Tropical rainforest flowers

Here are some white hairy flowers that I saw in the rainforest of Klasow valley when I was guiding a Dutch tourist. I still do not know its species name. Klasow valley is a highly recommended tourist destination for visitors who want to see wildflowers that grow in lowland region of West Papua province of Indonesia.

There are a lot of species of flowers in tropical rainforest. When the flowers bloom in the morning, sun light warm them. As a result their fragrances are spread throughout the jungle. These attract butterflies, birds and insects come to eat their nectar. Flowers in the low elevation forest are different from the ones growing in high elevation. Many trees also produce flowers. There are some species that attracted me most. The first flower is Barringtonia Asiatica and the second one is Ntam (a local name). Barringtonia flower is unique because it is more "hairy." The hair actually is the filaments of the flower that are dominated by white and pink colors. The petals are white covering the filaments. Although this flower looks beautiful, it will be a deadly fruit one day. The fruit from barringtonia asiatica is usually used by coastal villagers to poison fish in the reef. An adult barringtonia asiatica plant is a big tree. This tree can be found growing along the beach. The extract liquid from the seed of barringtonia asiatica's fruit can be used to kill louse that likes to infest on the head of children.

High elevation tropical rainforest flowers have unique forms and beautiful colors. In big cities, people decorate their houses with flowers both indoors and outdoors. But the indigenous Papuan people in New Guinea island often use flowers to cure various kinds of tropical diseases such as malaria, and coughs.

Ntam flower

For example, Ntam flower in Kwau village of Arfak mountains is used by the villagers to cure skin disease. The flower is powerful in killing bactera and skin fungus. People with skin diseases only need to rub their skins that flowers from Ntam plants.  In Kwau village, a Papuan named Yatinus is an expert in herbal medicine from Arfak mountains. He is often called by people from neighboring villages to cure their diseases. So, rainforest is not only important for absorbing CO2 gases or carbon storage but also for providing medicinal flowers.

Wednesday 4 July 2012 Update:

Someone named Angela Mac Millan contacted me by email and told me that the above flower is called "Papua New Guinean impatients" or Impatiens hawkeri.  Thanks, Angela. I hope that one day you can visit West Papua of Indonesia. by Charles Roring

Traveling to Manokwari
If you are interested in traveling to Manokwari and need a private guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

February 5, 2016 Update:
In addition to taking pictures of flowers in the wild, I also like to draw or make illustration of flowers both manually on paper and watercolor pencil media or on a digital artwork. Below is a digital illustration of hibiscus flower and birdwing butterfly which I made using Inkscape software.

Bower Bird from Tropical rainforest of Arfak Mountains

by Charles Roring

The tropical rainforest of the bird's head region in the Arfak mountains of Manokwari regency has been an interesting destination for tourists who want to watch bower birds. Vogelkop bower bird is an endemic species of Arfak mountains. This species does not have beautiful plume or feather compared to birds of paradise but it has got several unique characteristics which attract a lot of birders to come to West Papua just to see it. The male bower birds build arch structures made of twigs and dry grasses and decorate them with bright colored articles such as fruits, flowers (and recently plastic wastes) to attract female bower birds.

To see those vogelkop bower birds, first, tourists must fly to Manokwari city (the capital of West Papua province in the Republic of Indonesia). After taking a rest for one or two days and buying food supplies in the city, tourists can continue their trip to Arfak mountains that are still covered with tropical rainforest but are increasingly facing deforestation. The villages that have become the destination for watching the bower birds are Kwau and Syioubri. These two neighboring villages are located at higher elevation region of Arfak mountains. It takes around two hours car ride to reach one of the villages.

