Wildlife Tour in Raja Ampat

Red Bird of Paradise

The rainforest of Waigeo island is a good destination for visitors who want to see the wildlife of Raja Ampat. From previous trips that I organize for tourists, we saw a lot of beautiful birds such as Red Bird of Paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise, Moluccan King Parrot, Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Beautiful Fruit Dove, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Pied Imperial Pigeon, Blyth's Hornbill, and Common Paradise Kingfisher and a lot more. Birds are usually active in the mornings and in the evenings. To watch them, we need to bring binoculars and if possible spotting scopes. Sometimes we go birding and wildlife watching by car to reach remote areas in eastern and southern region of Waigeo island. For visitors who want to watch White-bellied Sea Eagle, Beach Kingfisher, and Spice Imperial Pigeon, they could take a tour to Kabui bay. I organize sightseeing and birding tour by boat to the bay. 

Anemonefish in Raja Ampat

For taking pictures of wild animals in the forest, we need camera with telephoto lens. In the past, I used Nikon P500, Nikon P600, Fujifilm HS50EXR. Now I use Canon 200 D with 150-600 mm lens. Visitors who want to buy camera for taking pictures and videos of wildlife could buy such cameras as Nikon Coolpix P900, Nikon Coolpix P1000 or Canon SX70HS. Professional photographers usually bring D-SLR cameras with telephoto lens.

This birding and wildlife watching trip to Raja Ampat is combined with swimming and snorkeling activities where participants can see anemonefish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, wrasse, moorish idol, surgeonfish and a lot more.

Birds are not the only animals which we can see in the forest of Waigeo. If we are lucky, we can see ikaheka white snake which is very venomous, Idea durvillei butterfly, cuscus possum and soa-soa lizard.

Soa-soa Lizard of Waigeo island

For plants, there are a lot of flowers which we could find in the forest including Red Pitcher Plant of Kabui bay, Beach Hibiscus, and the Tiger Orchid.

Most often the rainforest wildlife watching tour that I organize is combined with snorkeling activities where tourists can swim over coral reef area to see tropical fish such as moorish idol, grouper, lionfish, butterflyfish and even the tasselled wobbegong. There are several beach areas that are suitable for snorkeling including Warduwer beach, Gam Karst, Friwen, Mioskon and Five Rocks. Bringing a waterproof camera such as Gopro, Nikon W300 will enhance the snorkeling experience. I use Fujifilm XQ2 with water housing and Nikon 130.

The duration of the wildlife tour in Raja Ampat can be as short as 3 days to as long as 2 weeks.

If you are interested in visiting Raja Ampat and want me to organize your tour, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
Also read:
Snorkeling at Warduwer beach of Raja Ampat
Raja Ampat Snorkeling
Birding Walk in Waigeo island

Wildlife Tour to Tambrauw Mountains

Adventure in Tambrauw Mountains

The mountain range of Tambrauw is a great destination for wildlife watching tour. It is located in the Vogelkop region of West Papua.  I have organized tours to the region for tourists who want to see tropical birds, butterflies, rainforest flowers, deers, bats, frogs, and fish that live in the rainforest of Tambrauw.

Two weeks ago, I organized a one-week trip to Tambrauw mountains for two American tourists - Naftali and Sarah. We started our trip from Manokwari city by a 4WD car.
Buying logistical supplies
Before leaving the city, we bought food supplies in yhe suprrmarket and traditional market such as rice, eggs, canned fish, fruits, and vegetables as well as coffee, tea, palm sugar, and biscuits. We would need them during the tour. We also loaded mattrasses, and portable dome tents into the pick-up car. When everything was ready, we left for Tambrauw.
Birding along the road
Our first destination was District Miyah. There, we watched tropical birds such as Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Brahminy Kite, Helmetted Friarbird, Brown Cuckoo Dove, Rainbow Lorikeet, and Pinon Imperial Pigeon. We spent 1 night in that district and then the next afternoon we continued our adventure trip to Mount Sakofsiah.

Most of the mountains are covered by pristine tropical rainforest. Along the way to the mountains, we saw Blyth's hornbill, Black-capped Lory, and a lot of other birds.
The road to Mount Sakofsiah was an unpaved one. There were wooden bridges that were badly damaged. Our cars could not pass on them. So, we had to cross the river. This was part of the adventure. There was also one wooden bridge that was not safe enough for cars. We had to make simple repair to cross it.
We arrived at the foot of Mountain Range of Sakofsiah around 14.00 local time. The next road in front of us was very steep and dangerous. Our driver as an experienced driver. He skillfully drove his car to climb the steep slopes to reach the top of the mountains.

