Birds of New Guinea

The newest edition of Birds of New Guinea by Thane K. Pratt, Bruce M. Beehler, Anderton, Szabolcs Kokay has been released Princeton Field Guides.
Birdwatchers and nature lovers who plan to visit West Papua and Papua New Guinea can now order this book from Amazon.

I hope that more visitors will be interested taking birding tour in this island.

Beach-Walking and Birdwatching at Amban Beach of Manokwari

Last week, I accompanied some of my friends who went surfing at Amban beach of Manokwari. We rode motorcycles to the beach. The surf spot was around 500 meters from where we parked our motorcycles. So, we had to walk for around 7 to 10 minutes to reach it. The view of the beach was beautiful. Some villagers were seen walking along the beach.

The swells were not too big when we arrived but still strong enough for beginning surfers at that time.I took some pictures of the scenery and also the surfers at sea. They were members of Abasi Surfing and some pilots from Susi Air.

Amban beach is a nice place for birdwatchers particularly for those who like doing beach walk and taking pictures of such sea birds as tern, frigate, swallow, and kingfishers. While I was sitting on the gray sand of the beach, I saw a bird flying over the sea towards a tree some one hundred meters from me. It perched on a branch of the tree. I immediately shot the bird several times using Nikon Coolpix P600. This camera was donated by SDSP Foundation to me and my friends for the pupose of promoting eco-tourism in Manokwari. We hope that this camera will be able to help us increase the intensity of our promotional works.
Back at home, I copied the picture of the bird into my laptop for editing works. I used Adobe Photoshop to resize, brighten it. Then I added some text caption on the picture. It was quite difficult to identify the bird. Finally, I came close to a conclusion that it was PERHAPS a Black Noddy (Anous minutus).

If you are interested in visiting Amban beach, you have to bring abottle of a STRONG anti insect repellent lotion. For further info about travelling in Manokwari, Sorong and other areas in West Papua, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Swedish Girls in Manokwari

Last Sunday (12 Oct. 2014) I was called by two Swedish girls who had just arrived in Manokwari by Sriwijaya Air. They were Catarina and Cait. They wanted to meet me to ask for information about tourist attractions in Papua. From our conversations that afternoon, I suggested that they go to Raja Ampat. They said that their plan was to go to Asmat. I made a few phone calls to my friends in Jayapura and Mapi regency to get more info about flights to Asmat.

Catarina and Cait - two Swedish girls were tasting red fruit paste in Manokwari

While waiting for their detailed information, I brought them to West Papua Art and Culture Festival in Valeria area. It was the final day of the festival. Fortunately there were still some stands open for visitors.
Most of the participants of the festival were happy to receive these Swedish girls. They showed them how the tradional Papuan cloth was made. There were several stands that exhibit Papuan food. Catarina and Cait were given the opportunity to taste some of the foods.
When they were offered to taste the red fruite paste, I quickly turned my smartphone camera on and took some pictures of them. The women who served these Swedish visitors explained that the paste was good for their skin because it contains a lot of vitamins and other nutrients that were good for human health.
The tour to the festival was only as short trip but Catarina and Cait looked happy about it. The next day, they continued their trip to Sorong and then to Raja Ampat. Perhaps, they would fly to Asmat after spending one week holiday in Raja Ampat. I hope that they will return to West Papua again to explore the Arfak mountains or enjoy snorkeling in Bitsyari bay of Kaimana where they will be able to see whaleshark. This was written by Charles Roring/ E-mail: peace4wp@gmail.com

Also read:

• Tropical Birds in Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching in Sonder of Minahasa Highland of Indonesia
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birding in the Paddy Fields of Subdistrict Sonder
• Birdwatching in the Farmland of Sonder Town
• Walking Tour, Birdwatching and Butterflywatching in District Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Birds in North Sulawesi
• Birdwatching Tour in the Farmland and Forest of Minahasa Highland
• Manado City Tour: Birdwatching and Sightseeing
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birdwatching in Sulawesi
• Birdwatching in Minahasa Highland
• Collared Kingfisher
• Birding in Minahasa of North Sulawesi
• Birding in Higher Elevation Forest of Minahasa
• https://wildlifeminahasa.blogspot.com

Cruise Ships in Manokwari

Several cruise ships have visited Manokwari this year. They are guided by Oswald from Cruise Asia. The first one was Caledonian Sky. It entered Dore bay in August and was in the harbor of Manokwari from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m..Guests from the ship watched traditional dance at Abasi beach and enjoyed lunch prepared by the indigenous people who cooked the food using traditional barapen style. The villagers burn stones first and then with the hot stones they cooked the food.
Then, they continued their trip to Table Mountain where they walked through and under the canopy of tropical rainforest.

