Outdoor Adventure Tour in Raja Ampat

As a tourist guide, I often organize adventure tour for anyone who is interested in exploring the outdoor marine environment of Raja Ampat. The tour will include swimming, snorkeling and free-diving in some uninhabited islands where visitors can see the wealth of marine life of the archipelago. There are thousands of fish and marine creatures that we could see in the water while we enjoy snorkeling or free diving. Some of them include
butterflyfish, spadefish, moorish idol, convict surgeonfish, damselfish, pink anemonefish, snappers, groupers, parrotfish, sweetlips and giant trevally and manta.

Adventure Tour in Raja Ampat islands

In addition to water sport activities, we will also go hiking in the forest to watch wild animals and tropical birds including the Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra) and Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes respublica). From my previous experience, we could also watch other birds such as Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Blyth's Hornbill, Beach Kingfisher, Singing Starling, Brahminy Kite during the tour.
Taking Pictures

Visitors need to bring good photographic devices for taking pictures of those birds. D-SLR camera, with super telephoto lens, is an ideal one but it is heavy and expensive. Fortunately, there are bridge cameras that offer excellent quality pictures for birding and wildlife watching. Some bridge cameras that I highly recommend are Nikon P600, Nikon P900, Canon SX60 HS, and Fujifilm HS50EXR. 

Flying to Raja Ampat

I often receive questions about flight info from visitors who want to visit Raja Ampat. As a matter of fact, it is not difficult to reach Raja Ampat. 

• Fly from your country to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia
• And then fly from the city to Sorong city. There are daily regular flights that are served by such domestic airlines as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Nam Air, Batik Air and Travira Air between Jakarta and Sorong.
• When you have arrived in Sorong, you could take ferry or speed boat to Raja Ampat.

Things to bring

If you want to enjoy swimming and snorkeling, don't forget to bring mask, fins, and fins. If you also want to enjoy birding, a good pair of binoculars is highly needed. You also need to bring ziploc plastic bags to protect your passport, money and other important documents for the trip. Torch is also needed because electricity is not always available in remote islands.

For traveling to remote uninhabited islands, bringing dome tents and mattrasses will enable us to stay there for several nights.

My Bridge Birding Camera

Lesser Birds of Paradise shot by Fujifilm HS50EXR

Most professional photographers use D-SLR camera with telephoto lens to take pictures of birds. However, they are very expensive and heavy. I have used bridge cameras for birding since 2010. The quality of photographs, may not be the best, but is good enough for bird identification and picture sharing on my blog and social media. My first bridge camera was Nikon Coolpix P500. I used it when I traveled to a lot of regions not only in West Papua but also in Indonesia. Later, when the camera could not function properly anymore, I bought Nikon Coolpix P600. It was a nice camera but had a very short life. I did not make a lot of pictures of birds with the P600. Now, there are Nikon P900 and Nikon P1000 on the market but I haven't tested them yet.

Grass flowers in Tambrauw Mountain

My Current Birding Camera

After using Nikon cameras for several years, I decided to buy a different camera from different brand. I bought a Fujifilm HS50EXR. After using the cameras for several years, I could say that this is my best choice. I have captured hundreds of good quality pictures of birds, butterflies, flowers and landscape scenery. The camera is not expensive compared to high end D-SLR camera. To take pictures of  birds, I have to turn the lens barrel manually. This saves the battery life of my camera. I often spend 3 days up to 2 weeks guiding visitors on a birding trip in the jungle of West Papua from the tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains to Klasow valley, to Raja Ampat. For that long trip, I always have 1 extra battery in the pocket of my bag. I also put the charging device and its cable in it. My Fujifilm HS50EXR allows me to take pictures of birds for several days in the jungle without recharging. I often mention this camera in my blog posts.

Coconut Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus)

I hope that Fujifilm will continue to upgrade this Finepix HS50 EXR camera by creating higher version with 50x or even 60x optical zoom. However, I am sad to read that the company has discontinued the production and further development this electronic product.

by Charles Roring

Red Bird of Paradise

Red Bird of Paradise

I have organized birding tours in West Papua for several years now. Most of the visitors come to watch paradise birds. One of the most favorite destinations is Raja Ampat. There are two species that are known to science, i.e. Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra) and Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes respublica). There are a lot of places that we could go to watch the Red BOP. One of them is in the forest of Waigeo island. This year, I run several birding and snorkeling tours to Raja Ampat. To watch the birds, we have to wake up at 04.00 in the morning. We need to make some preparations such as preparing our clothing, hiking shoes, binoculars, camera and food. After having some tea and biscuits, we need to walk up slopes for approximately 45 minutes to reach the birding ground. Local villagers have built a birding platform made of wood. The raised wooden structure is 4 meters tall and is suitable for photographers who want to take pictures of birds.

Birdwatching in Raja Ampat

Birds are usually active from 06.00 to 09.00. Male Red Birds of Paradise call their female counterparts and compete one another to win the heart of the female birds for mating. They perform their best courtship dance to impress the female birds. Red Birds of Paradise look similar to Lesser Birds of Paradise but they have got red feather.