The above video made by a Dutch tourist, Lian Schepers, shows how a male bower bird decorates his bower with plastic articles which he finds from the nearby area roads and villages. It is sad to see that the articles were plastic wastes instead of fresh flowers or fruits. Therefore, we advice tourists and villagers to wisely handle their plastic wastes while hiking through the rainforest of Arfak mountains so that the bower birds will not pick them up and use them for their display stage decoration. Besides watching the bower birds, tourists can also see the magnificent birds of paradise, Western parotia, spotted catbird, pitohui and many other species of birds that are endemic to Papua island. 
I compiled the photographs and videos of Arfak mountains and the bower birds to promote ecotourism in Manokwari. I hope that ecotourism can provide alternative jobs to the indigenous Papuan people in Arfak mountains so that they will not be tempted to sell their lands to investors who will exploit the timber and clear the land for monoculture palm oil plantation. To book a rainforest to in Manokwari, please, contact me by email to peace4wp@gmail.com

Traveling to Numfor island and Snorkeling in Manem islet

I and three tourists from the Netherlands (Wally, Trudy and Lian Schepers), together with some Papua as boat drivers, went to Manem island on 28 October 2010. We enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in its surrounding waters. The coral reef is still in very good condition making it an ideal place for tourists who want to take underwater pictures. Coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. It is the natural habitat of various species of marine plants and animals. When it carries out photosynthesis, it absorbs CO2 gases from the atmosphere that have already been dissolved through contacts with the sea water at the surface level. In other words, coral reef's function is the same as tropical rainforest. Its biodiversity is even higher than the rainforests. Because there is no diving center in Numfor, scuba divers and snorkelers must bring their own gears.

 

If there are any of you who want to travel to this tropical island and need a guide, please, contact me - Charles Roring - via an e-mail peace4wp@gmail.com, I will be happy to arrange your trip there and to be your guide while traveling around this beautiful tropical paradise.

Also read:

• Birding in Paddy Fields of District Sonder in Minahasa Highland
• Walking Tour, Birdwatching and Butterflywatching in District Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching in Minahasa Highland
• Manado City Birdwatching and Sightseeing Tour
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in Sulawesi
• Birdwatching and butterflywatching in Sonder
• https://wildlifeminahasa.blogspot.com

Tropical Rainforest as the Source of Papuan Music Inspiration - Part 4

The tropical rainforest of Numfor island is not only the source of food but also the source of art inspiration. Papuan musicians have created songs as part of their appreciation and love to the beauty of the nature and the rainforest.

When we went to see rusted machine guns and bombs which were World War II ordnance left by the American and the Japanese forces, we saw some traditional Papuan guitars at Mr. Simon Wanma's house. According to his explanation, the Papuan musicians like to come to his house at night to practice playing and singing their traditional songs. I found it interesting so I suggested to the Schepers whether they would come at night. They agreed that after eating dinner, they would come to see the "traditional Papuan music performance."
At night around 9 p.m. we walked to Mr. Simon Wanma's house again. After fifteen minutes walking, I told the Schepers that I need to stop by Piet Rumbiak's house to meet him for arranging the next day trip to Manem island where we would swim and snorkel around the coral reef which is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. So, I stopped at Mr. Rumbiak's house whereas the Schepers continued walking to Mr. Wanma's house.
Mr. Rumbiak was talking on the phone near the beach at the back of his house when I arrived. A few minutes later, we were discussing things related to our next day trip to Manem island. He suggested that we buy gasoline and oil in Yemburwo village before going to find a boat in villages that are located closer to the Manem island. When everything had been settled or arranged I left him for Mr. Wanma's house. It was not far and I only needed less than five minutes to find the house. It was quite. The Schepers had just been there less then five minutes too. I thought I walked faster than them. Well, the music performance had not been started. Perhaps it was because of the rain that was pouring over the village one hour ago.
Mr. Wanma went out of his house and told some of his assistants to call the musicians. They quickly rode bicycles to find the musicians and brought them to Mr. Wanma's house. Around fifteen to twenty minutes later, most of the musicians came. They set their instruments and made some preparations for the night's performance. I was amazed to see that they didn't need a lot of directions from their leader. Mr. Simon Wanma was their tribal leader but he might not be a musician. So, there has to be a leader among the music players but I could not find which one he was.
First they started playing their music instruments. All of them look like guitars but each has different size and function. Bass player was sitting on the floor with a cigarette between his fingers. They were playing and singing for around thirty minutes without any brake. It's amazing. Their songs are messages to Papuan especially the Biak tribe to love their lands, their tropical rainforest and their sea. The tropical rainforest and its surrounding nature is home not only to the animals but also to them as the indigenous people who have been living in the Biak, Numfor (Schouten) islands for generations.  
After listening to the songs, Wally Schepers sang one song (in English language) to them. Before going back to the losmen of Klasis Numfor, the Schepers said that they would try to invite these musicians to the Netherlands. by Charles Roring

