Red Hibiscus and White Passion Flowers

Red Hibiscus Flower

I spent approximately 12 days in the forest of West Papua early this week with two tourists from the United States. We explored the islands of Raja Ampat, the lowland and hill forest of Sorong, and the tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains in search of flowers, birds and other interesting animals. The early part of the trip was quite challenging because we experienced strong wind and waves in Raja Ampat. The rainforest tours in Vogelkop region went well. We were able to see a lot of flowering trees, shrubs and vines.
There was one red hibiscus shrub plant near our birding ground in Sorong regency. We stopped in front of it to take pictures. Its petals look different from the Red Hibiscus that I saw in coastal area of Tambrauw regency and in Arfak range. Because I do not have field guide book of tropical flowers, I could not identify the scientific names of the flowers that I saw.

Pygmy Passion Flower

We also saw small beautiful passion flowers at the sides of the road. Its petals were white. The inner part of its corona filaments was pink. It was smaller than the red hibiscus. We also saw other flowers such as Crepe Ginger and Terrestrial Orchid in the same area.
While traveling in Arfak range, we saw Rhododendron shrub plants. They were Rhododendron konori. The flowers were emitting soft fragrant smell.
New Guinea has got a lot of flowers that grow in the coastal, forest edge and in the middle of densed tropical jungle. They are beautiful and are often used as decorative plants in cities and towns. Flowers that emit fragrant smell have not been developed as raw material for essential oil.
Well, when I travel again into forest area, I will take more pictures of flowers and upload them into this blog.

Rainforest Flowers

Wild Flowers in Arfak Mountains of Manokwari

Passion flower near Lake Anggi Giji

I made several trips to Arfak mountains recently where I guided some tourists from Australia, Indonesia, Austria and China. We visited the jungle of Mount Soyti, Mount Sensenemes, Mount Kobrey and Mount Mabowi. During the trips I saw a lot of beautiful flowers including Rhododendron konori, Rhododendron laetum, Myrmecophyte, orchid, nepenthes and a lot more.

Orchids in the jungle of Mount Soyti

The areas around Lake Anggi Giji and Lake Anggi Gida were full of wild flowers that grew on the elevation between 2,000 and 2,730 meters above sea level. We couldeasily find them in the slopes, on the road sides, and on top of the mountains. The indigenous people who live in the villages around the lake grow the flowers in the frontyards of their houses. There are a lot of flowers which I haven't been able to identify.
Visitors who joined my Arfak mountains tour were very to see the flowers and the beautiful scenery taken from the slopes and tops of the mountains above Anggi lakes.

Rhododendron konori
on top of Mount Sensenemes

After visiting Anggi lakes, we went down the steep slopes of Arfak and continued our trip to the jungle of Warmarway. There, we walked up very steep slopes to a basecamp and stayed for several days. This time the vocal points of the tour were not flowers but Birds of Paradise, Glowing Mushroom, and Butterflies.
Our basecamp was constructed near a stream whose water. We boiled its crystal clear water for our drinking water. We also took a bath in the stream. Early in the morning when it was still dark, we woke up at 04.30 to drink some tea or coffee. After that we left our tents for the lek of Lesser Birds of Paradise. It was a nice adventure because we could watch how male lesser birds of paradise performed their courtship dance to seduce or attract their female birds.

Traditional house of Sougb tribe

At the end of our trip in the jungle, we visited Warmarway village where we saw our local guide Yunus made fire using traditional matches. This Papuan matches were made of a piece of bamboo and palm fiber. It had been used by the indigenous Papuan people in the vogelkop region of West Papua before modern matches were introduced by the Dutch.

Tour Around Arfak Mountains

Lake Anggi Gida

I offer tour package around Arfak mountains where visitors will be able to explore the tropical rainforest, see beautiful scenery around Anggi lakes and interact with the indigenous people.

Wildlife
It is not only flowers that visitors will be able to see during the tour but also wild animals such as birds of paradise, vogelkop bower bird, western parotia, cuscus possum, butterflies and etc.

Meeting and Staying with the Indigenous People
During the trip, participants will meet indigenous people of Arfak mountains from several different tribes. We will even stay in their traditional house.

Interested?
I suggest the number of participants of the tour is 2 to 3 people to share the cost. If you are interested, please, contact me by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or whatsapp: +6281332245180 for the price and customized itinerary.

Also read:

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

Passion Flowers

Passion flower plant grows well in high elevation area of the Arfak mountains. As a vine, plant of passion flower needs a tree or tall shrub plants to grow. I like eating passion fruit. The texture of the fruit is like jelly. It has got sweet taste. The passion flowers look very beautiful but they don't have any strong fragrant. One day, I accompanied two Dutch tourists on a hiking and birding trip in the Arfak mountains. While walking around the guesthouse of Kwau village, I saw a passion vine with some flowers hanging on it. I walked closer to make some pictures but it was quite difficult to do it. All the flowers were facing the ground. So, I had to pull the LCD screen of my Nikon Coolpix P500 camera and tilt it to face my face whereas the lens was aimed at one of the flowers. I pressed the shutter button several times in different settings to see the best one. The result is shown below:

Some buds were hanging on the vine waiting for the right time to bloom also as beautiful passion flowers.

The passion flowers can be seen blooming in the Arfak mountains in late September until October. I asked local people whether it is an endemic plant of Arfak. They said, "no. It was brought to Arfak mountains by American missionaries who came to spread the Gospel. The villagers also said that the seeds of the plants were taken from Wamena - a town in the central mountains of New Guinea. I still don't know whether this plant was originally from the area or had also been introduced to Wamena and the central mountains of New Guinea by American the missionaries.
In addition to passion fruit, Arfak mountains have got various species of tropical flowers that look beautiful both in high and low elevation areas. To book a hiking, and sightseeing tour in Arfak, you can contact me by my email: charlesroring@gmail.com for detailed itinerary and costs.
Also read:

Flower Tour in Minahasa Highland
Pretty Rainforest Flowers
Passion Fruit Flower