Rainforest flowers used as medicinal herbs

The indigenous Papuan people in New Guinea have used flowers from their rainforest as remedies for the treatment of their diseases. This local wisdom is very effective in curing skin diseases such as white blotches on the skin caused by fungus and even severe abscess. When I was in the tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains in Manokwari regency, Samuel Mandacan, the village chief of the Kwau village, explained to me that they use Ntam flower to eliminate the white blotches.

Last week I went to Numfor island with two Dutch volunteers from SDSP foundation. They were Jettie and Monique. When we were talking about the medicinal function of certain types of plants, a woman in Rarsibo village said that the islanders use the sticky resin of Orchid stored in its pseudo bulb to cure abscess. To take the resin, first they have to cut a pseudobulb of the orchid. Then they peel it off and scrape it using sharp knife.

The liquid resin that is thick and sticky will be obtained from the Orchid's pseudobulb. This sticky liquid is applied to the surface of the skin that suffers from abscess beneath it. The orchid resin will accelerate the absorption of the pus and as a result the abscess will dry faster than usual. We may only see orchid as beautiful decorative flower from the tropical rainforest but for the Papuan people in Numfor island, orchid is a very effective herbal remedy in curing abscess and perhaps many other diseases.
Also read:
Herbal remedy for intestinal worm
Herbal medicine from Kwau village
Herbal remedy for abscess
Herbal remedy for papila mamae

Rainforest flowers pictures

Still on my discussion about rainforest flowers, the pictures that I got from morning walk near the tropical rainforest of Numfor island were quite interesting. I saw bougenville and rose-apple. For many of you, bougenville might not be a new tropical flower for you. Everybody recognizes it. It is not difficult to grow it. Flower growers like to join a number of twigs from different colors of bougenville into one plant. An adult bougenville can reach up to 3 meters height. Although it does not have strong fragrant, it is still attractive to all of us because it produces a lot of flowers. To grow buogenville just insert a stick of buogenville into loose soil and let it grow naturally. This bush plant needs water but it does not like wet ground.

Another tree flower that I saw in Numfor was rose-apple. Its flowers were red. They would change into fruits in a few weeks. Some species have sweet taste but most are sour. In Indonesia, the fruits of rose-apple are mostly used as ingridients in rujak (a kind of fruit salad) whose taste is a mixture of sweet, hot and spicy. Birds also like to eat the rose apple very much. Because the tropical rainforest of New Guinea has a lot of beautiful flowers, I will take more pictures of them if I do a morning walk again both in Manokwari or in Numfor island.

Also read:

• Beach hibiscus
• Barringtonia Asiatica

Rainforest Flowers

There are several species of flowers in the rainforest of Arfak mountains that have attracted the attention of visitors from around the world. Some of them are orchids and Rhododendron. Orchids can be seen growing on the branches of big trees when I guide some tourists on a hiking tour in the jungle. Some villagers like to climb the trees and take the orchids. They sell the flowers in Manokwari city or just planted them around their houses. Because the temperature and humidity in the city and in the rainforest are different, most of the orchids die. To help the indigenous people in Arfak mountains and along the coastal areas, I develop an ecotourism program. I promote the mountain range of Arfak in Manokwari regency, Klasow valley in Sorong regency and Tambrauw mountains as tour destinations for anybody who is interested in traveling inside the tropical rainforest. Because the rainforest environment is high in biodiversity, tourists can see plants and flowers, birds, mammals, reptiles and insects.

Orchid in the rainforest of West Papua

In the lowland forest of Manokwari, we can see Terrestrial Orchids (Spathoglottis plicata), Glory Vine (Faradaya splendida) and New Guinea Tuliptree (Spathodea campanulata) and a lot more flowers which I cannot mention one by one.
In addition to Arfak mountains in Manokwari regency, another destination that visitors can see is Numfor island. When I did a morning walk near the tropical rainforest of the Numfor island a few days ago, I saw various species of rainforest flowers. One of them is plumeria. Actually it is a tree that regularly produce flowers all year round. Its wood is soft. Plumeria has very strong fragrant. Usually planted by people in the cemetery area. In Bali, girls like to put the flower on their ears. Plumeria or frangipani flowers are also used in daily offerings to the gods by Balinese people. But these tropical flower plants can also be found growing at the front yards of the villagers homes in Numfor island. The main color of plumeria is white but most often we can see red or pink colors at the edges of its petals and yellow in the middle of each flower. The height of an adult plumeria can reach up to 3 meters.

