Wildlife watching in tropical rainforest and marine environment of Indonesia from snorkeling in Raja Ampat to hiking and birding in Manado city, Minahasa highland and Tangkoko Nature Reserve.
My e-mail: peace4wp@gmail.com
Cendrawasih is the Indonesian terminology for birds of paradise. There are approximately 43 species of cendrawasih and most of them can be found in rainforest of New Guinea. There are tens of places where visitors can go to watch them. Some of them include Waigeo island, Wondiboy Mountains, Arfak mountains and Tambrauw Mountains.
Cendrawasih Raja is also called King Bird of Paradise
Cendrawasih Raja (Cicinnurus regius), also called King Bird of Paradise, can be watched in Susnguakti forest of Manokwari. It takes around one hour by car plus 1 hour 30 minutes of hiking to reach birding site. Cendrawasih Raja can also be watched in Klatomok village of Klasow valley.
Paradigala Ekor Panjang
Paradigala Ekor Panjang (Paradigalla carunculata), also called Long-tailed Paradigalla, is a bird of paradise whose living area is very limited. It can be found in higher elevation or cloud forest of Arfak mountains. This is an important target among birdwatchers who want to see endemic birds of New Guinea.
Parotia Arfak / Western Parotia (Parotia sefilata)
Parotia Arfak (Parotiasefilata), also called Western Parotia) is another species of Bird of Paradise that lives in cloud forest of Arfak mountains. The male bird dances like a ballerina. This cendrawasih bird has six antennas on his head.
A Male Parotia Barat/ Western Parotia was performing his courtship dance
Before performing his courtship dance, a male Parotia Arfak pick-up fallen twigs and leaves from his "dancing stage." After that he calls his female partners to the dancing ground. He will do several dancing rehearsals. When the female Parotia Arfak comes, he will immediately perform his dance. It last for several minutes. During a mating season, the dance will be performed several times a day and the whole performance may last for around 1 hour or more.
Lesser Birds of Paradise in West Papua
Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil (Paradisaeaminor), also called Lesser Birds of Paradise, live in lowland and lower montane forest of New Guinea. The male one has got yellow, brown, green, and white colours. A male Cendrawasih Kuning Kecil is more beautiful than the female one.
I have just returned from Roswar. It is an island in Cendrawasih Bay and part of the territory of Wondama regency. I stayed in Waprak village which is the capital of District Roswar.
Guesthouses near hot spring in Roswar island for visitors
It is a beautiful island that is surrounded by coral reef. Most of Roswar is covered by rainforest. Villagers of Roswar work as fishermen and farmers. They catch fish and lobster. When passenger ship visits the island, villagers sell their fish to passengers and crew of the ship at the jetty of Nordiwar village. The coastal area of Roswar consists of brown and white sand beaches, rocks and cliffs; and manggrove forest. A lot of fish make manggrove forest as their hiding and breeding sites. That's the reason why there is a lot of fish in Roswar.
Roswar island in Wondama regency of West Papua
The forest of Roswar is the habitat of mammals, reptiles, birds, and insects. There are parrots, doves, and kingfishers in Roswar island.
Visitors who travel to Roswar can enjoy hiking to see wildlife and snorkeling. They can enjoy fishing and grill their catch at the beach. Don't forget to bring binoculars, camera, and snorkeling sets (masks, snorkeling pipes and swim fins).
Another attraction of Roswar island is its hot stream water. Sometimes it is safe to swim in the stream, especially during high-tide and most often, it is dangerous especially during low-tide because the water of the stream will be too hot for visitors.
Local government of Wondama regency has built guesthouses near the hot stream for visitors who want to stay there for weeks during their holiday. To stay there, visitors need to visit Waprak village and ask for permission from the head of District Roswar.
Roswar island in West Papua
Getting There
Visitor need to fly from their country to Jakarta, Denpasar - Bali or Surabaya
After that they can continue their trip to Manokwari city by taking domestic flight served by such airlines as Lion Air, Batik Air, Sriwijaya Air.
