Marine Life in Raja Ampat

Karst in Kabui bay

Raja Ampat is a famous destination for tourists who like snorkeling or scuba diving. Its marine biodiversity is the highest in the world.
According to 2011 edition of Diving Indonesia Bird's Head Seascape written by Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock, in Raja Ampat there were 1,427 reef-fishes, 553 hard corals, and 43 mantis shrimps. 

From my personal experience, when I swim over a number of coral reef areas, of this regency, I see a lot of species of fish and other marine creatures. For instance, in Yenbuba strait, I see turtles, sweetlips, boxfish, and black-tip sharks. In Sawondarek, I see barracuda, and batfish. In Arborek, I see trevally, and giant clams.
From my recent scuba diving excursion in Mioskon island, I saw lizardfish, humpback grouper, lionfish, sweetlips and a lot of other fish.

Marine Life in Raja Ampat

My favorite snorkeling site is Warduwer beach located in southern region of Waigeo island.
I bring my own snorkeling mask, snorkel and fins. For taking pictures, I bring Fujifilm XQ2 with its waterproof case or Nikom AW 130. The camera is good enough for taking pictures of fish and coral reef. To take pictures underwater, I freedive to 2 - 5 meters so that I could be on the same eye level with the marine creature that I want to shoot. To stabilize my body in the water, my left hand holds a rock and my right hand takes pictures. The results are the ones that I present in this blog.
Here, I see Pink Anemonefish, Orange Skunk Anemonefish, Red and Black Anemonefish; parrotfish, catfish, scorpionfish, Tasselled Wobbegong; sea stars; Christmas Tree Worm and a lot of other marine creatures that are very beautiful and colorful. 

Turtle Conservation Works

In north-east region of Waigeo island, local villagers have been involved in turtle conservation initiatives by protecting nests or relocating eggs of leatherback, hawksbill, olive ridley. Their works are supported by local governments and NGOs, tourist guide association.

Turtle Conservation Works in Waigeo island

Tasselled Wobbegong

Tourists who want to visit Raja Ampat can take international flights from their country to Jakarta - the capital of Indonesia. After that they need to continue their trip by taking domestic flights to Sorong city. Airlines such as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Batik, Lion Air provide regular flights to Sorong city. Arriving in Sorong, they need to continue their trips to Raja Ampat by fast passenger ferry or by speed-boats. 

Equipment
Visitors who come to Raja Ampat can enjoy swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking, and birdwatching. Most dive resorts have got all the diving gear needed by guests. If tourists choose to stay in homestays, they need to bring their own snorkeling mask, snorkel and fins.

Also read:

Snorkeling and Birding in Raja Ampat
Kabui bay of Raja Ampat

Drawing of Red Bird of Paradise

Male Red Bird of Paradise

Early this month, I guided two American tourists to Waigeo island of Raja Ampat. We went there for watching birds, snorkeling and scuba diving. One of our birding targets was Red Bird of Paradise. To watch the bird, we had to wake up early in the morning at 04.30. After making preparations and having tea/ coffee and some bread, we left the beach resort where we stayed in by boat for a beach in southern region of Waigeo. It took around ten minutes for us to reach the beach. We still had to continue our trip by hiking up steep slopes for one hour to the lek of the bird.

Because the path was still dark, we used our flashlight. We walked for 1 hour under the canopy of tropical trees through a narrow footpath. We arrived at 06.00. The paradise birds had not shown up. We waited until the light from the rising sun reached the tree tops. Male Red Birds of Paradise began calling their female counterparts from the top branches. Soon after the female ones had come, the male birds began to dance. They performed courtship dances to seduce their female counterparts. If a female Red BOP is impressed with the dance of a male Red BOP, she would give green light for them to mate. We watched the birds using binoculars. The whole birds show were finished at around 09.00.

The American tourists who watched the paradise birds that morning were astonished with the dance skills of the Red Bird of Paradise. 