Plumeria flowers

If you are interested in seeing tropical wildflowers in its natural habitat in West Papua province of the Indonesia, please, send text message to me - Charles Roring - (cell phone: +6281332245180). I can guide you to explore the tropical jungle and its colorful flower plants.
Tropical rainforest of Numfor island has another interesting flower which grows as grass . It has seven purple petals as you can see on the photograph above. When I took the picture of this flower, it was still covered with morning dew. It looked fresh and very beautiful. As a matter of fact this is a kind of grass flower usually blooms in the morning along the grassy area of tropical rainforest.

When I saw the flower, I could not identify it. I wrote this blog post and several months later someone named Cindy Taing emailed me and said that she was also curious about this purple flower. After searching for information about it on the internet, she finally found its name. The name of the flower was Rain Lily.
Based on her information, I did several searches in Google for keywords rain lily. Finally I could find the name of the flower in Latin. According to Wikipedia, it was called Zephyranthes rosea. This was only a small flower plant. I was happy with this finding.
The tropical rainforest of New Guinea is a nice destination for travelers who want to enjoy hiking tours both in the mountains and lowland coastal areas. Beside orchid flowers, hikers can see wildlife and meet with the indigenous Papuan people who are friendly.

Zephyranthes rosea flower in Numfor island

People in Numfor island have not realized that their beautiful tropical flowers are potential to be developed as an environmentally friendly agricultural commodity. During this time tourists can enjoy the beauty of the flowers without having to pay anything.
Also read:

• Tropical rainforest flowers
• Pretty rainforest flowers

Snorkeling Picture from Raja Ampat

Snorkeling and Sightseeing Tour in Raja Ampat
In addition to offering rainforest tour, I also offer snorkeling tour in Raja Ampat islands of West Papua. During the tour, you will be able to see the beautiful underwater world that is full of colorful coral reef and tropical fish.

Piaynemo karst

Coral reefs can be considered as flowers of the sea. The average duration of the tour is 5 days/ 4 nights. When taking the tour, visitors will be able to enjoy snorkeling in various coral reef areas of the region such as Five Rocks (Batu Lima), Karst islets of Kabui bay, Friwen, North-West Mansuar, South-West Mansuar, Yenbuba strait, Sawondarek, Pianemo post, and Arborek and more.
Depending on the weather, I will also arrange a sightseeing trip to Pianemo/ Fam islands where participants will be able to see the beautiful scenery of Karst islets which has become the promotional icon of Raja Ampat.
For prices and customized itinerary, please, contact me (Charles Roring) by E-mail to: peace4wp@gmail.com or whatsapp to: +6281332245180.

Tropical Rainforest Picture of Numpuri islet

Tropical rainforest in the Amberimasi village of Numfoor island is very rich of many species of green vegetation. From coconut to mangroves, these trees are homes to beautiful birds, and insects. According to the information about Schouten islands which I read in Wikipedia, the forest in Numfor island is considered unique due to its population of birds which are higher than the average areas of their mainland - the New Guinea island.

I was with two Dutch girls (Jettie and Monique) who were volunteers of SDSP Foundation in this beautiful tropical island from 23 to 26 November 2010. We stayed in the Losmen Amberimasi that was located just a stone throw away from the beach. It was really beautiful to be there. Surrounded by a small lagoon and Numpuri islet, the coastal region and the nearby forest were nice places for doing morning walk and bird watching. We woke up on Wednesday 24/11/2010 at around 5.30 a.m. After preparing our cameras, we started to "hunt" for birds. It was not difficult to find birds there. When we had just been a few meters from the losmen, we could hear lory, dove, and "burung pagi" (morning birds) sang their natural songs on the branches and leaves of the tropical trees. The sounds of birds singing in the morning could be heard from all corners. Our first observation was the sea and the Numpuri island. The reflection of the sky and clouds, the forest or trees of this islet looked perfect on the surface of the sea water which had not been disturbed by waves and ripples.

Also read: Tropical Rainforest in the Mountains and Islands Around Wasior

Tropical rainforest of Asai river

Tropical rainforests around the world are now being threatened by massive deforestation at a rate of 50 football fields per minute (Julie Kerr Casper in "Global Warming - Changing Ecosystem" 2010). To stop this, all the world communities must work together. There are a number of ways that we can do to reduce the deforestation and illegal logging. We can change our lifestyle by living more friendly to the environment, by designing more efficient burning stoves that consume less fuel wood or by planting more trees.