Cruise ship Discovery Explorer in the Dore bay of Manokwari

The second cruise ship that entered Manokwari was Discovery Explorer. This was a small cruise ship that visited Mansinam island on 11 October 2014. It anchored some 200 meters off the coast of the island from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Using a small boat, the crew of the vessel transfered around 50 passengers to the pier of Mansinam for a welcome ceremony. They were received by the village chief, priests from the local church and the villagers.
After that some of the guests went snorkeling and scuba diving around the waters of Mansinam. There are several shipwrecks in the bay of Manokwari. Because the weather was not really good that morning, they could only dive in front of Cross Monument of Mansinam island.

Traditional Dance Performance by people from Arfak Mountains

Most of the guests from the ship was later transferred to Manokwari town to see the West Papua Art and Culture Festival. There they watched traditional dance performance, and handicrafts made by Papuan men and women artists.
We hope that more cruise ships will visit Manokwari in the future and we will do our best to serve the guests who come with the ships.

Rainforest Tour in Malagufuk village of Sorong Regency

There is a huge area of lowland rainforest in Klasow valley approximately 1 hour 30 minutes by 4WD pick-up car to the east from Sorong city. There are tens of villages in the valley. Some of them were Malagufuk, Klatomok, Klabili. Various species of tropical trees such as ficus, African tulip, matoa and merbau can be found in the region.

Rainforest in Malagufuk

It is also the natural habitat of Lesser Birds of Paradise, Blyth's Hornbill, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Kingfishers and Casuari birds. There are also deers, wallaby and wild pigs that live in the jungle.

Ficus tree in the rainforest of
Klasow Valley - Sorong regency

Because much of the land is flat, visitors will be able to enjoy an easy nature walk find while exploring the forest.

Use digital camera with telephoto lens or such bridge camera as Nikon Coolpix P900 to take pictures of Blyth's hornbill, cockatoos, butterflies, terrestrial orchids, cuscus possum, snake, riverscape and wild vines that are seen during the jungle walk.

Blyth's hornbill in the rainforest of
Klasow valley - Sorong regency

How to get there?

• If you are still in your country, fly to Jakarta
• Then continue your trip to Sorong city by a domestic flight. Check the websites of Garuda Air, Sriwijaya Air, Express Air, and Lion Air for flight schedule between Jakarta and Sorong city.
• At least, one week before flying to Sorong, please contact me Charles Roring by calling or sending text message to my cell phone number +6281332245180. I will arrange a 4WD pick up truck, prepare the logistics, and contacting local villagers for your trip in Klasow valley.

Cost

Every tour in the rainforest is unique. The cost depends on the number of participants, the number of days visitors want to stay in the jungle and the distance visitors want to cover while walking in the jungle. We can customize the tour based on the duration of stay and the number of participants of the forest tour.

We can calculate the cost including chartered 4WD car, food, cook, local guides, chartered boat, snorkeling mask, camping gear, cooking and eating utensils, rechargeable lamps and etc. Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com for further information about the cost and itinerary of the tour.

What you need to prepare

Because you are going to have a tour in the rainforest, do not expect to stay in a comfortable hotel. You will stay in homestay or basic accommodation guesthouse.. Bring a thin sleeping back that will cover your body from insect bites. Buy a bottle of insect repellent lotion and apply it on your skin. 

Terrestrial orchids in the forest of Klasow valley - Sorong regency

The villagers of Malaumkarta, Klabili, and Malagufuk are still in the very early stage of developing their eco-tourism. So, visitors are advised to be more tolerant to their lack of skills and experience when serving you as visitors. We greatly hope that the villagers of Klatomok, and Malagufuk in the Klasow valley will stop logging activities and preserve their precious environment for future generation of Papua. You could do the rainforest tour in this valley alone or with your friends before or after visiting Raja Ampat.

