Farm Tour in Minahasa Highland

Sightseeing and Farm Tour in Indonesia - Minahasa highland is a region in the province of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Most of the people who live in Minahasa work as farmers. 

Lake Tondano and fruits in Minahasa highland

They grow vegetables, fruits, rice, and industrial agricultural crops such as clove, nilam, and nutmeg. Therefore, it is interesting to visit the agricultural land, meet farmers and enjoy sightseeing across the beautiful landscape of Minahasa.

Rice field in Minahasa highland

Visitors who travel to Minahasa can take this agricultural tour to see farmland, the activities of farmers, the types of crops that they grow and the kinds of tools which the farmers use. 

In wetland area such as Tincep, Talikuran, Kayawu, and Langowan, visitors could see rice field. Rice is the main staple food of people in Asia. Farmers also run fish farming, usually by building ponds along the riverside. Tilapia (locally called mujair) and carp (locally called ikan mas) are two kinds of fish which farmers like to raise in their farm. 

Lake Linow and some of the flower plants which villagers grow in Subdistrict Sonder

In addition to food crops, visitors who take this farm tour can see other agricultural commodities which farmers in Minahasa like to grow such as flowers, patchouli, vanilla, and clove. Colourful flower plants could be seen in Tincep village of Subdistrict Sonder and the farmland of Tomohon town. 

In the past a lot of farmers grow because the price of its clove flower buds was very high. Now farmers have diversified the crops that they grow. 

The duration of this farm tour can be as short as 1 day to as long as 3 days. Visitors who take this trip can see the natural beauty of the landscape, visit farmlands, meet and interact with local villagers and enjoy local cuisines.

To take this tour, visitors need to fly from their country to Manado city which is the capital of North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Regular daily flights between Manado city and main big cities in Indonesia are served by Garuda, Batik Air, Lion Air, Super Airjet, TransNusa and etc. 

Flight routes between Manado and cities in Indonesia as well as between Manado and Singapore

There are also international direct flights between Manado and Singapore that is served by Scoot Air; as well as between Manado and Guangzhou China that is served by TransNusa.

If you are interested in taking this farm tour in Minahasa highland, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. 

Also read:

• Minahasa Highland Tour
• Nature Tour from Manado City

Freediving Photos from Raja Ampat

Snorkeling

I am guiding a Dutch lady this week on a snorkeling and freediving trip in Raja Ampat. We stayed at a guesthouse in Waigeo island run by a Papuan family. The coral reef at the front of the guesthouse is very beautiful and is the natural habitat of a lot of species of fish and other marine creatures.
This morning I gave an introductory snorkeling lesson to her. It was the first time for her to learn snorkeling. She practiced snorkeling in shallow water at depths of 1 to 1.5 meters. Wearing a life-jacket, mask, snorkel and water shoes, she started swimming to deeper area to see such fish as moorish idol, goatfish, striped surgeonfish, convict surgeonfish, damselfish, longfin spadefish, and butterflyfish. She was very happy to see the marine life.

Marine Life in Raja Ampat

After giving her a short snorkeling lesson that morning, I continued my exploration of the coral reef alone. With an action camera in my hand, I enjoyed freediving for approximately 45 minutes. I descended to a depth of 5 to 7 meters to find anemonefish, sea-star, Christmas tree worm, and grouper. I was able to take some good pictures of the underwater world of this beautiful marine environment.
In the afternoon, we had a tour around the King's karst, a tidal cave and a lagoon in Gam island. We really liked this adventure especially this July. The wind was strong and the sea surface was rough. During July, very few tourists come to Raja Ampat because weather is bad and the sea is mostly covered by whitish big waves. During the adventure tour by boat, we did some birding. From that afternoon trip, we saw Lesser Frigatebird, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Spice Imperial Pigeon, Beach Kingfisher, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Brahminy Kite, Eclectus Parrot, Hooded Butcherbird, Pacific Swallow, Crested Tern, Brown Cuckoo Dove, and White-breasted Woodswallow.

Blue Sea Star and white Sea Worm

To watch birds, we used 10×42 mm binoculars. For taking pictures of them, we used Canon SX430. For underwater photographs, I used Brica B-Pro 5 Alpha Edition.
As a tourist guide, I offer a combined snorkeling, sightseeing, island hopping and birding tour to Raja Ampat for tourists who are interested in seeing the birdlife, marinelife and beautiful landscape of this tropical islands. If you want me to be your guide, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180. I will be happy to organize your trip and guide you around this marine paradise.