I and several nature lovers from a Dutch foundation try to introduce ecotourism as an alternative income generation for the local West Papuan people living in the north coast of Manokwari. We expect that with additional income from the forest tourism, the indigenous people in this largest tropical island in the world will not be tempted to give up their rainforest for timber exploitation and large scale monoculture plantation.
Yesterday morning, I went hiking with Monique and Jetty (two volunteers of SDSP foundation from the Netherlands) along the Asai river. Both sides of the river are covered with tropical rainforest. Our intention to go hiking along the river was to survey and determine whether the area is feasible to be developed as another tourist destination in Manokwari, the capital of West Papua province of the Republic of Indonesia. As a matter of fact that was my third visit. For these Dutch girls, it was their first one. We went there by a rent car. It took around one hour from Manokwari city to Asai. Arriving at the bridge, I got off the car to meet Oom Minggus. (He is usually called Oom Ambon by the local villagers). I informed him that I and two Dutch volunteers wanted to explore the rainforest and the river. Oom Ambon offered to accompany us. I was not aware that two of his dogs were following us.

Because the sea was in high tide, the sea water entered the river making the water level near the estuary area reached 1.5 to 2 meters. So, it was not possible for us to start hiking from the bank of the river. We had to use the pathway not far from the river whose slope was quite steep. It was not easy for Jetty because she had problems with her right knee. I felt guilty because of that. After climbing up and walking down some slopes, finally we could reach the bank of the river. The water was clear and shallow a little bit far from the estuary region. Its an ideal place to swim there because the outdoor environment was still in pristine condition. I saw several hornbills flying above our heads. We could see them by our naked eyes. Seeing the water, the dogs began barking. They did not like crossing the stream. Their barking made the birds flew away. I was a little disappointed but now the chance for shooting the birds was very little. The word shooting should not be considered as killing the birds but capturing their images using digital cameras. Om Ambon tried to chase the dogs away but they did not want to return to their master's home.

Although we were disappointed by the barkings of the dogs, we were quite happy to see the beautiful nature of the river and of the forest that looked dark green around us. The air was really fresh. Several times, we had to cross the river, climb big rocks or walk on fallen trees. This is a nice trekking route for tourists who like to explore both the jungle and the water environment of West Papua. We also had to be extra careful while crossing the river because the stones at the river bed were slippery. If you are interested in hiking along this river, please, contact me: Charles Roring - via email: peace4wp@gmail.com. Don't forget to wear water shoes or hiking boots. If possible, cover your digital still photo camera with a good waterproof case.

Also read:
Tropical rainforest in the mountains
Tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains
Tropical rainforest of Numfor island

Raja Ampat Coral Reef Art

One day a Papuan artist who had just returned from Raja Ampat came to me. His name was Tonci Krey. He brought his laptop containing a lot of pictures of coral reef painting that he and his friends painted on the wall of a church there. In recent years, scuba divers and snorkelers from all corners of the world come to Raja Ampat islands to see one of the best coral reef environment in the world.

According to reports from marine biologists the biodiversity of the underwater world in Raja Ampat waters is the highest in the world. The high marine biodiversity makes Raja Ampat diving sites popular among scuba divers and snorkelers. Some diving operators have even provided liveaboard diving packages to tourists who want to visit the islands of the "four kings." The Papuan artists who decorate the church want to create awareness among the Christian believers that it is very important to preserve the beauty of the coral reef for the current and future generations of Papuan people.
All of us know that coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. Algae that live in the coral reef photosynthesis during the day and absorbs CO2 gases dissolved in the sea water. Coral reef provides food and shelter to huge number of marine animals. Coral reef helps us in fighting global warming.

Alternative places

As a matter of fact, there are many places in Papua and West Papua provinces of New Guniea island where tourists can see the beauty of the coral reef environment with much cheaper cost:

Manokwari city and its surrounding islands

It is the capital of West Papua province. It is located in the bird's head region of the New Guinea island. There are three islands in the Dorey bay where Manokwari is located. They are Mansinam, Lemon, and Raimuti. In the north coast of Manokwari regency, there is also another island named Kaki. The coral reef in these islands are beautiful too. Tourists who want to go snorkeling over the coral reef can go there by public transportation and water taxi to the islands. As a tourist guide, I have been guiding a lot of tourists to these islands. The cost that they spent for snorkeling was much cheaper.