I have just finished drawing the male Red Bird of Paradise. Its feather were yellow, brown, red, and some green especially on the head area. It is now available as prints on various products of Redbubble including t-shirts, iPhone/ Samsung Galaxy case, poster, pillows, tote bag, spiral note book and hardcover journal. If you are interested in having some of them, please, visit this web page: Red Bird of Paradise

Rhododendron

I have just created a digital drawing of flower today. Its name is Rhododendron zoelleri. The flower plants live Arfak mountains. I saw the flowers when I guided 2 American tourists on a five-day hiking and birding trip. The rhododendron flowers have got bright color petals.

Rhododendron flower

In the mornings when the weather is good and bright, and the sunlight reach the flowers, birdwing butterflies can often be seen hopping or hovering from one flower to another to collect nectar.

Drawing has been my favorite hobby for years. Visitors of this blog who wants to see my visual artworks open this web-page: drawing portoflio.

Jelajah Pesisir Manokwari dengan Wisatawan Belanda

Ikan Nemo dan Ikan Tiga Spot Dascyllus

Beberapa hari yang lalu, saya berkesempatan untuk menemani 4 wisatawan Belanda untuk melihat keindahan alam pesisir kota Manokwari. Kami mulai di pagi hari pada jam 09.00 dari Hotel Triton. Dengan naik ojek, kami berangkat menuju Pantai Aipiri yang terletak di sebelah utara kota. Perjalanan memakan waktu kurang lebih 15 menit. Ketika tiba di lokasi suasana kampung Aipiri masih sunyi. Kami mulai menyusuri kawasan pesisir pantai dengan berjalan kaki. Jalanan yang kami lalui tidaklah beraspal dan banyak ditumbuhi oleh semak belukar. Sekali-sekali terdengar suara burung di pepohonan. Ada juga kupu-kupu kecil yang menghisap nektar bunga-bunga liar yang tumbuh di kedua sisi jalan. Setelah berjalan kurang lebih 15 menit, jalan yang tadinya rata mulai berubah mendaki. Kemiringannya agak terjal dan licin ditumbuhi lumut. Mungkin sudah lama tidak digunakan. Kendaraan roda empat seperti Toyota Avanza atau Inova yang mau lewat sini pasti tidak bisa tembus.

Di kedua sisi jalan, warga kampung Aipiri menanam pepaya, pisang, mangga, dan tanaman pertanian lainnya. Kami terus berjalan hingga dipuncaknya. Dari kejauhan nampak Samudra Pasifik yang saat itu lautnya sedang teduh. Saat menuruni bukit, jalannya rusak berat. Untung saja kami tidak sedang naik kendaraan bermotor sehingga tidak mengalami kesulitan berarti saat melewatinya. Hanya kendaraan 4wd (four wheel drive) seperti Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton atau Ford Ranger yang bisa menjelajahi dengan kondisi terjal dan rusak seperti ini.

Tak lama kemudian kami lewat di kawasan perkebunan kelapa. Pohonnya sudah tinggi sekali dan perlu peremajaan. Setelah itu kami memasuki wilayah kampung bakaro yang terletak di sebuah teluk berair tenang. Kampung ini terkenal dengan obyek wisata pemanggilan ikan.

Kami berjalan menuju pantai Bakaro. Para wisatawan Belanda yang masih muda itu mengganti pakaian mereka dengan baju renang dan langsung berjalan ke laut. Mereka berenang dan snorkeling. Saya bergabung dengan mereka kira-kira 1 jam kemudian setelah peralatan snorkeling yang saya pesan tiba. Ada 3 buah peralatan snorkeling yang tersedia di dalam tas milik saya tersebut. Para wisatawan Belanda tersebut mengikuti saya berenang ke kawasan terumbu karang. Ada ikan striped-surgeonfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, damsel dan berbagai ikan laut lainnya yang kami lihat saat berenang di Pantai Bakaro.