The landscape view on top of Mountain Ridge of Sakofsiah was very beautiful. I decided to wait on top of the mountains. Below us was Ases village. I asked the driver and my friend to continue their trip to the village whereas I and our American guests would wait on top of Mount Sakofsiah. We wanted to see if there were birds from the cloud forest that we could see before during sunset time. Unfortunately, we could only see Grey-streaked Flycatcher. As we walked down the slope to Ases valley, we saw more birds such as Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Black-capped Lory and Yellow-faced Myna.
Ases village was so quiet. There were only a few people living in it. My team had set up the dome tents, mattrasses and cooked dinner when we arrived.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Our next adventure in Ases valley consisted of riverwark, swimming, nightwalk and birdwatching. We saw birds, cuscus possum, lizards, lizards, butterflies, rainforest flowers, deers, and frogs. We spent 5 days/ 4 nights exploring the mountain ridge and valleys. The forest was in very good condition. The trails were not clear. Visitors must not walk alone in the huge forest. A local guide must accompany them.
In the last day when we were left the Mount Sakofsiah, we saw big deers and cassowary. It was a nice and unique adventure. I like it very much.
If you are interested in Traveling to Mount Sakofsiah and want me to organize your tour, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.
Birding and Wildlife Tour in Tambrauw Mountains
Birding and Snorkeling in Tambrauw regency
Palm Cockatoo in Tambrauw Mountains
Birding in Tambrauw Mountains

Birding and Wildlife Tour in Tambrauw Mountains

Birding in Tambrauw regency

Yellow-faced Myna

I and my team offer birding tour for tourists who are interested in watching tropical birds that live in Tambrauw mountains. The duration of the tour can be customized to between 4 and 7 days or even more. Most of the land in Tambrauw is still covered by pristine tropical rainforest. They become the natural habitat of a lot of species of birds

Target Birds

Lesser Birds of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, King Bird of Paradise, Glossy Manucode, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot, Large Fig Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Black-capped Lory, Coconut Lorikeet, Boyer's Cuckooshrike, Lowland Peltop, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Beautiful Fruit-Dove, Great Cuckoo Dove, Wompoo Fruit Dove, Hooded Butcherbird, Helmetted Friarbird, Yellow-faced Myna, Golden Myna, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Red-breasted Paradise Kingfisher, Azure Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Forest Kingfisher, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Red-necked Phalarope (migrant bird polar region), Nankeen Night Heron (migrant from Asia), Oriental Dollarbird, Moustached Treeswift, Papuan Blyth's Hornbill, Variable Goshawk, Grey-headed Goshawk, Brahminy Kite, Northern Cassowary.

Other Wild Animals in Tambrauw regency: wild boar, Deer, Soa-soa Lizard, snakes, cuscus possum, large ground skink, bandicoot, fruit bat and etc.

How to get there?

• If you are interested in joining birding tour with us, you can take an international flight from your country to Jakarta (the capital of Indonesia).
• After that you could continue your trip to Sorong city or Manokwari city by taking domestic flight.
• I will meet you in Sorong city or Manokwari city and organize your trip to Tambrauw.

Things to bring:

• Binoculars
• Spotting scope (if you have)
• Field guide book: Birds of New Guinea
• Head Torch for night walk tour in the forest
• Dark camouflage clothing  for birding 
• Hiking boots or sportshoes
• Personal toiletries and towel
• Rain Poncho

Booking

Please, contact me (Charles Roring) by e-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Wildlife Tour in Susnguakti Forest of Manokwari

Cuscus Possum in Susnguakti Forest of Manokwari

There is a forest area in Manokwari that is suitable for wildlife watching. Its name is Susnguakti forest in the south of the city. Animals such as cuscus possum, blue-tailed lizard, butterflies, fireflies, and several species of birds of paradise live there. I personally have organized tens of wildlife tours to this forest.
There is a basecamp that local villagers built for visitors. It is covered by corrugated metal roofs and plastic tents. Mattrasses, pillows, cooking and eating utensils are available in the forest.
Here is the usual itinerary:
Day 1
We will meet you at the Rendani airport of Manokwari city, or at the hotel where you stay. After buying food supplies, we will go by car to Susnguakti forest. It takes 1 hour to reach it. Arriving in the forest, we will start hiking for one and a half hour to reach our basecamp. Water will be boiled and food is cooked when we start to install our dome tents, and sleeping materials. After having some tea or coffee with biscuits, we could go to the nearby forest area to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). We will enjoy dinner at around 19.00.
We could install white screen cloth and shoot it with light so that we could see the kinds of nocturnal insects that land on it.
Day 2