Also read my other article: The coral reef of Mansinam island

Numfor island

Beside Manokwari and its islands, another island which I recommend to tourists is Numfor island. The spelling can be Noemfoor or Numfoor. It is located between Manokwari and Biak. It takes 5 hours by ferry boat from Manokwari city to reach Numfor. Last October, I brought some Dutch tourists to this beautiful tropical island to watch birds and to snorkel around one of its islet, the Manem islet. I was amazed by the underwater beauty of the coral reef at the sourthern coast of Manem.

Read my article: Traveling to Numfor island and snorkeling over the coral reef of Manem islet

If you are interested in snorkeling around the coral reef of Manokwari and Numfor island, please contact me - Charles Roring - via my email: peace4wp@gmail.com. I'll be happy to arrange your trip and guide you around the area. I hope that you will enjoy your trip in papua.  

Tropical rainforest flowers

Here are some white hairy flowers that I saw in the rainforest of Klasow valley when I was guiding a Dutch tourist. I still do not know its species name. Klasow valley is a highly recommended tourist destination for visitors who want to see wildflowers that grow in lowland region of West Papua province of Indonesia.

There are a lot of species of flowers in tropical rainforest. When the flowers bloom in the morning, sun light warm them. As a result their fragrances are spread throughout the jungle. These attract butterflies, birds and insects come to eat their nectar. Flowers in the low elevation forest are different from the ones growing in high elevation. Many trees also produce flowers. There are some species that attracted me most. The first flower is Barringtonia Asiatica and the second one is Ntam (a local name). Barringtonia flower is unique because it is more "hairy." The hair actually is the filaments of the flower that are dominated by white and pink colors. The petals are white covering the filaments. Although this flower looks beautiful, it will be a deadly fruit one day. The fruit from barringtonia asiatica is usually used by coastal villagers to poison fish in the reef. An adult barringtonia asiatica plant is a big tree. This tree can be found growing along the beach. The extract liquid from the seed of barringtonia asiatica's fruit can be used to kill louse that likes to infest on the head of children.

High elevation tropical rainforest flowers have unique forms and beautiful colors. In big cities, people decorate their houses with flowers both indoors and outdoors. But the indigenous Papuan people in New Guinea island often use flowers to cure various kinds of tropical diseases such as malaria, and coughs.

Ntam flower

For example, Ntam flower in Kwau village of Arfak mountains is used by the villagers to cure skin disease. The flower is powerful in killing bactera and skin fungus. People with skin diseases only need to rub their skins that flowers from Ntam plants.  In Kwau village, a Papuan named Yatinus is an expert in herbal medicine from Arfak mountains. He is often called by people from neighboring villages to cure their diseases. So, rainforest is not only important for absorbing CO2 gases or carbon storage but also for providing medicinal flowers.

Wednesday 4 July 2012 Update:

Someone named Angela Mac Millan contacted me by email and told me that the above flower is called "Papua New Guinean impatients" or Impatiens hawkeri.  Thanks, Angela. I hope that one day you can visit West Papua of Indonesia. by Charles Roring

Traveling to Manokwari
If you are interested in traveling to Manokwari and need a private guide, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com

February 5, 2016 Update:
In addition to taking pictures of flowers in the wild, I also like to draw or make illustration of flowers both manually on paper and watercolor pencil media or on a digital artwork. Below is a digital illustration of hibiscus flower and birdwing butterfly which I made using Inkscape software.

Bower Bird from Tropical rainforest of Arfak Mountains

by Charles Roring

The tropical rainforest of the bird's head region in the Arfak mountains of Manokwari regency has been an interesting destination for tourists who want to watch bower birds. Vogelkop bower bird is an endemic species of Arfak mountains. This species does not have beautiful plume or feather compared to birds of paradise but it has got several unique characteristics which attract a lot of birders to come to West Papua just to see it. The male bower birds build arch structures made of twigs and dry grasses and decorate them with bright colored articles such as fruits, flowers (and recently plastic wastes) to attract female bower birds.

To see those vogelkop bower birds, first, tourists must fly to Manokwari city (the capital of West Papua province in the Republic of Indonesia). After taking a rest for one or two days and buying food supplies in the city, tourists can continue their trip to Arfak mountains that are still covered with tropical rainforest but are increasingly facing deforestation. The villages that have become the destination for watching the bower birds are Kwau and Syioubri. These two neighboring villages are located at higher elevation region of Arfak mountains. It takes around two hours car ride to reach one of the villages.

