camera with super telephoto lens such as Sony Cybershot H400 and Fujifilm Finepix H50EXR.

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo in the tree near
Cuan river of Tambrauw regency

On the last day of our jungle camping tour and while walking back to the main road, I saw a unique terrestrial orchid flowers whose color was white. I said it was unique because it emitted fragrant smell. Most orchids do not emit fragrant smell but these flowers were fantastic - very fragrant.

White terrestrial orchid flowers that were very fragrant

On the second day of our stay, the villagers presented cassowary meat to us. One of their dogs killed a young cassowary bird. We were quite concern but we realized that their traditional life is hunting. The meat was very delicious said our guest.
There are a lot of things which tourists can see or experience while exploring the rich bio-diversity of rainforest. The trip to this region is suitable for nature lovers.

Eupholus schoenherri beetle in the forest of Tambrauw regency

If you are interested in taking a rainforest camping tour in Cuan river of Tambrauw mountains, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com. I will happy to arrange your trip and guide you in the jungle.

Hiking along the tropical rainforest of Dopi river

Dopi is the tributary of Pami - a river in the north coast of Manokwari. It is a nice destination for nature lovers who want to go hiking in the tropical rainforest of West Papua. Last week, I guided a British biologist, Georgie, on a 3-day hiking tour in the jungle of Dopi river. This British biologist was interested in tropical flowers such as rhododendron, dendrobium and terrestrial orchids. Some flower trees such as the African tulip (spathodea campanulata) grew at the bank of the river. They can easily be recognized by their cup shaped flowers whose petal colors are orange and yellow. The following is the photograph of a terrestrial orchid that we saw in the jungle. I guess it is from Genus Spathoglottis. It looks very similar to spathoglottis plicata but honestly I dare not identify its species name.

During our hiking tour, we were able to see various species of birds including the lesser birds of paradise (paradisaea minor), blyth's hornbill (rhyticeros plicatus) and pygmy parrots. I also took some pictures of pinon imperial pigeon that was perching on the branch of a tree around 20 meters above my head. The bird has got delicate gray feather. With my Nikon Coolpix P500, I shot the birds several times. I had to use 2 second self timer feature of the camera to create sharper photograph. In my first trip to this forest last year with Herman van der Hart and Elizabeth Pot, I was lucky because I saw a Western Crown Pigeon.

While walking through the Dopi river, I caught a green frog and handed it over to Georgie. She gently held this amphibian animal but later it jumped out of her hands and into the water again. I hardly ever saw a frog swimming in the river. Perhaps, it jumped into the river trying to escape from its predator (a snake). The coral rocks that we saw at the bottom of the river indicated that the land had been elevated from the sea perhaps since several centuries ago. Alfred Russel Wallace in his book The Malay Archipelago also explained about the elevated reefs not only in New Guinea but also in other islands such as Moluccas, Java and Timor.

We stayed in a camp that had been built for tourists.  At night we ate stir fried vegetables and sweet potatoes. When we were busy preparing our dinner, Georgie took the opportunity by learning how to make sambal (chilli sauce).

This rainforest tour is offered to anybody who wants to explore the tropical rainforest of West Papua in affordable price. Besides hiking, birdwatching and camping, tourists will be able to appreciate the high biodiversity of the rainforest and support its preservation. The rainforest tour itself will provide employment opportunities to local people who are the main stakeholder of this precious environment. If you are interested in taking a rainforest tour in Manokwari, please, contact me via e-mail: peace4wp@gmail.com. by Charles Roring
Also read: Hiking tour in Inggramui forest