Also read: 

Part 1: Traveling to Numfor Island: Tropical Rainforest and Coral Reef

Part 2: Bird watching in tropical rainforest of Numfor island

Part 3: Tropical rainforest of Numfor island the battle ground between the US and the Japanese forces during WWII

Tropical Rainforest of Numfor Island - the battle ground between the US and the Japanese Forces - Part 3

Between 1941-1944 Japanese occupied New Guinea island including the Numfor island that was still covered with tropical rainforest. Only small groups of Dutch troops that still continued the guerrilla fighting in the surrounding jungle of Manokwari. All of the Dutch troops in the Netherlands Nieuw Guinea had surrendered to the Japanese troops. Entering the 1943 and 1944, the American forces fought back. First they pushed the Imperial Japanese Navy out of Guadalcanal of Solomon islands, and Papua New Guinea. Second they entered Western half of the island in 1944. Hollandia was their first target, then Biak and Numfor islands. The Japanese troops had built air strips in this island and hid in the caves located in the tropical rainforest of the island. To defeat the Japanese, the American forces launched massive bombings and landed thousands of troops. It was not easy for both sides of the warring parties especially for the Japanese.  Many of the soldiers died not because of fierce gun fighting but malaria and lack of food. The Japanese army were defeated easily overwhelmed in number of troops and weapon technology. Well, that's a little story about war in the tropical rainforest of Numfor island.
Also read:
Part 1 Numfor Island Tropical Rainforest and Coral Reef
Part 2 Bird Watching in Tropical Rainforest of Numfor Island

I returned to my homestay after drinking coconut juice at Penginapan Klasis with the Schepers family. The homestay is located at the south of the Numfor airport. It belongs to Yonathan Rumbewas, a Papuan who works as construction worker. He built his house near the tropical rainforest which in the morning is always filled with the sounds of various species of birds. Coconut trees grow around his house creating a peaceful and cool atmosphere. Although during the mid-day the temperature of this tropical island is quite hot, the house stays cool due to a lot of green vegetation around it. The trees of the tropical rainforest absorb the CO2 gases during the photosynthesis and emit fresh oxygen that can be felt in the houses that are located near the forest.

In the afternoon, I walked to the Penginapan Klasis again to meet the Schepers. They were not there. There were at an eating house across from the losmen. I went there to offer another day trip to visit "World War II Museum" at Mr. Simon Wanma's house. They invited me to have lunch in that "rumah makan." I ate rice, carrot and cabbage soup and fried fish covered with chilli sauce. They ate noodle soup. They complained that they could not always eat rice. In addition the chili sauce was too hot for them. So, I decided to ask the woman to arrange food for the next days that is more suitable for them. She agreed to help them by making fried sukun (bread fruit), vegetables, and pisang goreng. With this arrangement, the Schepers could enjoy their food well.

After having lunch, I went out to find a public transportation that could carry us to Simon Wanma's house. I met someone named Piet Rumbiak. He was an old "taxi" driver. His car was a minivan Suzuki Carry. He was glad to meet these Dutch tourists. When I mentioned that Mr. Wally Schepers was born in Manokwari, Piet said that he used to live in Manokwari.

Fifteen minutes later, we were now at the World War II "Museum." Mr. Wanma bought some old machine guns and other ordnance from the local Papuans to avoid them from being sold to old iron buyers where they would be smelted and recycled to produce new metal products. For Mr. Simon Wanma, these old guns and bombs should be preserved for future generations of Numfor people so that they will know the history of the island. Fortunately these rustic machine guns and bomb could not be used anymore. by Charles Roring

Also read:

• Watching Lesser Birds of Paradise
• Where to watch birds of paradise
• Red Bird of Paradise
• Birds of Paradise in Sketches and Drawings