The above video made by a Dutch tourist, Lian Schepers, shows how a male bower bird decorates his bower with plastic articles which he finds from the nearby area roads and villages. It is sad to see that the articles were plastic wastes instead of fresh flowers or fruits. Therefore, we advice tourists and villagers to wisely handle their plastic wastes while hiking through the rainforest of Arfak mountains so that the bower birds will not pick them up and use them for their display stage decoration. Besides watching the bower birds, tourists can also see the magnificent birds of paradise, Western parotia, spotted catbird, pitohui and many other species of birds that are endemic to Papua island. 
I compiled the photographs and videos of Arfak mountains and the bower birds to promote ecotourism in Manokwari. I hope that ecotourism can provide alternative jobs to the indigenous Papuan people in Arfak mountains so that they will not be tempted to sell their lands to investors who will exploit the timber and clear the land for monoculture palm oil plantation. To book a rainforest to in Manokwari, please, contact me by email to peace4wp@gmail.com

Traveling to Numfor island and Snorkeling in Manem islet

I and three tourists from the Netherlands (Wally, Trudy and Lian Schepers), together with some Papua as boat drivers, went to Manem island on 28 October 2010. We enjoyed swimming and snorkeling in its surrounding waters. The coral reef is still in very good condition making it an ideal place for tourists who want to take underwater pictures. Coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. It is the natural habitat of various species of marine plants and animals. When it carries out photosynthesis, it absorbs CO2 gases from the atmosphere that have already been dissolved through contacts with the sea water at the surface level. In other words, coral reef's function is the same as tropical rainforest. Its biodiversity is even higher than the rainforests. Because there is no diving center in Numfor, scuba divers and snorkelers must bring their own gears.

 

If there are any of you who want to travel to this tropical island and need a guide, please, contact me - Charles Roring - via an e-mail peace4wp@gmail.com, I will be happy to arrange your trip there and to be your guide while traveling around this beautiful tropical paradise.

Also read:

• Birding in Paddy Fields of District Sonder in Minahasa Highland
• Walking Tour, Birdwatching and Butterflywatching in District Sonder of Minahasa Highland
• Birdwatching in Minahasa Highland
• Manado City Birdwatching and Sightseeing Tour
• Birding in North Sulawesi
• Birding in Sonder of Minahasa
• Birdwatching in Sulawesi
• Birdwatching and butterflywatching in Sonder
• https://wildlifeminahasa.blogspot.com

Tropical Rainforest as the Source of Papuan Music Inspiration - Part 4

The tropical rainforest of Numfor island is not only the source of food but also the source of art inspiration. Papuan musicians have created songs as part of their appreciation and love to the beauty of the nature and the rainforest.

When we went to see rusted machine guns and bombs which were World War II ordnance left by the American and the Japanese forces, we saw some traditional Papuan guitars at Mr. Simon Wanma's house. According to his explanation, the Papuan musicians like to come to his house at night to practice playing and singing their traditional songs. I found it interesting so I suggested to the Schepers whether they would come at night. They agreed that after eating dinner, they would come to see the "traditional Papuan music performance."
At night around 9 p.m. we walked to Mr. Simon Wanma's house again. After fifteen minutes walking, I told the Schepers that I need to stop by Piet Rumbiak's house to meet him for arranging the next day trip to Manem island where we would swim and snorkel around the coral reef which is the tropical rainforest of the ocean. So, I stopped at Mr. Rumbiak's house whereas the Schepers continued walking to Mr. Wanma's house.
Mr. Rumbiak was talking on the phone near the beach at the back of his house when I arrived. A few minutes later, we were discussing things related to our next day trip to Manem island. He suggested that we buy gasoline and oil in Yemburwo village before going to find a boat in villages that are located closer to the Manem island. When everything had been settled or arranged I left him for Mr. Wanma's house. It was not far and I only needed less than five minutes to find the house. It was quite. The Schepers had just been there less then five minutes too. I thought I walked faster than them. Well, the music performance had not been started. Perhaps it was because of the rain that was pouring over the village one hour ago.
Mr. Wanma went out of his house and told some of his assistants to call the musicians. They quickly rode bicycles to find the musicians and brought them to Mr. Wanma's house. Around fifteen to twenty minutes later, most of the musicians came. They set their instruments and made some preparations for the night's performance. I was amazed to see that they didn't need a lot of directions from their leader. Mr. Simon Wanma was their tribal leader but he might not be a musician. So, there has to be a leader among the music players but I could not find which one he was.
First they started playing their music instruments. All of them look like guitars but each has different size and function. Bass player was sitting on the floor with a cigarette between his fingers. They were playing and singing for around thirty minutes without any brake. It's amazing. Their songs are messages to Papuan especially the Biak tribe to love their lands, their tropical rainforest and their sea. The tropical rainforest and its surrounding nature is home not only to the animals but also to them as the indigenous people who have been living in the Biak, Numfor (Schouten) islands for generations.  
After listening to the songs, Wally Schepers sang one song (in English language) to them. Before going back to the losmen of Klasis Numfor, the Schepers said that they would try to invite these musicians to the Netherlands. by Charles Roring