Snorkeling Trip in Raja Ampat

In addition to rainforest tour in lowland forest of Sorong regency, visitors can combine it with a trip to Raja Ampat to enjoy snorkeling and birdwatching. The coral reef of Raja Ampat is the habitat of a lot of species of marine creatures. Visitors could enjoy swimming and snorkeling in various sites around Waigeo such as the Lesser Urai Island, Mioskon island, Arborek, Yenbuba Strait, Sawandarek, and Cape Kri. 

White sandy beach in Raja Ampat

To take photographs of marine life, visitors can bring GoPro action camera, or Nikon W300 and Olympus TG-7. Although most beach resorts provide snorkeling mask, and fins, visitors should bring their own snorkeling device that are fit on their face and feet.

Coral reef in Arborek

If you are interested in taking this rainforest tour in Sorong regency and still need my help in providing more info about costs or in arranging your trip, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or send text message to my cell phone: +6281332245180

Rainforest Tour in Minahasa Peninsula of North Sulawesi

Minahasa Peninsula is a region in the Province of North Sulawesi of Indonesia that is also interesting for rainforest wildlife tourism. Its lowland and lower montane forest in Tangkoko Nature Reserve is the habitat of Sulawesi Bear Cuscus, Celebes-crested Macaque, Gursky's Spectral Tarsier, and etc. 

Sulawesi Bear Cuscus

Birdwatching is a favorite activity among visitors who go to Tangkoko. There, they could watch Green-backed Kingfisher, Lilac Kingfisher, Ruddy Kingfisher, Great-billed Kingfisher, Ashy Woodpecker, Purle-winged Roller, and etc. 

Green-backed Kingfisher

In the mountains, there are a lot of species of tropical birds that we could watch such as Scaly-breasted Kingfisher, Sulawesi Myzomela, Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher, Yellow-sided Flowerpecker, Gray-sided Flowerpecker, Crimson-crowned Flowerpecker, Warbling White-eye, Black-crowned White-eye, Crimson Sunbird, Sahul Sunbird, Black Sunbird, Pale Blue Monarch, Pygmy Woodpecker, Citrine Canary Flycatcher, Sulawesi Bush Warbler, White-breasted Woodswallow, Pygmy Hanging Parrot, Yellow-billed Malkoha, and etc. 

Lakes and wet rice fields are the habitat of various kinds of water birds such as Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Barred Rail, Buff-banded Rail, Isabelline Bush-hen, White-browed Crake, White-breasted Waterhen, Javan Pond Heron, and etc. 

Most birdwatchers need binoculars. The recommended ones include Nikon Monarch, Swarovski, Swarovski 8×42 mm, 10×42 mm or 10×50 mm binoculars. 

Flight Routes

To visit Minahasa Peninsula, visitors need to fly from their countries to Manado city which is the capital of North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. There are regular flights between Manado city and other big cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, Makassar. They are served by Garuda, Citilink, Lion Air, Batik Air, SuperAirjet, and TransNusa. 

Flight Routes to Manado City

There are direct flights between Singapore and Manado city served by Scoot Air, as well as between Guangzhou of China and Manado city of Indonesia served by Transnusa, and China Southern Airlines. 

Accommodation

• For birding and wildlife watching in Tangkoko Nature Reserve, visitors could stay in one of the many homestays and lodges outside the park. 
• For the same activity in Minahasa highland such as Mount Mahawu, Lake Linow, and Sonder farm forest, visitors could stay in hotels or homestays in Tomohon town. 

Booking

If you are interested in taking a birding and wildlife watching tour in Minahasa Peninsula and want me to organize your trip, please, contact me by WhatsApp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Also read:

• Birds in Malagufuk, Sorong and Raja Ampat
• Raja Ampat Snorkeling
• Snorkeling in Raja Ampat around Kabui Bay
• Birding in Tangkoko
• Birding and Wildlife Watching in Tangkoko and Minahasa Highland 
• Discover Bunaken National Park: Sightseeing, Snorkeling and Marine Tours
• 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 and butterflywatching in Sonder