To watch Red Bird of Paradise, visitors need binoculars. I highly recommend the ones manufactured by Zeiss, Swarovski or Nikon. The size can be 10×42 mm or even the 12×50 mm. There are also binoculars that are made by Chinese companies and are offered in more affordable prices. I personally use a pair of Visionking 10×42 mm binoculars. They are not the best in the market but they are good enough for birding and wildlife watching. So, if you plan to enjoy birding, don't forget to bring good quality binoculars to enhance your birdwatching experience.

Birding is not the only activity which tourists can enjoy while traveling to Raja Ampat, snorkeling and swimming are also interesting especially for visitors who like to see coral reef and marine life. So, visitors can bring mask, snorkel, and fins if they want to enjoy snorkeling in the archipelago.

Also read:
Red Bird of Paradise Digital Art
Wildlife Tour in Raja Ampat

Outdoor Adventure Trips in Raja Ampat

I organize Outdoor Adventure Trips for anyone who is interested in exploring uninhabited islands, coral reef environment and tropical rainforest of Raja Ampat. The duration of the tour is from 3 to 6 days. During the trip, visitor will be able to enjoy snorkeling over coral reef of the archipelago to see such colorful tropical fish as moorish idol, anemonefish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, surgeonfish and a lot more.

Panoramic View of Raja Ampat islands

For adventure in the forest, visitor will go hiking to watch paradise birds such as Wilson's Birds of Paradise (Diphyllodes respublica) and Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). There are also a lot of other birds and animal in the jungle of the archipelago. Some of them include Lowland Peltop, Eclectus Parrot, Rainbow Lorikeet, Beach Kingfisher, Olive-backed Sunbird, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, and Coconut Lorikeet.
Raja Ampat is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Indonesia. This regency has got hundreds of small tropical islands that are surrounded by white sandy beach and pristine coral reef.

Things to bring:
For visitors who like swimming and snorkeling, a snorkeling set such as mask, fins, and underwater camera is needed.
For birders, a good pair of binoculars, digital camera with telephoto lens will enhance their birding experience.

Crystal Clear Sea Water and Coral Reef in Raja Ampat

How to get there?
It is easy to reach the islands.

• First, visitors need to make a little research on the internet about the available tour package in Raja Ampat. 
• After finding the ones that they are interested in, they can fly from their country to Jakarta or Denpasar. 
• There are regular domestic flights served by airlines in Indonesia such as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Nam Air and Batik Air to Sorong city.
• From this city, visitors can continue their trip by fast ferry boat to Raja Ampat.

Beach Kingfisher

I was in Waisai town of Raja Ampat a few days ago for meeting with other local guides. During that trip I had a short birding walk in a small cape near the harbor. It was morning time and the activity of birds were quite high. Birds that I saw at that time were Willie Wagtail, Coconut Lorikeet, Moustached Treeswift, Singing Starling and Beach Kingfisher.

I brought with me a pair of 10×42 mm Visionking roof prism binoculars, and my old bridge camera Fujifilm HS50EXR. Because I was watching birds from the second floor of a building, I could easily find birds that were perching on the surrounding trees. I could also see some singing starlings that were sitting on top of navigation lamp post that stood on the shallow water of the cape. After watching birds for approximately 30 minutes, I walked down the building and had a short walk to the side and backyard of the building. There was a gazebo on the shallow water right below the cape. It was connected to the cape by wooden bridge. I walked to the gazebo. I could hear the sound of various species of birds in that small forest but could not see them easily due to the enormous number of leaves, branches and twigs of the trees in the steep slopes of the cape. So, I walked back to the top of the cape.

Beach Kingfisher in Waigeo island

Soon I was able to take pictures of rainbow lorikeet. I gave up hope of seeing Beach Kingfisher that was calling from inside the bush of the trees. One hour later I could hear the sound of the Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus). The bird had flown on to dead branches of a tree above the sea. He called his female counterpart for a few minutes from that naked branches. As soon as I saw him, I quickly turned on my camera and aimed it at the bird. I was able to take some good pictures of the bird. He was approximately 40 meters away from me. I used maximum zoom of my camera. Less than 3 minutes later, he flew away.

Beach Kingfisher (Todiramphus saurophagus)

About Raja Ampat

Raja Ampat islands are very beautiful destination for visitors who like marine tourism such as swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving. The islands are also perfect places for birding. I have guided visitors to Raja Ampat both for birding, snorkeling and sightseeing.

There are hundreds of islands in this regency that are surrounded by pristine coral reef and covered by pristine rainforest. Every year thousands of visitors go there to enjoy swimming, sunbathing, snorkeling and kayaking. But there are also significant percentage of visitors who go there for watching birds particularly the Wilson's Bird of Paradise and Red Bird of Paradise. This was wriiten by Charles Roring

Also read:

• Birding and butterfly watching in Sonder's Forest and Farmland
• Azure Kingfisher
• Azure Kingfisher in Halmahera
• Yellow-billed Kingfisher
• Great-billed Kingfisher