The next part of the trip will be taking a short flight by a small passenger plane Cessna Caravan 208 operated by Susi Air from Manokwari to Wasior town. The sea trip between Roswar and Wasior town is around 2.5 hours by speedboat. There is direct ship route (around 4 hours) between Manokwari and Roswar but it is only once a week suitable for visitors who want to enjoy their vacation in Roswar for 1 full week.
Flight route to Wasior town in Wondama Bay regency
For more info, please, visit https://wondamatourism.com
Cendrawasih bay in West Papua province of Indonesia is a great destination for snorkeling visitors who want to see various species of marine creatures that live in coral reef. There are hundreds of coral reef sites which visitors can explore. The ones that have got pristine and beautiful coral reef are located in Wondama regency.
Coral reef in Manokwari
As a tourist guide, I organize snorkeling adventure tours to several different places in West Papua province of Indonesia. One of them is to Wasior town. This is the economic hub of Wondama regency. This is a great destination for marine lovers. Snorkeling to this regency can be organized in an Island-Hopping method.
Roon island is a beautiful place for visitors who want to enjoy snorkeling. There are traditional fishing villages in the island where visitors can visit and stay. The nearby Rariyau and Manuop islands have got beautiful coral reef that is teeming with rich marine life.
Soughwepu and Yembekiri in Wondama regency
Crossing the sea to the west, visitors will be able to see Rumberpon island that is the entrance gate to Purup Karst. There are small kiosks in Yembekiri village for visitors to buy snacks and mineral water. Soughwepu village is at other side of the straight that separates the Rumberpon island and the mainland. Before visiting the Karst, visitors need to request permission from chief in Yomakan village.
Traveling further to the north, visitors will be able to see hot stream in Roswar island. It is too hot and too dangerous for the visitors to swim in it.
Flight route to Wasior town in Wondama regency
First, visitors need to fly from their country to Jakarta or Denpasar city of Indonesia. Second, they need to fly to Manokwari city. I will met and organize their trip to Wondama regency.
Wondama regency is a great destination for snorkeling tours. It has got hundreds of small and big islands which are surrounded by coral reef. Butterflyfish, angelfish, anemonefish, spadefish, damselfish, snappers, jacks, anthias, turtles, parrotfish are some of the many fishes which visitors can see while swimming over the coral reef of Wondama.
Snorkeling attractions in Wondama regency
The duration of the tour is usually 1 week. To share the cost, visitors can travel in a group of 4 to 6 people.
For more info, please, contact me by whatsapp through this contact link or by email to peace4wp@gmail.com.
Three important coral reef sites in Bird's Head Seascape that have got high marine biodiversity include Cendrawasih Bay, Triton Bay and Raja Ampat. There are a lot of islands in these regions where tourists can go to enjoy swimming and snorkeling. I personally have visited them.
However, my recent visits were mostly in Cendrawasih Bay. I enjoyed snorkeling over the coral reef of Wasior town, Menarbu village, Yoop island and Purup islands. They were very beautiful. Reef fish such as parrotfish, surgeonfish, grouper, and anemonefish can be seen everywhere. I also visited Rariyau which was an uninhabited island. The seascape was fantastic. It was around 10 minutes by motorized boat from Yende village in Roon island.
Coral Reef in Cendrawasih Bay of Wondama regency
Today, visitors can travel to Cendrawasih bay easily. First, they need to fly from their country to Jakarta, Surabaya, or Denpasar city of Indonesia. After that, they can continue their trip by taking domestic flight to Manokwari city. Airlines such as Sriwijaya Air, Lion and Batik Air offer regular flights to Manokwari from major cities in Indonesia. So, there is flight to Manokwari every day. From Manokwari, visitors can go by ferry boat or by airplane to Wasior town.
Flight Route to Wondama in Cendrawasih Bay
There are small hotels, inns and homestays in Wasior town which visitors can choose to stay. Boats to islands in the bay are also available. Because Wasior is the economic hub of Wondama regency, visitors can buy various kinds of things in the town from clothing, fishing equipment to fruits and vegetables, biscuits and mineral water.