Saya membawa kamera bawah laut Nikon AW 130. Saya kemudian menyelam hingga ke kedalaman sekitar 2 meter untuk memotret ikan-ikan itu. Spesies nemo yang saya lihat di terumbu karang Bakaro adalah Red and Black Anemonefish. Ada juga ikan Three-spots Dascyllus yang hidup berdampingan dengan nemo-nemo itu.

Bersama Wisatawan Belanda

Di siang hari, kami beristirahat dengan minum air putih dan makan biskuit. Selanjutnya kami melanjutkan perjalanan kami ke Pulau Mansinam dengan taksi air. Selama berada di pulau itu kami melihat monumen pendaratan Ottow Geissler yang terletak di pinggir pantai. Saya memberikan sedikit penjelasan tentang bagaimana para utusan Zending berlayar dari Belanda hingga tiba di Pulau Mansinam. Kamimjuga berjalan kami hingga ke puncak pulau yang ada patung Yesus. Setelah itu kami ke pantai Air Salobar. Teriknya matahari membuat kulit para wisatawan Belanda itu memerah. Saya bertanya pada mereka apakah sudah mengoleskan sun-block lotion di kulit mereka. Para wisatawan itu menjawab ya. Namun mereka tidak yakin bahwa lotion itu cukup efektif melindungi kulit orang Eropa yang lebih sensitif terhadap sinar matahari.

Ketika hari sudah sore, kami kembali lagi ke hotel Triton. Perjalanan sore itu sangat menyenangkan buat para wisatawan Belanda tersebut. Saya pun mengucapkan selamat tinggal pada mereka dan pulang ke rumah. Keesokan harinya, para wisatawan Belanda itu melanjutkan perjalanan wisata mereka ke kota lain dengan naik pesawat.

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Christmas Tree Worm

I like snorkeling, freediving and even scuba diving. It is a very good water sport that I like to do when going to the beach. There is a nice beach in southern region of Waigeo island of Raja Ampat which has become my frequent snorkeling spot. Its name is Warduwer. Swimming at this beach, I could see very nice coral reef with a lot of marine life.
There are parrotfish, sweetlips, moorish idol, butterflyfish, and anemonefish. There are other marine creatures as well, such as blue sea star, sea cucumber, burrowing clam, and Christmas Tree Worm.

Blue Christmas Tree Worm

Christmas Tree Worm is a kind of small mollusc sea animals that lives on the surface of big rocks especially in the shallow water area of coral reef. The most popular species is called Spirobranchus giganteus. There are several colors of them including the yellow, brown, red, blue and green worms. They use their feathery tentacles to catch nutrients (food) in sea water.

Sabellastarte sea worm

When I go swimming and snorkeling at Warduwer beach, I bring waterproof camera such as Nikon AW 130 or Fujifilm XQ2 that has been put inside its waterproof case. To take pictures of the Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus), I have to freedive, and approach the worms very slowly. I must avoid making violent movements in the water that will cause the worms to pull themselves back into their holes. To stabilize my body, I usually grab a hard coral and pull my body deeper into the water so that I could be closer to the beautiful sea creatures.

Orange Christmas Tree Worm

With my left hand holding a hard coral and my right hand holding the camera, I will shoot the Christmas Tree Worms several times. Before shooting, I have to make sure that my camera is in macro mode. This will enable me to position my camera very close to the animal. Most often I reposition my hand on different shooting angles to get better photographs. After taking pictures of the worm, I can move on to shoot other subjects. The average time that I need to descend, position my camera, and shoot the worms is between 30 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds. Because the depths where I freedive is only around 1.5 to 5 meters, I don't wear dive watch.

Coral Reef in Raja Ampat

The coral reef of Raja Ampat is a very nice environment for tourists who want to spend their vacation by swimming and snorkeling. I highly recommend it to all marine lovers. - written by Charles Roring

Also read:
Snorkeling and Birding in Raja Ampat
Marine Life in Raja Ampat
A Visit to Waigeo Island

Di ITC Mall, Natal dirayakan dengan tarian tradisional (in Indonesian language)