Also read: 

Part 1: Traveling to Numfor Island: Tropical Rainforest and Coral Reef

Part 2: Bird watching in tropical rainforest of Numfor island

Part 3: Tropical rainforest of Numfor island the battle ground between the US and the Japanese forces during WWII

Tropical Rainforest of Numfor Island - the battle ground between the US and the Japanese Forces - Part 3

Between 1941-1944 Japanese occupied New Guinea island including the Numfor island that was still covered with tropical rainforest. Only small groups of Dutch troops that still continued the guerrilla fighting in the surrounding jungle of Manokwari. All of the Dutch troops in the Netherlands Nieuw Guinea had surrendered to the Japanese troops. Entering the 1943 and 1944, the American forces fought back. First they pushed the Imperial Japanese Navy out of Guadalcanal of Solomon islands, and Papua New Guinea. Second they entered Western half of the island in 1944. Hollandia was their first target, then Biak and Numfor islands. The Japanese troops had built air strips in this island and hid in the caves located in the tropical rainforest of the island. To defeat the Japanese, the American forces launched massive bombings and landed thousands of troops. It was not easy for both sides of the warring parties especially for the Japanese.  Many of the soldiers died not because of fierce gun fighting but malaria and lack of food. The Japanese army were defeated easily overwhelmed in number of troops and weapon technology. Well, that's a little story about war in the tropical rainforest of Numfor island.
Also read:
Part 1 Numfor Island Tropical Rainforest and Coral Reef
Part 2 Bird Watching in Tropical Rainforest of Numfor Island

I returned to my homestay after drinking coconut juice at Penginapan Klasis with the Schepers family. The homestay is located at the south of the Numfor airport. It belongs to Yonathan Rumbewas, a Papuan who works as construction worker. He built his house near the tropical rainforest which in the morning is always filled with the sounds of various species of birds. Coconut trees grow around his house creating a peaceful and cool atmosphere. Although during the mid-day the temperature of this tropical island is quite hot, the house stays cool due to a lot of green vegetation around it. The trees of the tropical rainforest absorb the CO2 gases during the photosynthesis and emit fresh oxygen that can be felt in the houses that are located near the forest.

In the afternoon, I walked to the Penginapan Klasis again to meet the Schepers. They were not there. There were at an eating house across from the losmen. I went there to offer another day trip to visit "World War II Museum" at Mr. Simon Wanma's house. They invited me to have lunch in that "rumah makan." I ate rice, carrot and cabbage soup and fried fish covered with chilli sauce. They ate noodle soup. They complained that they could not always eat rice. In addition the chili sauce was too hot for them. So, I decided to ask the woman to arrange food for the next days that is more suitable for them. She agreed to help them by making fried sukun (bread fruit), vegetables, and pisang goreng. With this arrangement, the Schepers could enjoy their food well.

After having lunch, I went out to find a public transportation that could carry us to Simon Wanma's house. I met someone named Piet Rumbiak. He was an old "taxi" driver. His car was a minivan Suzuki Carry. He was glad to meet these Dutch tourists. When I mentioned that Mr. Wally Schepers was born in Manokwari, Piet said that he used to live in Manokwari.

Fifteen minutes later, we were now at the World War II "Museum." Mr. Wanma bought some old machine guns and other ordnance from the local Papuans to avoid them from being sold to old iron buyers where they would be smelted and recycled to produce new metal products. For Mr. Simon Wanma, these old guns and bombs should be preserved for future generations of Numfor people so that they will know the history of the island. Fortunately these rustic machine guns and bomb could not be used anymore. by Charles Roring

Also read:

• Watching Lesser Birds of Paradise
• Where to watch birds of paradise
• Red Bird of Paradise
• Birds of Paradise in Sketches and Drawings