Early in the morning, we will wake up early to have tea or coffee. After that we could enjoy morning walk again to watch Lesser Birds of Paradise hoping that we will have better sighting of the paradise birds. At 09.00, we could move to higher ground to watch King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius).
After lunch, we could take a rest for a while or do jungle walk to see butterflies, lizards, or other insects.
At night, we will do jungle exploration to see cuscus possum (a nocturnal marsupial animal that comes out at night to find fruits and mating partner), sometimes spiky dragon lizard could be seen in the forest. A short visit to bamboo forest will allow us to see glowing mushrooms (especially during rainy season).
Day 3

We will do morning walk to watch Magnificent Riflebird, Hooded Butcherbird and Coconut Lorikeet that like to eat fruits and nectar from flowers around our basecamp.
After lunch, we can start descending the slopes of Susnguakti forest to main road again. A stop in the village is highly recommended where we will meet villagers. We will return to Manokwari city again after saying Good Bye to our local guides and villagers.

Extended Tour

For visitors who are interested in coral reef, we could extend our tour by snorkeling in some coral reef sites of Manokwari to see damselfish, butterflyfish, moorish idol, or anemonefish.

Booking
Please, contact me: Charles Roring by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Birding and Wildlife Watching in Lowland Forest of Manokwari

I often receive request from tourists who are interested in birding in Manokwari. There are several places in the regency that are good for birdwatching and wildlife watching. I highly recommend 2 places, the Lowland Forest of Manokwari and the Lower Montane Forest of Arfak mountains.

Birding in Lowland Forest of Manokwari

Yellow-capped Pygmy Parrot (Micropsitta keiensis)

There is a forest area in north-west region of Manokwari. Its name is Mesirrokow. It is a good site for visitors who want to watch such birds as Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, (Cacatua galerita), Moluccan King Parrot,  Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus), Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), Pequet (Vulturine) Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus), Yellow Faced Myna, Rainbow Bee-eater, Dollarbird, Little-ringed Plover, Willie Wagtail, Large tail Nightjar, Brahminy Kite, Variable Goshawk, and a lot more.
The river is also the natural habitat of a lot of species of butterflies, beetles, lizards, cuscus possum, deer, wildpigs and wallaby. The Mesirrokow forest is devided by a large river that flows to north coast of Manokwari. Various kinds of flowers can be seen growing on both sides of the river.
Since the birding site is located in the middle of the jungle, there is no guesthouse or homestay that are available at the moment. Visitors who go there will have to stay in tents. As a tourist guide, I can provide tents for visitors who want to take birding tour in this lowland forest of Manokwari.

Arfak Mountains

Lesser Birds of Paradise

The slopes and ravines of Arfak mountains have been famous as birding and wildlife watching destination since long time ago. As a tour guide, I often organize hiking and birding tours to Mount Mabowi in Arfak mountains for people who are interested in watching cuscus possum, Lesser Birds of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, Magnificent Bird of Paradise, Common Paradise Kingfisher, Hooded Butcherbird, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, Dwarf Cassowary, Papuan Frogmouth, and etc.
In addition to watching birds, visitors who go hiking in Mount Mabowi will be able to watch cuscus possum, soa-soa dragon lizard, birdwing butterflies, and fireflies. The rich ecosystem of tropical rainforest in the region is a nice site for those who want to experience hiking, camping, and wildlife watching in Arfak mountains.

Lowland Forest of Manokwari

What you need to bring
There are no guesthousee in the forest that I mention above. Tourists who want to take the tour will stay in tents that have been prepared by I and the local villagers for tourists. However, there are things which visitors need to bring:

• Water shoes and flip-flop
• Flashlight/ torch
• Binoculars
• Insect repellent lotion
• Sun-block lotion
• Field guide book "Birds of New Guinea" written by Thane K. Pratt, Bruce Beehler and etc.

Common Paradise Kingfisher

How to go there?

• You could fly from your country to Denpasar city in Bali island.
• I could meet you in Bali to do some birding in the forest of the island before continuing our flight to 
• Take a domestic flight to Manokwari city for birding and wildlife watching trip in lowland forest and Arfak mountains. 

For further info, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.