Raja Ampat Snorkeling

I often organize snorkeling tour in Raja Ampat for visitors who want to see colorful fish and coral reef of this archipelago. The duration of the trip is usually from 3 to 7 days depending on the time which visitors spend for their holiday. 

Reef and Fish at Warduwer beach of Waigeo island

Places which have been my favorite sites are Warduwer beach, Gam Karst, Yenbuba, Mansuar and Arborek. There are still a lot of places which also have got pristine marine life.
My Underwater Camera
To take pictures of the fish, and other sea creatures, I bring Nikon W300 or Fujifilm XQ2 which I put inside a waterproof case.

Wobbegong at Warduwer beach of Raja Ampat

Interesting Reef Fish

Wobbegong, stonefish and lionfish are targets of underwater photography but they must not be approached too close so as not to provoke them. There are also other fish such as Moorish Idol, Butterflyfish, Striped Surgeonfish which are colorful and not dangerous. Barracuda that is considered as a dangerous predator should be seen from safe distance too.

Sealife at Warduwer beach of Raja Ampat

In big underwater rocks, I often see burrowing clams, and Christmas Tree Worms that are very beautiful. They have blue, yellow, orange, brown and red colors. To take pictures of them I use macro-setting of my camera. Very slowly I moved closer to the worms. If I make sudden movements in the water, the worms will hide themselves in their holes.

Burrowing Clam at Warduwer beach

More often the subjects such as Pink Anemonefish, Red and Black Anemonefish, and Spinecheek Anemonefish that I want to photograph are located around 3 to 10 meters below the surface. In this case, freediving is my solution. Freediving photography in coral reef is my favorite activity. Holding breath in deeper water while taking pictures is a challenging. However, because of continuous practices, I could stay a little bit longer in the water to make more pictures.
Snorkeling Gear
My snorkeling gear is a set of mask, snorkel and fins. Its brand is whale. I apply a drop of liquid soap  mixed with water to the glass surface of the mask to prevent fogging when I freedive. Most of the underwater photographs in this blog were made while freediving.

Red and Black Anemonefish

If you are interested in taking a snorkeling holiday in Raja Ampat and want me to organize your tour, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Birding Walk in Waigeo Island of Raja Ampat

There is a good place in Raja Ampat that is suitable for birdwatchers. Its name is Waigeo island.

Eclectus Parrot

This afternoon I did some birding walk along the beach and parking area of the resort that was being constructed. I saw some interesting birds such as Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus Parrot, and Puff-backed Honeyeater, White-breasted Wood Swallow, Spangled Drongo, Brahminy Kite and etc.

Palm Cockatoo

I used my camera Canon 200D and telephoto lens 150--600 mm to take pictures of them. These tropical birds were beautiful.
Besides birdwatching, the coral reef along the coastal area of Waigeo is the natural habitat of a lot of species of fish including stonefish, wobbegong, butterflyfish, parrotfish, wrasse, catfish, clownfish and moorish idol.

Willie Wagtail

If you are interested in birdwatching, snorkeling and scuba diving in Raja Ampat islands, I highly recommend that you stay in Waigeo. The island is suitable for birdwatchers, snorkelers, scuba divers, and beach lovers.
Please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

Snorkeling Holiday in Raja Ampat

I am now in Raja Ampat. It is a regency in West Papua province of Indonesia that has been famous as a beautiful destination for marine lovers. 

Marine Life in Raja Ampat

I spend my time here enjoying snorkeling and birdwatching. The reef of Waigeonisland is in very good condition. It is the natural habitat of thousands of species of marine animals. I see a lot of colorful fish, christmas tree worm, corals, sea star, anemone, sponge, and a lot more. I bring Nikon W300 and Fujifilm XQ2. 

I have to immerse my body and hold my breath in the water so that I could be closer to the marine animals.

Red and Black Anemonefish

Fish are interesting subjects for my picture taking activities. Colorful fish like Moorish Idol, Parrotfish, Butterflyfish, Wrasse, Surgeonfish, and Anemonefish can easily be seen in shallow water of southern Waigeo beach. 

Blue Sea Star (Linckia laevigata)

Near the forereef slope, there are several species of nemo such as the Orange-skunk Anemonefish, Spinecheek Anemonefish, as well as Red and Black Anemonefish.

Burrowing Clam

The Christmas Tree Worms are colorful too. There are yellow, orange, and blue ones. Because the reef flat area of Warduwer beach is very wide, visitors can easily enjoy snorkeling in the shallow water to see them.

For more advanced snorkelers and freedivers, the marine life in the drop off area is more attractive. 

Christmas Tree Worm

Waigeo island is also a nice place for birdwatching too. In the mornings and in the afternoons, a lot of birds are active in trees and at the beach. Some of them include Palm Cockatoo, Blyth's Hornbill, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Eclectus Parrot, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Palm Cockatoo, Willie Wagtail, Beach Kingfisher, Pinon Imperial Pigeon, Mimic Honeyeater, and a lot more.
I use Canon 200D with Tamron 150-600 mm to take pictures of them.

Eclectus Parrot

If you are interested in taking a snorkeling holiday in Raja Ampat and want me to be your guide, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Night Walk in Ases River

Frog in Ases river

When I was guiding two American tourists in Tambrauw mountains, I organized several night walk tours along the banks of Ases river to find nocturnal animals. During the trip, we saw some interesting animals such as frogs, deers, gliding squirrel, cuscus possum, and fruit bats.
There was a tree at the corner of Ases village that was bearing a lot of fruit. That night, before leaving for the river, we walked to the tree to see if fruit bats were still gathering on its branches. When we arrived, we could hear the sounds of their wingbeats. It was dark and it would be difficult for us to take pictures of the bats.

A fruitbat was eating roda fruit

Everyone of us had a torch or flashlight. So, we aimed our torches to the tree and there the fruit bats were hanging on the branches eating fruits. I immediately aimed my camera at the bats and took some pictures. We only stayed for a few minutes under the tree. After that we continued our night walk tour in the jungle to see other animals following a tributary river. As we were walking through it, we saw frogs on the stone, on the buttress and on the fallen trees. We carefully approach them one by one. I did not want to disturb the frog so I used the zoom feature of my Fujifilm XQ2 camera. I made some photographs of them. We continued our exploration of the river forest area that night. We saw a lot of fish.

Deer in Ases valley of Tambrauw Mountains

There were two places in the forest where animals come out to drink water. Local people called them Vim. So, we walked to those places. At the first site, we did not see the animals that we were looking for. The other Vim was separated by the first one by a ridge. We climbed the ridge and then slowly walked to it. We saw a young deer. He did not run away. I took out my pocket camera and shot the deer several times. Its zoom was only 4x, not powerful enough to make pictures with greater details. However, I was happy with the results. We also saw cuscus possum and gliding squirrel in high trees. Again, my pocket camera was not able to reach them well.
The two American tourists who participated in the night walk tour was happy with what they saw. We returned to the village at around 01.00.
Booking
If you are interested in taking a rainforest tour in Tambrauw, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com.

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