If you are an avid snorkelers, please, bring your own snorkeling device. It is important to have snorkeling mask that is perfectly fit onto your face.
Because Wondama regency has not been fully developed as tourist destination, visitors will not find luxurious resorts in remote beaches such as in Maldives, Wakatobi or Bali. Only traditional fishing villages that are scattered in many islands of Wondama regency.
Coastal area of Cendrawasih Bay in Wondama regency
Bringing a waterproof underwater camera is also important because it will allow you to take beautiful underwater pictures of fish and coral reef.
Snorkeling adventure tour can be organized to this region. The trip usually lasts for at least 4 days covering many important coral reef sites of Wondama regency.
The trip can be combined with hiking tour through the forest to see tropical birds such as parrots, cockatoos, pigeons, and kingfishers. The number of participants can be as low as 2 people to as high as six people. Pristine rainforest can be seen in Wondiboy mountains which is the habitat of birds, mammals, insects and reptiles. Camping in the forest can be organized for visitors who want to study the complex ecosystem of rainforest. There are many small streams in Wondiboy where visitors can use as their base to build basecamp.
If you are interested in taking a snorkeling adventure tour to Cendrawasih Bay, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by whatsapp to: +6281332245180 or by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
Indonesia is a country that is in the center of coral triangle. It is also located between the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. The coral reef in Indonesia has got the highest marine biodiversity in the world. Raja Ampat, Triton Bay and Cendrawasih Bay National Park in West Papua province, as well as Wakatobi and Bunaken National Park of Indonesia, attract the attention of people from around the world to explore its beauty and wealth of its marine creatures.
They come as marine biologists, recreational scuba divers, or just as ordinary visitors who like to walk and swim at white sandy beaches of Indonesia. Coral reef has now become a tourist attraction. Actually this is an additional pressure to coral reef environment.
Bird's Head Seascape (Cendrawasih Bay in Wondama regency; Raja Ampat; and Triton Bay in Kaimana regency) which covers huge coral reef area in West Papua is the natural habitat of 1,864 species of reef fish and more than 600 corals.
Birds Head Seascape also has got huge area of mangrove forest. These precious marine environment can be considered as fish factory. The plants along the coast provide food, construction materials and herbal medicines to the indigenous people who live in remote islands. They are not able to have quick access modern health clinics and hospitals in cities such as Sorong and Manokwari. They mostly depend on herbs from coastal plants around their villages.
For islanders in remote islands, coral reef is seen as their source of livelihood. They go there to catch fish, shrimp, and collect sea cucumber and seashells that have got high economic value.
Diving in Raja Ampat islands
Unfortunately, coral reef is being massively destroyed by human whether we realize it or not. Our use of plastic bags, wrappings, and bottles and chemical substances is increasing every year. They become wastes that are harmful to the environment. Sea turtles eat the transparent plastic wrappings as if they are jellyfish. There are still a lot of factories that dump their chemical wastes into the river or the sea. They kill tiny organisms that live in coral reef. A lot of cities and towns still do not have proper sewage water treatment systems. Dirty and toxic water continues to pollute our seas. This happens globally. In other waters marine pollution is world wide problem.
We can start to overturn this phenomenon. We can reject plastic bags when we do shopping at supermarkets. We can increase our purchase of foods that are wrapped by environmentally friendly materials such as leaves from banana or teakwood trees. We can reduce our dependence on chemical liquids by finding more environmentally friendly materials.
The exploitation of natural resources in coral reef has to be regulated so that it will not cause any damages to the precious marine environment. Coral reef has to be preserved. Coral reef plays very important role in our environment. There are a lot of species of filter feeding animals in coral reef. Some of them include Snake Sea Cucumber (Synaptamaculata), Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchusgiganteus), clams, krill, sea cucumber, small fishes and even some sharks. They clean the seawater making it crystal clear and healthier for all living organisms in the sea.
Zooxanthellae algae performs photosynthesis that produce oxygen and food for marine animals in the coral reef. In other words coral reef is the rainforest.
A well managed marine protected area can preserve coral reef and at the same time bring prosperity to local people who live in this fragile marine environment.
